Five extra points: The Vikings defense made it to Detroit. Anybody seen Sam Darnold?
Darnold’s difficulties stood out, but coaches Kevin O’Connell and Dan Campbell each earned focus, running back Jahmyr Gibbs rolled and kicker Will Reichard did something silly.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
January 6, 2025 at 6:57AM
The Vikings had an interception inside the Detroit 10-yard line, three tackles for losses of 18 yards, an 11-yard sack and a pass batted down by tackle Jonathan Bullard on fourth-and-1 … and still trailed 10-6 at halftime of Sunday night’s 31-9 loss to the Lions at Ford Field. Vikings edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel, speaking last week about “must-needs” in the playoffs, said, “Defense is the key because defense travels.” Well, it also needs the quarterback to show up, too. Sam Darnold went into the game with a league-best 139.6 passer rating when blitzed. The Lions blitzed him nine times in 21 first-half dropbacks. He was mostly terrible, completing just three passes for 57 yards, including a 31-yarder to Justin Jefferson to the Detroit 5. But Darnold also threw high when he had time to throw, missing an open Jefferson twice in goal-to-go situations, including a fourth-down attempt. Darnold was blitzed 15 times, completing only five passes for 77 yards, a sack, an intentional-grounding penalty and multiple wild throws.
2. O’Connell falls to 30-3 when not losing turnover battle
The Vikings were stopped on downs inside the Detroit 5 twice in the first 2½ quarters. The second time, Detroit led 10-6 and owned momentum with a fourth red-zone stop in four tries. But the Lions immediately handed it away by having Jared Goff throw a deep ball that Harrison Smith intercepted as if he were retreating for a punt. No problem for Detroit, though. The Vikings still trailed 10-9 when Will Reichard made a 51-yard field goal, and Detroit won in a rout despite losing the turnover battle 2-0. Kevin O’Connell’s teams were 30-2 when not losing the turnover battle until Sunday. O’Connell fell to 1-5 against Detroit despite winning the turnover battle for the first time against the Lions.
3. Campbell wins on fourth down — again
Dan Campbell’s Lions went for it three times on fourth down, converting twice. The first conversion was a 14-yard completion to Jameson Williams on fourth-and-5 from the Vikings 39-yard line. It set up the Lions’ first touchdown and a 7-0 lead. Bullard batted down the next attempt, fourth-and-1 from the Vikings 42. The third attempt was a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jahmyr Gibbs on fourth-and-2 to put the Lions up 17-9. In eight games against the Vikings, Campbell, who is 6-2, has gone for it on fourth down 20 times, converting 12 times. The Vikings, who went 0-for-2 on fourth down Sunday, are 4-for-11 on fourth downs against Campbell. Campbell has gone for it on fourth down a league-high 150 times since taking over the Lions in 2021. He’s converted 84 times (56.0%). The Vikings entered the game with the NFL’s No. 1 fourth-down defense (35.5%).
4. Gibbs gashes Vikings after tough start
Gibbs had just 1 yard on his first six carries against a run defense that entered the game ranked second in making contact with runners behind the line of scrimmage (43.8%). In those first six carries, he was dropped for losses of 3 yards by Cam Bynum, 7 yards by Jonathan Greenard and no gain by Greenard. On his seventh carry, however, he scored on a 25-yard run. The Vikings gave up only five runs of 20-plus yards all season. Three of them were to Gibbs, who also had a 45-yard touchdown in the first meeting and a 47-yard gain as he romped for 139 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries Sunday and added a 10-yard TD catch.
5. Reichard’s unforced error inexcusable
It seems silly to point out one of the finer details in what became a 22-point laugher, but kicker Will Reichard kicking the ball out of bounds with 20 seconds left in the first half was inexcusable. The Vikings defense was playing exceptionally well and carrying a putrid offense when Reichard hit a 31-yard field goal to close the gap to 7-6. Then he duck-hooked the kickoff out of bounds, giving the Lions the ball at the 40. They breezed into field goal range in three plays and took a 10-6 lead. Deflating and easily avoidable. Reichard also missed wide right from 51 yards when it was still a one-score game (17-9) in the third quarter. He had connected from 51 earlier. O’Connell fell to 18-2 when his kicker misses. But he’s still 14-0 in one-score games when his kicker misses.
Longtime Vikings safety Harrison Smith doesn’t want to forget about Sunday’s 31-9 loss to the Lions that set up a more difficult playoff path. “You learn from losses,” he said. “We learn from this.”
