The Detroit Lions’ playoff hopes died on Christmas in one of the worst offensive showings in recent memory. Detroit turned the ball over six times, rushed for under 2.5 yards per carry, and Jared Goff was sacked five times. Detroit only 196 total yards of offense prior to a last-minute, pad-statting drive, which would have been the worst of the entire Dan Campbell era. They finished with 231 yards, marking their third-worst effort under Campbell.
Their extremely poor play wasted one of the best defensive efforts of the year. Against an admittedly beat-up Vikings offense, the Lions held Minnesota to THREE net passing yards thanks to seven sacks on the night.
It’s an appropriate way for the Lions’ postseason run to end, as Detroit hasn’t looked anything like their former selves in a long time. The run game has been pathetic, the rest of the offense has looked uninspired, and the explosive plays on defense killed them on a weekly basis.
The Vikings pulled out the 23-10 victory. Here’s how it happened.
First quarter
The Vikings won the toss and opted to take the ball first. But rookie quarterback Max Brosmer couldn’t muster a single first down. On third-and-9, the Lions sent a blitz, and Alex Anzalone got home for the quick three-and-out.
The Lions picked up an early first down with an 11-yard pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown. After a sack pushed them back, Detroit was facing a fourth-and-3 near midfield, and they were prepared to go for it. It appeared they got the Vikings to jump offsides, but the officials called a false start on center Kingsley Eguakun, instead, and the Lions punted.
Minnesota responded with a strong offensive drive. Aaron Jones picked up 10 yards on a run, Justin Jefferson added 9 on a catch, and Brosmer converted a key third-and-1 with an 11-yard scramble. But facing a third-and-9 after a strong Thomas Harper tackle for loss, Brosmer was sacked by Aidan Hutchinson, who pulled off a wicked spin move.
The play successfully pushed the Vikings out of field position, but a nice punt pinned the Lions inside their own 10-yard line.
Detroit started out promising with a pair of successful runs, but a key challenge made by Kevin O’Connell made a huge difference. Montgomery appeared to pick up a first down, but O’Connell challenged the spot, and the officials agreed he was short, setting the Lions up at third-and-1. On the ensuing play, Lions center Kingsley Eguakun—making his second career start—appeared to snap the ball early, Jared Goff couldn’t grab it, and the Vikings recovered for an immediate red zone possession.
After four rushes and one pass, the Vikings found their way into the end zone with a 1-yard Aaron Jones touchdown run. 7-0 Vikings.
The Lions moved to midfield at the end of the first half thanks to an impressive on-the-run throw from Goff to Jameson Williams for 15 yards.
Second quarter
Unfortunately, another drive was squandered when Jahmyr Gibbs fumbled at midfield, and the Vikings.
The Lions were able to avoid giving up points off that turnover thanks to back-to-back false starts on the Vikings, plus a third-down sack by Hutchinson—his second of the game.
The Lions were able to dig themselves out of an early hole thanks to a 28-yard pass to rookie Isaac TeSlaa on a third-and-16.
Goff then converted another third-and-long with a 13-yard strike to Amon-Ra St. Brown. After a couple of successful runs from Gibbs, the Lions moved the chains and advanced into field goal range. Detroit ended up converting a THIRD third-and-long, after Goff escaped pressure and found St. Brown for 23 yards.
Unfortunately, Penei Sewell suffered an injury on the play and limped off the field under his own power. With Taylor Decker already out, Detroit had to turn to Kayode Awosika at right tackle.
Detroit faced a fourth-and-1 from the 3-yard line, and predictably went for it. Officials originally ruled the Montgomery converted on a fourth-down run, and the ruling was upheld upon review, setting the Lions up first-and-goal from the 2. The Lions BARELY were able to punch it in. They had to resort to fourth down again, but Isaac TeSlaa pulled down a contested 4-yard catch to tie the game up. 7-7.
With 1:05 left and one timeout, the Vikings attempted to get into field goal range. Al-Quadin Muhammad made their life difficult with a sack that set up third-and-16.
After a checkdown to Jones, the Vikings punted it away. With 18 seconds left, the Lions tried to run one play, but Goff was sacked, and Detroit headed to the locker room.
Third quarter
The Lions got the ball to start, and St. Brown earned a tough 10 yards to move the chains initially.
The Lions then ran the ball three straight times to get into a fourth-and-inches. But tight end Giovanni Ricci false-started on their fourth-down attempt, and the Lions punted instead.
But the Lions defense continued its strong outing, forcing a three-and-out for the Vikings offense. Jalen Mills, in for Thomas Harper, had a nice pass breakup to force third-and-long, and Brosmer’s checkdown to Jefferson landed them plenty short of the sticks.
Detroit gave the ball right back after a horrid series of plays: run for 1 yard, sack, arm punt:
The Vikings retook the lead by playing some bully-ball and establishing some push on the line of scrimmage. Tyson Chandler ran the ball four times for 15 yards, and Brosmer added five rushing yards of his own. But when they got into field goal territory, the Lions’ pass rush kicked in, and Roy Lopez got the defense off the field with a sack. Still, the Vikings kicked a 52-yard field goal to make it 10-7 Vikings.
Detroit’s miserable day on offense continues. On the very first play, Goff’s pass for St. Brown was jumped by Vikings safety Harrison Smith for the Vikings’ second interception on consecutive passes.
The Vikings couldn’t do anything with the good field position, settling for a 56-yard field goal attempt, which was good. 13-7 Vikings.
Detroit went run-run-pass to open the next drive, and finally moved the chains with a nicely-placed ball from Goff to his St. Brown for 7 yards and moved Detroit to their own 47-yard line to end the third quarter.
Fourth quarter
On the first play of the quarter, the Lions committed their fifth turnover of the season—Goff got strip-sacked, and it was recovered by the Vikings.
But Minnesota’s offense proved to be just as pathetic. A holding penalty, fumble-turned-sack, and checkdown led to a punt, giving the Lions offense another opportunity to figure things out.
Detroit continued to insist on sticking with the run game, rushing five straight times for a total of 8 yards. Then, facing a third-and-13, Goff checked down for a short gain, and Jack Fox blasted a 70-yard punt that went out of bounds at the 1-yard line.
Detroit got the three-and-out they needed after Muhammad and Lopez nearly sacked Brosmer on third down.
The Lions finally found a little life on offense with a 12-yard screen to Montgomery and two more touches for the Lions’ power back for another 11 yards. But after Goff’s passes were batted down on back-to-back plays, Detroit had to settle for a field goal. 13-10 Vikings.
With 4:39 left, the Vikings had an opportunity to put the game away on offense. And that’s exactly what they did. An end-around caught the Lions secondary off-guard, and Jordan Addison took it 65 yards for the game-sealing score with 3:43 left. 20-10 Vikings.
The Lions would end up turning the ball over one more time on an errant snap, and that was that. The Vikings would add a field goal to make the final score 23-10 Vikings.
The Lions are 8-8, and could very well finish the season last in their division.
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