Lions vs. Vikings: Live score updates, highlights, injury news

The NFL game of the week is being played in Minneapolis this Sunday. The 4-1 Detroit Lions take on the 5-0 Minnesota Vikings in a battle for the NFC North lead. The Lions’ success is hardly a surprise. They were considered NFC Champion and Super Bowl contenders this entire offseason. A 4-1 start falls right around expectations for the first six weeks of the season.

The same cannot be said of the Vikings. Their Vegas win total was set around 6.5 for the entire season, and coming off the bye, they’re already at five. Not only are the Vikings one of two undefeated teams left, but they also have a pretty strong resumé. They’ve beaten both the Texans and 49ers, and they took it to the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau.

But none of those teams are playing better than the Lions right now. Detroit has 89 points in their last two games. Most notably, they went on the road to Dallas and absolutely blew them out of the water with a 47-9 victory. Their offense has been outstanding, and their defense has looked much improved from last year.

However, the loss of Aidan Hutchinson looms large. The Lions’ defensive end was in the middle of a Defensive Player of the Year run, tallying a league-leading 7.5 sacks in just five games. Will the Lions still be able to generate consistent pressure without Hutchinson? Can the secondary hold up just a little bit longer now?

We’ll see how they fare this week against the Vikings.

This is a live-update post that will provide drive-by-drive analysis, score updates, and injury news. Come back at kickoff (1 p.m. ET), and continually refresh for updates from Minneapolis.

First quarter

The Vikings won the kickoff and deferred, giving Detroit the first opportunity to put points on the board. They failed to do so, though, as a holding penalty on Kayode Awosika—who was filling in for Kevin Zeitler—put Detroit behind the sticks, and a sack ensured Detroit would go three-and-out. The Lions made a bad situation worse by faking a punt, and the Vikings were all over it.

It only took two plays for the Vikings to capitalize, with Aaron Jones breaking a 34-yard touchdown run to make it 7-0 Vikings just over three minutes into the game.

Detroit failed to respond, as they went three-and-out again. Jared Goff failed to find anyone open on third-and-4, and scrambled for just a yard gain.

The Vikings responded by adding to their lead. Minnesota’s drive got off to a good start thanks to a third-and-1 diving catch by Justin Jefferson for 18 yards.

A defensive holding call on Carlton Davis moved Minnesota onto the Lions’ side of the field. Then, facing a third-and-8, Sam Darnold was forced to check down. The Vikings would settle for a 57-yard field goal attempt, which Will Reichard drilled. 10-0 Vikings.

Things nearly got even worse for the Lions, as receiver Tim Patrick had the ball ripped from him on the very first play of the next drive, but he was ruled down and that was upheld upon review.

The Lions, still without a first down, were stopped short on third-and-inches, and even worse, David Montgomery was injured on the play. He was helped off the field with heavy assistance from trainers. He was initially listed as questionable to return with a knee injury. However, he would eventually return after taking off a series.

Detroit would punt after Kayode Awosika jumped on a fourth-down attempt. However, the Lions would get the ball back quickly after a couple of Vikings holding penalties helped Detroit’s defense force a three-and-out.

Second quarter

Detroit offense a pair of first downs, and then struck gold with a run to Gibbs in which he made a man miss and turned it up field for a 45-yard touchdown. 10-7 Vikings.

The Lions defense held up nicely on the ensuing drive. While Darnold kicked the drive off with a 19-yard scramble, Detroit stood tall after that. Brian Branch had a picture-perfect pass breakup on third down to force a Vikings punt and give the Lions the ball back.

Detroit almost immediately got to midfield thanks to a 17-yard pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown with a roughing the passer penalty tacked on. Another pass to St. Brown got Detroit inside the 30-yard line and moved the chains. Then Goff went right back to him for a 35-yard touchdown catch and a 14-10 Lions lead.

Minnesota was looking to respon. A couple big plays from Jefferson and Aaron Jones moved the Vikes into Lions territory, but Branch put an end to the drive with this impressive diving interception.

Three straight plays to Gibbs—two run, one pass—earned a collective 34 yards to start Detroit’s ensuing drive. Then Goff found Sam LaPorta for a 25-yard gain down inside the Vikings’ 15-yard line. With no timeouts from Minnesota left, Detroit opted to play a little conservative in the red zone in order to bleed clock. But on third-and-7, the Lions caught Minnesota off-guard and Gibbs scampered in for a the 8-yard touchdown run and a 21-10 Lions lead.

Minnesota didn’t have enough time to produce anything on offense so the half would end with that score.

Third quarter

Minnesota started with the ball and immediately got Jefferson involved with a 14-yard gain to kick off the half. The Vikings then converted a third-and-2, to Jalen Nailor. The ball did get ripped from Nailor’s hands and Branch returned for a touchdown, but replay confirmed he still had grasp of the football when he stepped out of bounds. A couple decent runs from Jones moved the Vikings into field goal range. Then on third-and-8, Darnold found Jefferson for 25-yard touchdown. 21-17 Lions.