Vikings pull away from Lions for first NFC North win
The Minnesota Vikings found their first divisional win of the season with a 42-30 victory over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
After a back and forth affair, Minnesota made second-half adjustments and Kirk Cousins came through with a crucial drive ending with a Dalvin Cook touchdown to seal the win.
Cousins and Stefon Diggs had another big game as the two hooked up for seven grabs and 142 yards. As a whole, Cousins completed 24 of 34 passes for 337 yards and four touchdowns.
It was an offensive showcase to start with both teams marching down the field with ease. The Lions opened the scoring but Cousins hit Adam Thielen for a 25-yard strike tying things up.
Unfortunately, Thielen was shaken up on the touchdown, suffering a hamstring injury and didn't return for the rest of the game.
By halftime, both teams had found the end zone two more times with Cousins hitting rookie receiver Bisi Johnosn, and Cook rushed in for a score and the game was knotted up at 21.
The Vikings looked like they were taking things over in the second half. Fullback C.J. Ham hauled in a touchdown to take a 28-21 lead.
However in the fourth quarter, the offense had a chance to take a two-possession lead but Diggs couldn't snag what would've been a 27-yard touchdown and then Dan Bailey's 45-yard field goal wasn't even close sailing wide left keeping things within reach for the Lions.
Luckily, Minnesota's defense continued to come through and forced a turnover on downs with 8:58 left to play.
With the offense taking over at midfield, Cousins connected for his fourth touchdown of the day finding Kyle Rudolph for a 15-yard score.
The Lions kept things interesting when Matt Stafford hit Marvin Jones Jr. to make it a four-point game but they weren't able to pull off the comeback. Stafford picked on cornerback Xavier Rhodes all game as Jones hauled in four touchdowns.
With the win, the Vikings improve to 5-2 on the season and will be back in action this Thursday against the Washington Redskins at U.S. Bank Stadium.
