Lions use late field goal to beat Vikings 31-29

The Lions and Vikings went back and forth on Sunday afternoon, but with a late, clutch drive, Detroit came away with a 31-29 victory.

After going down 28-17 in the third quarter with Kalif Raymond’s 21-yard touchdown reception, Minnesota took the lead with a pair of Will Reichard field goals and a 36-yard fumble returned for a touchdown by linebacker Ivan Pace Jr.

But the Vikings could not put the game away with a four-minute drive, punting after a three-and-out with 2:32 left in the game.

Detroit got down the field with a 14-yard run by Jahmyr Gibbs, followed by a Jared Goff pass to Gibbs for 16 yards to put the team in Minnesota territory. Ostensibly in field-goal range, the Lions stayed aggressive, with Goff hitting receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown for a 14-yard gain down to the 22-yard line.

From there, the Lions ran out as much clock as they could, and kicker Jake Bates drilled a 44-yard field goal with 15 seconds left on the clock to effectively win the game.

With no timeouts, the Vikings did get one pass completed along and spiked the ball with one second left. But quarterback Sam Darnold was sacked on the next play to end it.

Gibbs had two touchdown runs in the second quarter to help the Lions build their 21-10 halftime lead — one from 45 yards and another from 8 yards. St. Brown also caught a 35-yard touchdown from Goff in the second quarter.

Goff had another terrific day, completing 22-of-25 passes for 280 yards with two touchdowns and no picks. Gibbs finished with 116 yards on 15 carries with two touchdowns. St. Brown caught all eight of his targets for 112 yards with a TD.

On the other side, Darnold was 22-of-27 for 259 yards with one touchdown and one interception. His score went to Justin Jefferson early in the third quarter, who caught seven passes for 81 yards. Aaron Jones finished with 93 yards on 14 carries, including a 34-yard touchdown to open the scoring in the first quarter.

With Detroit’s win, there are now no more undefeated teams in the NFC. The 5-1 Lions will host the Titans next Sunday for Week 8.

The Vikings will have a quick turnaround, as they’ll be on the road to play the Rams on Thursday night.