Jared Goff passed for 330 yards and three touchdowns as the host Detroit Lions prevented the Minnesota Vikings from clinching the NFC North title outright with a 34-23 victory on Sunday.
DJ Chark caught six passes for 94 yards and a touchdown, while Jameson Williams scored a 41-yard touchdown on his first NFL reception. The Lions (6-7) have won five of their past six games.
Kirk Cousins passed for 425 yards and two touchdowns for Minnesota (10-3), while Justin Jefferson caught 11 passes for 223 yards.
A pair of Goff touchdown passes gave the Lions a 14-7 halftime lead.
After the Lions stopped Dalvin Cook for no gain on a fourth down inside Minnesota’s territory, Goff found Williams wide open two plays later on the 41-yard touchdown hookup.
The Vikings answered with a 75-yard drive, capped by Cook, who took a toss from Cousins and scored from 1 yard.
Kalif Raymond’s 35-yard punt return set up Detroit’s next score. Goff found Chark along the left side on the 48-yard touchdown with 6:34 left in the half.
Midway through the third quarter, C.J. Moore raced 42 yards to the Vikings’ 32-yard line on a fake punt to give the Lions a chance to get a double-digit advantage. A 14-yard pass to Raymond set up Goff’s 5-yard scoring strike to Josh Reynolds for a 21-7 lead.
The Vikings scored on their next possession later in the quarter on a fourth-and-4 situation. Cousins connected with Adam Thielen from 23 yards. Minnesota went for a two-point conversion and failed.
A 75-yard Lions’ drive made it 28-13 early in the fourth quarter. Justin Jackson capped it off with a 15-yard run.
Jefferson’s 47-yard reception set up Greg Joseph’s 41-yard field goal with 10:47 left.
Michael Badgley’s 41-yard field goal pushed Detroit’s advantage to 15 with 4:06 left.
Minnesota responded with Cousins’ 15-yard touchdown pass to K.J. Osborn.
The Lions burned most of the remaining clock with the help of a 9-yard reception by Penei Sewell on a tackle-eligible play. Badgley clinched it with a 48-yard field goal with 17 seconds to play.
–Field Level Media
