On Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings were as big an underdog as they’ve been in the Kevin O’Connell era as they headed into Ford Field to face the Detroit Lions. And they showed a lot of what this fan base
had hoped they would be all season long.
J.J. McCarthy accounted for three touchdowns in his return and the defense put together one of its best performances of the season as they held on for a 27-24 victory over the Lions in Week 9 NFL action.
The Lions got on the board first on their opening drive, turning a 4th-and-4 play in Minnesota territory into a 40-yard touchdown pass from Jared Goff to Sam LaPorta to give themselves a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the contest.
The Vikings immediately answered, as a 61-yard kickoff return from Myles Price set the Vikings up in Detroit territory, and they put the ball into the end zone on a 10-yard touchdown pass from J.J. McCarthy to Justin Jefferson to tie things at 7-7.
Minnesota found the end zone on their next possession as well, as McCarthy found T.J. Hockenson for a 7-yard score to make it 14-7. The touchdown was preceded by a big throw from McCarthy to Jordan Addison on third down to set up the first-and-goal situation.
The Lions then took advantage of a very short field, taking over at the Minnesota 35-yard line after a punt. They faced another fourth-down situation, and they turned to David Montgomery, who took a handoff from Goff and went in from two yards out to tie things at 14-14 just over five minutes into the second quarter.
Minnesota took the lead back on their next possession, courtesy of a 50-yard field goal from Will Reichard to make it 17-14 with less than five minutes left in the first half. The Vikings then had the game’s first turnover, as a pass from McCarthy to Jalen Nailor was intercepted by Terrion Arnold with 37 seconds left in the half. The Lions couldn’t move the ball, however, and that’s how they went into the locker room at halftime.
The Vikings’ defense made a big play midway through the third quarter, as Blake Cashman stripped the ball away from David Montgomery, with Harrison Smith recovering for a turnover in Detroit territory.
Minnesota took advantage of the turnover, as McCarthy broke out of the pocket and found the right pylon for a 9-yard touchdown run to make it 24-14 with just over six minutes left in the third quarter.
It looked like the Vikings got a huge play on special teams to close out the third quarter, as Myles Price took the ensuing kickoff following the field goal and returned it 99 yards for a touchdown. Unfortunately, a holding penalty on the return took the points off the board for the Vikings.
The Lions then looked to be pushing for more points, but a sack by Jalen Redmond forced them into a field goal attempt by Jake Bates, and then the special teams came up big as Levi Drake Rodriguez got his hand on the field goal attempt, and it bounced right to Isaiah Rodgers, who took it into Detroit territory with a huge return.
The Vikings managed just a field goal after the block, however, as Will Reichard connected from 20 yards out to make it 27-17 with three and a half minutes remaining.
Coming out of the two-minute warning, Goff found Jameson Williams for a 37-yard touchdown pass to make it 27-24 with 1:55 left on the clock. Detroit had all three of their timeouts remaining, so they decided to kick it deep and play defense. The Vikings then faced a 3rd-and-5, and McCarthy found Jalen Nailor for a 16-yard gain that allowed the Vikings to go into victory formation.
The Vikings now move to 4-4 on the season, and they’ll return home in Week 10 to face the resurgent Baltimore Ravens at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Your Minnesota Vikings pulled a big upset this afternoon, taking down the Detroit Lions by a final score of 27-24 at Ford Field. Thank you to everyone who got their coverage of this week’s game right here at The Daily Norseman!
