Failure to clinch: Lions the latest to carve up Vikings defense
Make it five consecutive games that the Minnesota Vikings haven't been able to stop an opposing offense, though this time their offense didn't save the day and the Detroit Lions cruised to a 34-23 win at Ford Field on Sunday.
The final nail in Minnesota's coffin came on 3rd-and-7 at the 2-minute warning when Jared Goff thew a pass to right tackle Penei Sewell for a first down. Detroit then burned the clock down and kicked a field goal to go up by 11 points with 17 seconds to play.
Had Minnesota won or tied they would've clinched the NFC North, but now they'll have to either beat the Colts next Saturday or hope the Lions lose or tie the Jets next Sunday.
It was a game of mistakes for the Vikings. Detroit scored two plays after Minnesota was stuffed on 4th-and-1 from their own 46-yard line on their opening offensive possession, and Dalvin Cook's clumsy fumble inside the 5-yard line late in the second quarter erased what could've led to a game-tying touchdown. Then after a 47-yard pass to Justin Jefferson put the Vikings deep in Detroit territory while trailing 28-13 in the fourth quarter, the offensive line was bull-rushed three straight plays and the Vikings had to settle for a field goal.
But it was an inability to get off the field on third down that really killed the Vikings. The defense allowed Jared Goff and the Lions to convert 6 of 13 third downs and 1 of 2 fourth downs, including a fake punt that went for 42 yards and set up a touchdown pass to Josh Reynolds for a 21-7 lead in the third quarter.
Five straight opponents have gashed the Vikings for at least 400 yards.
- Bills: 486 yards
- Cowboys: 458 yards
- Patriots: 409 yards
- Jets: 486 yards
- Lions: 464 yards
The lone bright spot for Minnesota was Jefferson, whose 11 receptions for 223 yards set the franchise record and put him up to 99 catches for 1,500 yards on the season. With four games to go he's on pace to finish with 1,961 yards. The NFL single-season record – 1,964 yards – was set in 2012 by Calvin Johnson, though he did that in a 16-game season.
The Vikings and Colts play in the opening game of a Saturday triple-headed on NFL Network on Saturday. Kickoff is at 12 p.m. Central Time.
