DETROIT — As the Minnesota Vikings prepare for their flight to Los Angeles later this week, they have plenty of time to reflect on how they let Sunday night’s game against the Detroit Lions get away from them, costing them a shot at the NFC North crown and a top seed in the NFC playoffs.
Despite the final score of 31-9 indicating a one-sided contest, the Vikings actually performed better than the scoreboard suggests for most of the game. Their inability to convert drives into points ultimately proved costly.
“There were several things we didn’t execute as well as we have throughout the season,” head coach Kevin O’Connell remarked. “The key was not being able to capitalize in the red zone.”
Throughout the game, Minnesota (14-3) found itself in the red zone four times but could only muster six points from those opportunities. The team ran 11 plays within the Lions’ 10-yard line without scoring a single touchdown.
“Our strategy of settling for field goals in the red zone simply won’t cut it against a team like (the Lions),” quarterback Sam Darnold stated. “I felt our defense did an excellent job of keeping us relevant in the game, but we failed to finish our drives.”
Although running back Cam Akers managed two carries inside the Lions’ 10-yard zone, Darnold’s performance in that critical area left much to be desired. He completed just 1 of 9 passes for a mere 3 yards, including a short completion to Aaron Jones that advanced the ball from the 5 to the 2. Darnold also missed on four opportunities to connect with Justin Jefferson in the end zone.
“I’ll review the tape to identify my mistakes,” Darnold acknowledged. “I think I may have been too hurried on some throws. I had moments where I was backpedaling or shifting sideways instead of planting my feet.”
Once the Vikings were beyond the Detroit 10, their situation improved slightly, but not significantly. Darnold completed only three of his nine passes to Jefferson, two out of eight to T.J. Hockenson, and one of six attempts to Jordan Addison.
“It seemed like Sam was misfiring on a number of throws, particularly high,” O’Connell noted. “He has successfully made those throws all season, and I always expect him to nail the next opportunity.”
Darnold faced minimal pressure in terms of sacks, being brought down only twice. However, the Lions’ pass rush, despite being improvised, made life difficult for Minnesota’s offensive line. The Lions managed to hit him 10 times, forcing Darnold into hurried decisions on multiple passes.
On the other side of the ball, Minnesota’s defense initially did well to stifle Detroit’s dynamic offense up to the third quarter. After getting a field goal that brought the score to 10-9 with under ten minutes left in the quarter, they managed to intercept Jared Goff twice.
“At that stage of the game, we were confident we could get one more stop and then put together another solid drive,” O’Connell said. “If we could execute that, we’d take the lead into the second half, and it would be interesting to see how things played out.”
However, the defense soon exhausted their energy. Jahmyr Gibbs managed to find the end zone on Detroit’s next three drives, totaling four touchdowns for the night.
“He’s among the most explosive players in the NFL,” O’Connell mentioned. “We did a decent job containing him, but even a small opening is all it takes for a player of his caliber.”
The next stoppage of the Lions’ offense came with just 27 seconds remaining. Darnold took a knee, closing out the game and setting the Vikings up to face old rival Matthew Stafford on Monday night. They now hold the distinction of being the NFL’s first wild-card team with 14 wins.
“Losing is never enjoyable, but that’s part of the game,” Darnold commented. “We achieved a lot this season, and now we have the chance to head into the playoffs and compete against another strong team in Los Angeles. That’s our focus moving forward.”
