The Detroit Lions beat the Minnesota Vikings 31-9 to win the NFC North and clinch the conference’s best record, meaning they will have a bye week during the first round of the playoffs. This marks the first time in franchise history that the Lions have earned the top seed in the NFC.
The difference in this game was Detroit’s performance in the red zone. The Lions held the Vikings to zero touchdowns on four red zone trips even though the Vikes came into this one converting roughly 60% of their red zone possessions into touchdowns.
Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs was the player of the game with 170 total yards and four total touchdowns, which tied a single-game franchise record. He had eight touches on Detroit’s first two possessions of the game, taking his seventh rush of the game 25 yards to the house to put the Lions ahead 7-0.
@Jahmyr_Gibbs1 #MINvsDET | NBC pic.twitter.com/LRB6zvaWzT
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) January 6, 2025
The Vikings’ defense wouldn’t waver, intercepting a tipped pass deep in Detroit’s territory to give the offense the ball on the Lions’ seven. With that INT, Minnesota finished the regular season with at least one turnover forced in every game.
Though the Vikings settled for a field goal to cut the lead to 7-3, Minnesota quarterback Sam Darnold was 0-6 passing on the Vikes’ first two red zone trips. He looked horribly inaccurate throughout the game with just 18 completions on 41 pass attempts for a season-low 166 passing yards.
The Lions failed to convert their first fourth down attempt of the night, which led to another Minnesota red zone drive. Like the first two Vikings red zone possessions, this one stalled out before they reached the end zone, so Minnesota kicked another short field goal to make it 7-6.
The Vikings continued to shoot themselves in the foot, kicking the ensuing kickoff out of bounds to give the Lions possession at their own 40. Detroit quarterback Jared Goff, who had 231 yards in the game, threw two quick passes to pick up 30 yards with less than 25 seconds to go in the second quarter, leading to a 48-yard field goal to extend the Lions’ lead to 10-6 at halftime.
Minnesota tailback Cam Akers had a 58-yard run on the Vikes’ opening possession of the second half to once again reach the red zone. That was the second-longest rush of Akers’ five-year career. It would be all for naught though, as Detroit forced its second turnover on downs in the red zone.
Jared Goff finished the night with two interceptions. This was his third multi-interception game of the season and his first game with at least two interceptions since Week 10 when he threw five INTs against the Houston Texans. That pick resulted in a 51-yard Minnesota field goal to cut the lead to 10-9.
Jahmyr Gibbs and the Lions’ offense then took over, scoring touchdowns on three consecutive drives to put the Vikings away and secure the 31-9 win. His second TD of the night, a ten-yard reception on a 4th and inches from Minnesota’s ten yard line, was Gibbs’ 18th scrimmage touchdown of the year, a new single-season franchise record. His third TD of the game allowed him to finish the regular season as the league’s touchdown leader.
That’s four of them thangs @jahmyr_gibbs1 🙌#MINvsDET | 📺 NBC pic.twitter.com/BMEunFGqeP
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) January 6, 2025
With this offensive performance, the Lions finished the regular season with 68 offensive touchdowns, the second-most of all time behind only the 2013 Denver Broncos who scored 71 TDs.
Following the loss, the 14-3 Minnesota Vikings will travel to Los Angeles to face the Rams at SoFi Stadium in the first round of the playoffs. When these two teams faced off earlier this season, the Rams beat the Vikes 30-20 in Week Eight.
