Uncharacteristic struggles for Darnold
Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold completed 9 of his 20 passes in tonight’s first half, an efficiency that has him on pace for his worst completion percentage of the entire season. Darnold’s season-low to this point came in Week 14 when he completed 60% of his passes.
Vikings still can’t get into the end zone, settle for three again
The Vikings kicked a 31-yard field goal after a nine-play, 45-yard drive just before the end of the first half.
Minnesota couldn’t capitalize on a turnover on downs by the Lions that set the offense up near midfield. The Vikings have only six points on three red zone trips so far tonight.
Detroit leads 7-6.
Lions turn it over on downs
Jared Goff threw incomplete on 4th-and-inches from the Vikings’ 42 and the Lions turned the ball over on downs.
Goff may have had a conversion open to Jameson Williams but his pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage.
Minnesota takes over trailing 7-3.
Goff doesn’t throw many interceptions
Since his five-interception performance on Nov. 10, Lions quarterback Jared Goff had thrown only one interception in his last seven games before being picked off in tonight’s second quarter.
Vikings settle for field goal after interception
The Vikings had to settle for three points despite starting their most recent drive only seven yards from the end zone.
Minnesota QB Sam Darnold threw incomplete to Justin Jefferson on three straight plays — just barely missing him on 3rd-and-goal.
After going for it on 4th-and-goal on its last drive, the Vikings opted to take the points this time. It’s now a 7-3 Lions lead.
Interception, Vikings!
The Lions’ latest drive went from near-disaster to full disaster.
Five plays after Jared Goff was nearly sacked for safety, his short pass was tipped and intercepted.
Minnesota is driving inside Detroit’s 10-yard line.
Fourth-down try a rarity for Minnesota
The Vikings’ decision not to kick a field goal and instead go for it on fourth-down-and-goal was atypical for how they have played this season. For one, Minnesota had attempted a league-low 10 fourth-down conversions entering Week 18. Also rare was how the Vikings failed to come away with points from their red-zone trip.
In their last three games, Minnesota had scored a touchdown on 70% of their drives that ended inside the opponent’s 20-yard line (11th-best in the NFL).
Vikings turn over on downs inside the 10
The Vikings tried to pick up a 4th-and-goal from three yards out but Sam Darnold couldn’t find Justin Jefferson in the end zone, ending the drive.
Minnesota went 47 yards in eight plays before the drive’s climactic play. Jefferson caught a pass for 31 yards to get the team inside the 10 to set up the goal-to-go situation.
Without the conversion, the Vikings still trail 7-0.
Rare for Minnesota to be shutout early
Minnesota built its 14-2 record by routinely producing strong starts. Its 6.8 points per first quarter tied for second-best in the league with Washington, and behind only Tampa Bay. Yet against Detroit, two of the league’s best offenses have struggled to get going, with the Vikings managing only two first downs in the opening quarter.
Lions put up a three-and-out of their own
Brutal drive for the Lions, who lost 21 yards in three plays and punted. A penalty, a backwards pass and a sack doomed Detroit.
The Vikings will take over with good field position, starting at midfield trailing 7-0.
Vikings go three-and-out
The Vikings can’t answer the Lions’ touchdown, punting after only three plays. Sam Darnold was sacked on first down for a loss of 17, and Minnesota couldn’t dig out of the hole.
Darnold almost completed a pass for a first on 3rd-and-18, but overthrew T.J. Hockenson up the left seam.
Detroit now takes over on its own 30.
Touchdown, Lions!
One play after Jared Goff delivered a perfect pass on fourth down, the Lions get in the end zone.
Jahmyr Gibbs found a seam up the middle for a 25-yard run and score.
One play earlier, Goff took a big hit on 4th-and-5 but found a crossing Jameson Williams for a first down.
Detroit now leads 7-0.
The NFL’s wild-card playoff schedule is set
All that remains to be determined is who will play in Los Angeles. The Rams will host the loser of this Vikings-Lions game.
Vikings punt after eight plays
We’re scoreless after two drives following a Vikings punt. Minnesota picked up 29 yards in eight plays but couldn’t convert a 4th-and-9 from the edge of Detroit territory.
The Lions will take over on their own 22.
Lions punt after six plays
The Lions’ first drive ended in a punt after a 3rd-and-8 from their own 36 run lost seven yards. Maybe Detroit was trying to set up a 4th-down attempt but curious playcall!
The Vikings take over for the first time on their own 14.
We’re off!
The NFC North Championship Game is underway! The Lions have the ball first and their first play from scrimmage was a two-yard run by Jahmyr Gibbs.
Can Justin Jefferson reach milestone?
The Vikings wideout is seeking to join Andre Johnson, Marvin Harrison, Antonio Brown and Julio Jones as the only receivers in NFL history to begin their career with three consecutive seasons with 100-plus catches and 1,500-plus yards. Jefferson has 100 catches already but needs 21 more yards tonight to reach 1,500.
Jared Goff looking for his own passer history
The Lions quarterback enters Week 18 tied with Tom Brady (2007) and Kirk Cousins (2019) as the only players to have completed at least 75% of their passes in eight games in a season. He can break that tie and own the record for accuracy all to himself tonight.
Sam Darnold can join elite company
If the Vikings quarterback produces a passer rating over 100 tonight, he’ll join Aaron Rodgers in 2020 as the only QBs in league history to record 14 games in a season with a rating of at least 100, per the NFL.
Fourth-down factor
Under coach Dan Campbell, the Lions have been the league’s most fearless team in attempting fourth-down conversions. Since he became coach in 2021, Detroit is 82-147 when going for it, a success rate of 55.8%; the marks are league-highs. Minnesota, with its defense under coordinator Brian Flores, is seemingly one of defenses best prepared for the Lions’ willingness to gamble. The Vikings have allowed conversions 11 times out of 31 attempts this season, a stop-rate of 64.5% that leads the NFL.
The No. 1 priority
Both Minnesota and Detroit locked up their playoff berths week ago, but as for their seed, it all comes down to one, final game. The stakes are simple, yet significant: Whoever wins this game claims the NFC’s top seed in the playoffs and with it, a first-round bye and home-field advantage.
The loser, however, faces consequences — namely, one extra game. The loser would become the NFC’s No. 5 seed and open the playoffs with a guaranteed road game during the wild-card round, facing the division winner with the worst record. Being the No. 5 seed could mean three consecutive road games just to make the Super Bowl. Only the 1985 Bears, 2005 Steelers, 2007 Giants, 2010 Packers and 2020 Bucs have won three road postseason games and gone on to win the Super Bowl. Detroit this season is 8-0 on the road.
It should be noted that Detroit has never been a No. 1 seed in its long history.
History in the making
This is the first game in NFL history between two teams with at least 13 victories. The Vikings and Lions are both 14-2.
This is partly a quirk of the 2021 rule change that added a 17th regular-season game. But also, it’s a remarkable testament to how strong the NFC North has been this season while becoming the most competitive division in the league. Minnesota, Detroit and Green Bay all entered Week 18 having outscored their opponents by at least 122 points in the aggregate this season. Meanwhile, only four other teams in the entire league had a point differential of plus-100 or higher.
Another sign of the North’s strength? Entering Week 18, an 11-5 record was only good enough for third in the division (Green Bay). That same record, meanwhile, would have led three of the league’s seven other divisions.
Standout quarterbacks
A preseason prediction that Detroit quarterback Jared Goff would make the Pro Bowl would not have been outlandish; coming off last season’s deep postseason run, the Lions appeared primed for Super Bowl contention. But perhaps no one would have predicted Minnesota quarterback Sam Darnold would earn a Pro Bowl nod, as he did this week.
Darnold, set to be the Vikings backup until a preseason injury sidelined Minnesota’s first-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy, has led the Vikings to nine consecutive wins for the first time in the franchise’s history since 1975. And in his last seven games, Darnold has thrown for 18 touchdowns against just two interceptions.
Statistically, Goff has been even better over that same seven-game span, having thrown for 20 touchdowns and just one interception. It’s helped Goff already throw for a career-high 36 pass touchdowns with one game to go.
Pro Bowl selections
Befitting these teams’ success this season, each was rewarded with plenty of Pro Bowl recognition.
Seven Lions and six Vikings were named to the roster for the league’s de facto all-star roster, which will play a flag football-style game Feb. 2 in Orlando.
