The Detroit Lions have taken over first place in the NFC North, thanks to the heroics of Jake Bates and Jared Goff. Bates drilled a 44-yard field goal with 15 seconds to play to give the Lions a thrilling 31-29 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in an NFC North battle that saw two of the NFL's best teams engage in a shootout.
The Lions had a final chance to make sure they could snatch a win that looked in their grasp. Jahmyr Gibbs had a 14-yard run followed by a 16-yard reception from Goff as Detroit continued to chew clock in the final two minutes. Goff found Amon-Ra St. Brown for a 14-yard gain to get to the Vikings' 22-yard line to set up Bates for the winner with 15 seconds to go.
Trevor Nowaske sacked Sam Darnold on the final play to seal the victory for the Lions, who squandered an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter. The Vikings suffer their first loss of the season and there are no more undefeated teams in the NFC.
Ivan Pace Jr. gave the Vikings the 29-28 lead, thanks to a rare David Montgomery miscue. With the Lions up 28-23 and just under six minutes left, Montgomery fumbled on the second play of the possession in his own territory. The ball was picked up by Pace and returned for the score to put Minnesota up for the first time since leading in the second quarter. The Vikings scored 12 unanswered points to take the lead.
The Vikings scored the first 10 points of this game to take the early lead, but the Lions scored touchdowns to four straight possessions to take a commanding 28-17 lead midway through the third quarter. Detroit stumbled in the fourth quarter, but were led by Goff on a clutch drive to win it in the final two minutes.
Here's a deeper dive into how today's shootout transpired.
Jared Goff continues to be on a heater, having another tremendous game at the quarterback position. Goff was tremendous again, finishing 22 of 25 for 280 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions and a 140.0 rating. In Goff's last three games, he's 58 of 68 for 887 yards with seven touchdowns to zero interceptions for a 153.1 rating.
The final drive showed how good Goff has been during this stretch. Goff went 2 of 2 for 30 yards, including the 14-yard completion to Amon-Ra St. Brown that set Bates up for the winner. He was 10 of 13 for 124 yards in the second half (131.6 rating) and completed his first 15 passes.
The Lions are already a good football team, but they are near unbeatable when Goff is playing like this.
The Vikings had trouble stopping the Lions in the second and third quarters, allowing them to score on four straight possessions as Detroit took a 28-17 lead. The Vikings still were able to fight back and retake the lead, this without having a single play in the red zone all game.
Minnesota did have a chance to seal it with a 29-28 lead and 4:16 to play, but the Vikings went three-and-out and gained just 6 yards of offense. Sam Darnold put too much air when he rolled out on a third-and-4 throw that gave Detroit another opportunity to win the game. A completion there may have led to a different outcome.
Jared Goff's throw to Amon-Ra St. Brown with 1:07 left demonstrated the aggressiveness of Dan Campbell to win the game. Wanting to get a closer field goal for Jake Bates (Lions were at the Vikings' 36-yard line), Campbell and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson dialed up a pass play which Goff threaded the needle to St. Brown for 14 yards.
The Lions got to the Vikings 22-yard line and could run down the clock, setting Bates up with a much easier field goal for the win. St. Brown caught all eight of his targets for 112 yards and a score, being the most reliable player in the Lions offense. There's a reason Goff is so good when he targets St. Brown.
Brian Flores' defense came up huge with just over six minutes to play in the fourth quarter. With the Vikings trailing 28-23 and the Lions having the ball, David Montgomery was stripped of the football by Josh Metellus and the ball was picked up by Ivan Pace for a 36-yard score to give Minnesota the lead.
Flores' defense was helter skelter throughout the afternoon, but plays like the one Metellus made were a huge reason why the Vikings started 5-0 in the first place. The Vikings came back in that game due to that defensive play.
"When you see him every day in practice and I'm yelling at him, he just continues to make these kicks. You feel pretty good when he gets thrust into it." -- Lions coach Dan Campbell on Jake Bates' winning field goal.
The Lions (5-1) play host to the Titans next Sunday while the Vikings (5-1) travel to Los Angeles to face the Rams on "Thursday Night Football" on a short week.
Trevor Nowaske sacked Sam Darnold on the final play to seal the victory for the Lions, who take over first place in the NFC North after squandering an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter. The Vikings suffer their first loss of the season and there are no more undefeated teams in the NFC.
Detroit goes to 5-1. Minnesota falls to 5-1. What a game.
The Lions chew clock and the former UFL star hits the go-ahead kick with 15 seconds left. Still some time for Vikings, but seems Lions will survive.
Goff finds St. Brown for 14 yards. Lions are at the Vikings 22-yard line with 1:07 left. They seem to have the field goal locked up. Vikings call timeout.
This is setting up for Jake Bates. Lions are taking their time and chewing clock. They are at the Vikings 36-yard line with 1:18 left. Vikings have all three timeouts.
Sam Darnold was 12 of 13 this half, but has an incomplete pass on a rollout to Jalen Nailor. Too much air on the ball. Vikings go 3-and-out and Lions have a chance to win it with 2:34 left.
Trailing 29-28.
Lions go 3-and-out and they'll punt. They have two time outs left.
Jared Goff had Kalif Raymond open, but just his third incompletion of the afternoon was Raymond not getting the both feet in. Expect Brian Flores to dial up the heat now.
Metellus gets the punch out on that Montgomery carry and the Vikings recover! Minnesota scores from Ivan Pace picking up the ball from the scoop and score.
This Minnesota defense coming up huge when it matters most. Brian Flores may be the MVP of this entire team (and he's a coach). Whta a turn of evens. Two-points conversion no good. Vikings up 29-28. with 5:50 left.
Malcolm Rodriguez with the sack on Sam Darnold on 3rd-and-7. That forces another field goal. Lions defense coming up big when it matters most.
Twice the Vikings deep into Liosn territory. Twice Vikings FG. It's 28-23 with 6:04 left.
Sam Darnold and the Vikings aren't done yet!! A 51-yard pass to Jordan Addison on the first play of this possessions has the Vikings at the Lions 40-yard line. What a pass.
And that's why the Vikings signed Jonathan Greenard. That 8-yard sack may be the turning point of this game. Lions will punt it back to MIN.
Jared Goff puts a 3rd-and-2 ball under pressure to Amon-Ra St. Brown for the first down. The Lions just seem like a juggernaut right now. Clutch play after clutch play.
Reichard gets the 42-yard FG to make it a one-score game. The Paschal sack took the Vikings momentum away but they got points. 28-20.
The first sack for the Lions defense is a big one. Paschal sacks Darnold to end the third quarter. Vikings got a 3rd-and-15 coming up at the Lions 29 yard line down 28-17
Raymond scores on a 21-yard Td pass from Goff ti put the Lions up 28-17. Detroit has scored TD on 4 straight possessions. Goff is 18 of 19 for 227 yards with 2 TD and 0 INT. 151.5 rating.
Lions offense is a juggernaut.
Tim Patrick has been so valuable to the Lions, and such a bargain. Patrick catches that dart from Goff on 2nd-and-15 to set the Lions up outside the 20-yard line. Detroit has scored TDs on three straight possessions.
Jared Goff has yet to throw an incomplete pass. He's 15-for-15 to start this game.
Let's give Sam Darnold has flowers there too. What a throw.
What a catch by Jefferson over Amik Robertson for the TD. Gets the Vikings right back in this one. Jefferson's 25-yard snag for teh score was just what the Vikings needed.
7 catches, 81 yards, TD for Jefferson. Vikings now trail 21-17.
Carlton Davis strips the ball from Vikings WR Jalen Nailor as he's going out of bounds. Brian Branch picked up the ball and scored a touchdown, but the play was called back. Nailor's foot was out before he lost the ball.
This will take a away a DET score -- and a 27-10 lead.
Just opened the second half. Vikings get ball first. Feels I'm understating this, but they need a score on this possession. Lions have all the momentum.
Gibbs nets an 8-yard score to extend the lead to 21-10. The Lions have scored on three straight possessions to take a two-score lead. Gibbs has 8 carries for 84 yards and 2 scores in the first half. Jared Goff has completed all 12 of his first half passes.
The Lions are rolling.
Jared Goff has completed his first 11 passes in this game. Amon-Ra St. Brown has caught all 5 of his targets.
Branch has been all over the place in this first half. Forced a Darnold incompletion on a blitz on third down and just picked off Darnold to give the Lions the ball back. Boy has this one changed in favor of Detroit.
This is just the 7th snap the Vikings had all season -- while trailing. Yea, they've been leading games a lot.
Goff beats the blitz and Ben Johnson schemes it where Amon-Ra St. Brown is open for a 34-yard TD on an X-Post. What a play call. Lions now up 14-10.
David Montgomery is back in.
The Vikings have been stopped again. Pressure on Sam Darnold by Brian Branch forces the Vikings to punt. Lions have a shot to take the lead on this possession. 7 plays for 47 yards on the last two possessions by the Vikings, but penalties are killing them.
Before the game, Gibbs wanted to be referred to as Sonic and Montgomery as Knuckles. Sonic scored on that one.
Gibbs has a wide open B-gap and gets Cam Bynum to whiff on that 45-yard TD run. The longest TD run of Gibbs' career. Lions cut the deficit to 10-7.
