Lions 30 - 24 Vikings summary, stats, scores and highlights | NFL Week 16

The Vikings got the ball back with 2:20 to go and no timeouts looking to take the lead and stay in the Wild Card race. Mullens hit Jefferson on a couple of passes to put the Vikes in striking range, but his pass to JJ was a wounded duck and that let Melifonwu step in and make the pic. 

Gibbs stretched the lead to two possessions with 11 minutes left in the 4th quarter but that was a lot of time to leave Mullens and the Vikes who would kick a field goal and bring Minnesota to within a a TD. 

After his five TD game against the Broncos last week, Goff was held in check but he managed the game perfectly and once the Vikings took the lead, he led the Lions into the endzone with this pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown to take the lead back. 

The Rookies have been stepping up for the Lions in the most important time of the year. Last week it was Sam LaPorta and this week it was Jahmyr Gibbs who led the rushing attack in MInnesota. 

The Vikings started Nick Mullens for a second straight game and while he did have moments of brilliance, he did get picked off four times. 

The Lions came out swinging on their first drive of the game, going 14 yards and punching it in with a David Montgomery TD from a yard out. 

The Lions hang on after a heroic comeback bid from Mullens who sees his night and the Vikings season potentially end with the back up QBs 4th pick of the night. 

INTERCEPTION!!!!

Mullens was looking for Jefferson in the endzone but he threw up a duck and his pass was picked off by Melifonwu!!!

DET survive a scare in Minnesota. 

Mullens hits Powell on the deep out to the right side and they connect for a gain of 26 yard play. 

1st and 10 from the DET 30 with 58 seconds left. 

Mullens throws up a prayer and Jefferson is there with an incredible catch for a first down to keep the VIkings in this game. 

1st and 10 from the MIN 44. 

Mullens got pressured and lost the ball but it was recovered by MIN!

3rd and 27 from the MIN 16. 

Mullens over the middle and that pass was batted down at the line. 

2nd and 10 from the MIN 33. 

Mullens goes over the middle to Powell and he makes the catch for 21 yards and that is going to take us to the Two Minute Warning!

1st and 10 from the MIN 33 after the break. 

Mullen goes deep for Osborn and he had it in his hands on the left side but he dropped it as he tried to readjust on the pass that was a bit under thrown. 

2nd and 10 from the 11. 

Mullens will get the ball back from the 11 with 2:23 on the clock and no timeouts. 

Handoff to Gibbs and he is dragged down after a three yard gain and the Vikings are going to get the ball back. 

4th and 13 and the Lions punt with under 3:00 to go. 

After a false start and a delay of game back the Lions up 10 yards, Gibbs is stopped after a gain of a yard. 

3rd and 16 from the DET 38. 

Montgomery picks up three yards on the run to the right side. 

2nd and 7 from the DET 47. 

Goff looks over the middle for Reynolds and that pass was too far out in front of the WR but a flag flies for illegal contact. 

1st and 10 from the DET 44 and that might have just cost the Vikings their season. 

Pass to the flat for St. Brown and that hit him in his hands but fell incomplete. He was lucky not to get picked. 

3rd and 7 from the DET 39. 

Montgomery up the middle and he is stopped after a gain of three. 

2nd and 7 from the DET 39. 

Montgomery gets the handoff on picks up three yards to move the chains. 

1st and 10 from the DET 36. 

DET have the ball at the 25 looking to run some clock and Montgomery takes it up the middle for a gain of 7. 

2nd and 3 from the DET 32. 

FIELD GOAL!!

Joseph drills the 26 yard field goal and the Vikings close the lead to within one possession. 

DET lead 30-24 with 5:19 to go in the 4th quarter. 

Mullens rolling to right side but he gets a yard before getting dropped on a one yard gain. 

4th and Goal from the DET 8 

Mullens looking to Mundt in the corner of the endzone and that pass went into double coverage. 

3rd and Goal from the DET 9. 

Mullens looks over the middle for Jefferson but that pass was too high. 

2nd and Goal from the DET 9. 

THe Vikes go to their bag of tricks, as the double reverse ends up back in the hands of Mullens and he finds Mundt for a pick up of 23 yards!

1st and Goal from the DET 9!

After a too many men of the field penalty, Mullens goes deep for Jefferson and he makes the catch before getting crushed by Joseph. Joseph is flagged for a hit on a defenseless WR, so tack on another 15 yards after the 28 yard pick up!

1st and 10 from the DET 32. 

Mullens looking deep for Jefferson but that pass is batted down and incomplete. 

2nd and 10 from the MIN 30. 

MIN get the ball from their 16 yard line and Mullens hits Osborn for a 14 yard catch and run. 

1st and 10 from the MIN 30. 

Goff finds St. Brown on the pass over the middle and he gets 4 yards but is short of the first down marker. 

4th and 3 from the DET 42. 

Montgomery gets the handoff and he is stopped for a loss of two. 

3rd and 7 from the DET 38.

DET takes over from the 35 and Goff finds Montgomery and he's taken down after five yards. 

2nd and 5 from the DET 40. 

INTERCEPTION!!!

After the 15 yard penalty, Mullens takes a shot for Jefferson, but that is picked off for his third INT of the day!

DET take over from their 35 after the Joseph pick. 

Pass over the middle for Powell who gets 6 yards but an unnecessary roughness penalty on MIN is going to bring them back 15 yards. 

3rd and 18 from the MIN 17. 

MIN start their drive from the 25, needing a TD as they try to save their season. 

Mattison gets the carry and picks up a yard to the right side on first down. 

2nd and 9 from the MIN 26. 

Gibbs has two TDs on the most important day of the season, and the rookie is leading the Lions to what could be their first NFC North win in over two decades. 

Goff finds Gibbs in the flat and he stretches to pick up the first down on the left side. 

1st and Goal from the MIN 3. 

Goff looking back to Gibbs and he made the catch back didn't get both feet inbounds. 

3rd and 4 from the MIN 8. 

Goff looks to Gibbs on the right side and and that pass goes for 6 yards on first down. 

2nd and 4 from the MIN 8. 

Slant pattern on the left side for Peoples-Jones and he makes the catch for 11 yards and a first down. 

1st and 10 from the MIN 14. 

Short pass to the flat for St. Brown and he gets a yard on the left side. 

3rd and 8 from the MIN 25. 

Gibbs gets the first down handoff and he is stopped after a gain of a yard. 

2nd and 9 from the MIN 26. 

Short pass to LaPorta on the left side and he gets 6 yards to move the chains. 

1st and 10 from the MIN 27. 

Gibbs picks up 4 yards on the first down run to the left side on the last play of the third quarter. 

2nd and 6 from the MIN 33. 

Goff finds St Brown on the right side and he takes it 15 yards down the right sideline. 

1st and 10 from the MIN 37. 

Goff's pass to the right side is incomplete as Williams failed to make the catch in bounds. 

2nd and 10 from the DET 48. 

Goff finds St. Brown on the left side and he was wide open for a 25 yard pick up!

1st and 10 from the DET 48. 

Gibbs gets the handoff and picks up 2 yards to bring up 3rd and medium. 

3rd and 4 from the DET 23. 

DET start their drive from the 17 and St. Brown makes the catch in the flat, taking it 4 yards on first down. 

2nd and 6 from the DET 21. 

Mulllens finds Ham over the middle but he is stuffed short of the first down marker. 

4th and 2 from the MIN 33 and MIN will punt after a three and out. 

Mullens looking deep for Mundy but the coverage was almost perfect as the pass falls incomplete. 

3rd and 8 from the MIN 27. 

MIN take over from the 25 and Chandler picks up 2 yards on the right side. 

2nd and 8 from the MIN 27. 

Great response from the Lions who march down the field on another 10+ play drive, this time Goff finds St. Brown in the back of the end zone. 

Gibbs up the middle and he picks up 4 yards to put the Lions on the 1. 

2nd and Goal from the 1. 

Goff moves the chains on the QB sneak up the middle. 

1st and Goal from the MIN 6. 

Gibbs gets the handoff on 3rd and short and he is stopped after a gain of one. 

4th and 1 from the MIN 7. 

Gibbs with the toss to the left side and he is pushed out of bounds for a loss of one. 

3rd and 2 from the MIN 8. 

Goff finds Williams on the pass over the middle for a gain of 9 yards. 

2nd and 1 from the MIN 7. 

Gibbs moves the chains with a Barry Sanders like move in the secondary and takes it 18 yards for a first down. 

1st and 10 from the MIN 16. 

After a false start on DET, Goff finds LaPorta on the crossing route over the middle and he is dragged down a yard short of the marker. 

4th and 1 from the MIN 34. 

Gibbs with the stretch handoff to the right side and he picks up 7 yards before sliding out of bounds. 

3rd and 3 from the MIN 36. 

Goff looking for Gibbs out of the backfield but that pass came in a bit too high. 

2nd and 10 from the MIN 43. 

Out route to St. Brown and he picks up 8 yards and a first down on the left side. 

1st and 10 from the MIN 43. 

Gibbs picks up 6 yards on the first down run on the left side. 

2nd and 4 fro the DET 49. 

DET gets the ball from the 25 and Goff finds Raymond for a gain of 18 yards on the out route to the right side. 

1st and 10 from the DET 43. 

Mullens is having a career game on the VIkings most important game of the season. He's bounced back from his 2 INTs and has 2 TDs to put the Vikes ahead. 

Mullens going deep for Osborn and he drags it in on the 47 yard bomb!

1st and Goal from the DET 6. 

Chandler picks up 3 yards on first down. 

2nd and 7 from the MIN 47. 

Mullens goes deep down the seem and finds Hockenson for a gain of 24 yards before he took a nasty hit and came up a little gimpy. 

1st and 10 from the MIN 44. 

Chandler gets the handoff and he picks up a yard on a first down run to the left. 

2nd and 9 from the MIN 20. 

WE ARE BACK IN MINNESOTA FOR THE SECOND HALF OF ACTION!!!

MIN get the ball from the 19 to start the third quarter. 

It doesn't matter who is under center for MIN. Justin Jefferson is going to get open, and that's what he did on the final drive of the half. He's got 85 yards on 4 catches and Mullens has 182 yards, one TD and two picks. 

It was Gibbs and Montgomery that got in the endzone a game after it was Goff who threw for 5 TDs last week. 

Goff has 132 yards on 15/21 passing. 

Mullens didn't back down after going down early on. He came out slinging it and set up this Chandler run from a yard out. 

The Lions came out swinging and got into the endzone with a 14 play drive polished off by David Montgomery. 

The Lions just run the clock out and we are heading to halftime from Minnesota with this game still in the balance. 

DET lead 17-14 after two quarters. 

DET start the drive from the 25 and finds St. Brown for a gain of 11 yards. 

1st and 10 from the DET 36. 

When in doubt, just throw it up to JJ. That's exactly what Mullens did and Jefferson didn't disappoint. What a catch to tighten this game up before half. 

Mullens over the middle after escaping the pressure, looking for Jefferson and a flag flies for pass interference in the endzone, but a flag for holding on MIN will cancel that play out. 

1st and 10 from the DET 26. 

Mullens over the middle on 3rd and forever and he finds Jefferson for a 29 yard conversion that will keep this drive alive with 43 seconds left. 

1st and 10 from the DET 26. 

Mulens is sacked for a 9 yard loss by Melifonwu and the Lions will call a timeout with 49 on the clock. 

3rd and 19 from the MIN 45. 

Mullens to Jefferson over the middle and the star WR gets 22 yards and a first down!

1st and 10 from the DET 46. 

MIN get the ball from the 25, and Mullens finds Hockenson on the left side and he gets 7 yards to start the drive. 

2nd and 3 from the MIN 32. 

The duo of Rhythm and Bruise duo both have a TD after Gibbs follows up Montgomery's first quarter with a 14 yard dash to the end zone right before the halftime break. 

Goff goes to the air on a pass to the flat for Williams who takes it 6 yards on the WR screen. TO Vikings with 1:54 to go, that's their first. 

2nd and 4 from the MIN 14. 

An encroachment will give the Vikes a free first down and that's going to take us to the Two Minute Warning!

1st and 10 from the MIN 20. 

Pass to the flat for Raymond and he gets 8 yards on first down. 

2nd and 2 from the MIN 25. 

INTERCEPTION!!!

Mullens goes deep for Addison and it's picked off by Joseph who takes it back 22 yards to the MIN 33. 

1st and 10 Lions with under 3:00 to go. 

After two false starts on MIN, Mullens finds Hockenson on the out route to the right side and he picks up 14 yards. 

3rd and 8 from the MIN 18. 

Mattison gets the handoff after the penalty and he is dropped for a loss of two yards. 

2nd and 12 from the MIN 13. 

MIN take over from the 10 and Mullens is sacked for a loss of 6 yards, but an illegal contact flag will give the VIkes a first down. 

1st and 10 from the 15. 

FIELD GOAL!!!

Badgley with a 37 yard field goal to put the Lions back on top from U.S. Bank Stadium. 

DET lead 10-7 with 5:05 to go in the half. 

Goff was sacked by a blitzing Hicks and the ball came loose. MIN scooped it and scored a TD but it's coming back after a review showed that Goff's arm was going forward. 

4th and 6 from the MIN 18. 

Gibbs gets the handoff on the end around from right to left and he goes for 4 yards. 

3rd and 6 from the MIN 18. 

Out route from Reynolds on the right side but that pass was batted away by Blackmon. 

2nd and 10 from the MIN 22. 

Goff finds St. Brown on a WR screen in the flat and he gets just enough to give DET a fresh set of downs. 

1st and 10 from the MIN 22. 

Goff finds Williams on a short pass to the right side and that goes for a gain of 5. 

2nd and 5 from the MIN 27. 

Montgomery on the left side and he moves the chains with an 11 yard pick up. 

1st and 10 from the DET 33. 

Montgomery up the middle on first down and he gets 3 yards. 

2nd and 7 from the MIN 43. 

Ater a delay of game on DET, Goff checks down for LaPorta for a short gain of 5, but Jones is flagged for roughing the passer.

1st and 10 from the MIN 46. 

Goff is dropped by Jones who brings the QB down for a loss of 11. 

2nd and 21 from the DET 39. 

Montgomery gets the pass out of the backfield and he gets 9 yards to move the chains. 

1st and 10 from the 50. 

Montgomery to the left side and he picks up 4 yards on first down. 

2nd and 6 from the DET 41. 

DET get the ball back from their 22 and Goff goes play action and finds St. Brown for a 15 yard pick up and a first down. 

1st and 10 from the DET 37. 

Mullens is taken down again on 3rd down and this time was lucky he didn't give up a fumble as Bradbury came crashing in. 

4th and 12 from the MIN 28. 

Mullens finds Addison on a short pass to the left side and he is dragged down for a short gain of 2 yards. 

3rd and 7 from the MIN 33. 

MIN gets the ball back from their 30 and Chandler takes the first down handoff for a yard. 

2nd and 9 from the MIN 31. 

Goff looking for Gibbs on the check down but that pass was a bit high and flies through his hands right around the marker. 

4th and 4 from the DET 26 and the Lions will punt for the first time today. 

Montgomery gets the handoff to start the second quarter and he gets three yards on the left side. 

3rd and 4 from the DET 26. 

Goff looks for St. Brown on the right side and he gets 4 yards on the final play of the first quarter. 

2nd and 6 from the DET 24. 

INTERECPTION!!!

Mullens goes to the right side for Addison and that's picked off by Branch at the 20!

DET ball from the DET 20 right before the end of the first quarter. 

Mullens was under pressure but found Hockenson right in time for a gain of 13 and the VIkings are going to go for it on 4th and short. 

4th and 2 from the DET 40. 

Mullens was sacked by Melifonwu and the ball came out, but upon review the QBs elbow was down 10 yard behind the line of scrimmage. 

3rd and 15 from the MIN 47. 

Chandler picks up 5 yards on a run to the left side on first down. 

2nd and 5 from the DET 43. 

FUMBLE!!!

Goff finds Gibbs on the screen pass out of the backfield and he took it down field for a first down and more, but he fumbles and it is recovered by Pace around midfield. 

1st and 10 from the DET 48.

DET get the ball from the 25 and Goffs pass to Williams is caught as he got ripped to the ground after an 11 yard gain. 

1st and 10 from the DET 36. 

Chandler polishes off the drive that was started off by a couple of dimes from Mullens. 

Mullens rolling right looking for Addison in the corner on the endzone and that pass is incomplete but a flag flies for defensive holding. 

1st and Goal from the DET 2. 

Run up the middle by Chandler and he picks up 2 yards. 

3rd and Goal from the 4. 

Mullens looking to the right side for Hockenson but he was under pressure and that pass fell incomplete. 

2nd and Goal from the 6. 

Mullens with a strike over the middle to Osborn and he is down inside the 10 yard line. 

1st and Goal from the 6. 

Chandler gets the handoff for the first time today and he is stopped at the line of scrimmage 

3rd and 2 from the DET 20. 

Mullens finds Jefferson for the first time on a short stop route to the right side and he gets 8 yards. 

2nd and 2 from the DET 20. 

Play action to  Osborn on the left side and he gets 14 yards before getting pushed out of bounds. 

1st and 10 from the DET 28. 

MIN get the ball from the 25 to start their day, and Mullens finds Oliver on the flat route across the line of scrimmage and he takes it 33 yards on a first down pass play!

1st and 10 from the DET 42. 

That was an efficient drive to start the game and silence this Minnesota crowd with a 1 yard David Montgomery TD. 

Montgomery on back to back runs and he gets down to inside the 1 yard line. 

3rd and Goal from the 1. 

Gibbs got the pass out of the backfield and made a move on the left side to move the chains inside 5. 

1st and Goal from the 4. 

Goff goes to the corner of the endzone for Raymond, but that pass was overthrown. 

2nd and 10 from the MIN 15. 

Montgomery picks up the first down with a four yard run to the right side. 

1st and 10 from the MIN 16. 

Goff to Raymond on the right side and he gets 11 yards on the WR screen to bring up 3rd and short. 

3rd and 1 from the MIN 20. 

Montgomery gets 3 yards on the 1st and long play after the penalty. 

2nd and 12 from the MIN 31. 

Goff found LaPorta but got tackled for a loss and an offensive offside backs  DET up 5 yards. 

1st and 15 from the MIN 34. 

Goff finds St. Brown for a 14 yard pick up over the middle for another first down. 

1st and 10 from the MIN 29. 

Montgomery is swallowed up for a loss of three by Jones. 

3rd and 5 from the MIN 43. 

Gibbs gets the pass out of the back field and he takes it for 8 yards on the left sideline. 

2nd and 2 from the MIN 40. 

Montgomery gets the pitch to the right side and he moves the chains with a 10 yard pick up. 

1st and 10 from the MIN 48. 

Montgomery gets the handoff up the middle and he picks up a yard on first down. 

2nd and 9 from the DET 42. 

Goff goes to the air for Reynolds over the middle and that pitch and catch is good for 16 yards. 

1st and 10 from the DET 41. 

WE ARE UNDERWAY FROM MINNESOTA!!!

The Lions get the ball to start the game and they begin the day from the 25. 

NFC Standings 

Taking a look at the standings in the NFC, we see the Niners at the top of the table with a record of 11-3, but they have a tough game against the Ravens tomorrow night. The Lions are 10-4 coming into tonight, level with the Cowboys and the Eagles. There is still a chance at a one seed for Detroit, but today they have a chance to win the division for the first time in over two decades. The Vikings came into the week at 7-7, locked with the Rams, Seattle, the Sainits and the Bucs but after LA beat the Saints the Rams are now in the driver's seat for one of those Wild Card spots. The Vikings control their own destiny, and if they win out they will get the other Wild Card spot, but that journey starts tonight. 

Rookies running things in Motor City

Jared Goff is coming off of one of his best performances in the NFL, after throwing for 5 TDs and almost 300 yards last week. While Goff got the accolades, it was the rookies that put on a show. Jamyr Gibbs is starting to hit stride at the right time, coming off a game in which he went for 100+ on just 11 carries and Sam LaPorta had three TD catches to bring his rookie TD tally to 9. 

Just-in time

It must have been tough for Justin Jefferson, having to watch his team from a distance while seeing his QB go down for the season. It was less than probable that the Vikings would be in the playoff picture without their QB1 and their WR1, but here they are. There are three games left, and Jefferson is back at the perfect time to play hero of the Vikings offense. In his first two games back he had 9 catches for 111 yards from two different QBs. Tonight he is going to have to do his best to make life easy for Nick Mullens who is the 4th different QB Minnesota has used this season. 

Lions last week 

The Lions went through a mini slump in which they lost two of three games, and all of the sudden a lot of people’s preseason dark horse was getting called into question after having a historic start to the season. Detroit didn’t just get back to their winning ways last week against the Broncos, they looked like the team that was among the league’s best in their 42-17 blowout. Jared Goff exploded for 5 TDs while Jamyr Gibbs and David Montgomery combined for 185 yards and rookie tight end Sam LaPorta had a hat trick of TD catches to put the Lions in position to close out the division today. 

Vikings last week 

The Vikings lost a heartbreak last week in Cincinnati. They were going up against another team fighting for a playoff spot, and looked like they were on the pulling off a stunning win with Nick Mullens as their QB after Josh Dobbs was designated to emergency QB duties. Mullens had the Vikes up 17-3 going into the final quarter but a defensive collapse in which they gave up 21 points forced the game into overtime after Tee Higgins miraculous catch and stretch for a TD. The Vikings turned it over on downs in the OT session and Evan McPherson closed the game out with a game winning 29 yard field goal. 

We are live from U.S. Bank Stadium

Hello everyone and welcome to Minnesota where it’s chilly outside but inside U.S. Bank Stadium, the playoff race is heating up. The Vikings have been hanging on to a playoff spot despite losing their starting quarterback in the middle of the season. Somehow, despite the shuffling of QBs throughout the season in search for Kirk Cousin’s replacement, the Vikings control their own playoff destiny coming into today. The Lions are on the verge of winning the division for the first time in over two decades if they can beat their division rivals on their home turf. 

Lions vs. Vikings 

Hefty playoff implications on the line today from U.S. Bank Stadium as two NFC North teams with hopes of a playoff run can do themselves a big favor with a Week 16 win. It’s the Detroit Lions and the Minnesota Vikings squaring off and AS English will be with you all afternoon providing live coverage, stats, highlights and analysis of today’s “playoff” game.