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The Vikings didn’t play their best football of 2024 on Sunday when they hosted the Lions and fell 31-29.

The cumulative effects of details that lapsed and missed opportunities added up for Minnesota, which was playing at home for the first time since Sept. 22.

Detroit (5-1) vaulted to first in the NFC North, which has three five-win teams (Vikings at 5-1 and Packers at 5-2 after kicking a game-winner as time expired Sunday) and a four-win squad (the 4-2 Bears just had their bye).

Minnesota jumped up by 10 early but trailed by 11 at halftime and in the third quarter.

The Vikings delivered an impressive rally to eventually take a 1-point lead but couldn’t protect the margin by having the offense stay on the field or having the defense produce one more stop.

A short week—and essential quick turnaround awaits Minnesota, which will travel to Los Angeles on Wednesday to face the Rams on Thursday Night Football, so let’s get to the questions.

                  O’Connell on Sunday’s Loss To Detroit, Self-Inflicted Wounds on Offense and More      

What an epic battle. Our defense could not and did not stop the Lions in the second and third quarters. But boy did they stiffen in the fourth quarter — until it mattered most. Wish someone could have put a hat on Gibbs at the end, or our 4-minute offense could have won the day. Here are my 3 Ups and 3 Downs for the game:

UPS:

1. Great start. First series defensive stop by the Vikings. We stopped Dan Campbell’s fake punt attempt. Great job defense. Followed by the Aaron Jones TD run.

2. Great scoring drive with TD pass from Sam Darnold to Justin Jefferson to open the second half. They needed that and executed to get it. Nicely done.

3. Fourth-quarter punch out by [Joshua] Metellus and the scoop and score by [Ivan Pace, Jr.] to take the lead. Wow.

DOWNS:

1. I hate the well-established and ongoing problem of wasting timeouts — especially after big third-down conversions on offense. Five minutes left in the first quarter and we have no timeouts left? I wish they would fix it. It is going to end up biting us big time sooner or later.

2. Disastrous second quarter for the Vikings on both sides of the ball. On defense, we couldn’t stop the Lions running or passing games, couldn’t force a FG attempt at the end of the half and gave up three TDs? On offense, we could not mount a sustained scoring drive. Turnovers, penalties and short possessions — a weak and ineffective offensive performance? I am looking for some effective adjustments in the second half.

3. Too bad we couldn’t get that third-down conversion at the 2:41 mark or the 2-point conversion at the end.

Looking forward to the Rams on Thursday already!

Respectfully,

— Jeff Ludwig

The season will continue to evolve, but I think “epic battle” is an accurate description for a Week 7 tilt that offered a rare occurrence of such significance to the Vikings and Lions.

I think everyone is aware by now that Campbell will go for it on fourth down from wherever and has never met a fake or trick play he didn’t like.

Minnesota played complementary football at times (but not enough) on Sunday by taking that play by the special teams and turning it into a quick touchdown — a 34-yarder by Jones on its second play of the game.

The Vikings were close to creating a turnover earlier and later in the quarter, forcing two fumbles by Jared Goff. The quarterback recovered one after he was sacked by Jonathan Greenard, and center Frank Ragnow recovered the ball after it was knocked away from Goff during a sack by Andrew Van Ginkel.

                  Andrew Van Ginkel gets free to find Jared Goff for sack      

The Vikings had to burn one timeout on their second defensive series of the game, which could have possibly prevented a big play if Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores didn’t like what he was seeing before the snap.

Burning the second one on offense after an 18-yard pass to Jefferson was disappointing, but at least the drive ended with a field goal.

Head Coach Kevin O’Connell lost his third timeout of the first half by challenging that Tim Patrick fumbled the football before he was down. Patrick’s elbow touched just before the ball came out, officials determined after review.

The lack of timeouts and bad field position made it impossible to try to attack at the end of the first half.

The second quarter was the poorest for the Vikings in 2024. The team got blanked 21-0, allowing a 45-yard rushing touchdown to Jahmyr Gibbs, a 35-yard score to Amon-Ra St. Brown, committing an illegal formation to get behind the chains and throwing an interception. The defense also allowed an 8-yard rushing touchdown on third-and-7 with less than a minute remaining before halftime.

Yet, there were still opportunities in the fourth quarter that were missed. Minnesota has a chance to fix those issues and will need to going forward.

How much did we miss Blake Cashman? Our run defense is better when he is on the field.

And…

Metellus and Pace gave us the lead. That was a great play. We needed to drive the ball, move the chains and take lots of time off the clock. We had a three-and-out and gave the ball back to Detroit. This is not championship football. We have to get better if we have championship aspirations.

— Gerald Goblirsch

Cashman’s absence seemed to be noticeable before snaps when defenders were trying to get lined up and communicate their checks. He’s the green dot player, usually receiving communications from the sideline and relaying them. It also was noticeable during plays because Cashman has played so well in the middle of the field.

The inability to convert the 2-point try loomed large, but converting a third-and-4 also would have iced the game with a 1-point edge.

                  Bynum, Metellus, Greenard and Griffin Address The Media Following Loss To Lions      

Why is it the Vikes get up on teams then play poor and have to fight to come back. Same team, just another year. Penalty on top of penalty. Almost a muffed return. Poor clock management. Poor play calling. The decision to sit our best TE and maybe right guard. The decision-making of QB missing reads and throwing a pick. Also what trades do you see to help this team get over the hump?

— Larry R.

The penalties, especially the ones that occurred before snaps, were disappointing because they result in having to play behind the chains and negate gains.

Larry mentions T.J. Hockenson and Dalton Risner. Both have not been activated yet, but both seem to be getting closer and closer to their returns from injury.

Minnesota will be on turbo mode to get ready for the Rams and then evaluate where it is and any potential trade options that could still occur before this year’s deadline (Nov. 5).

Pregame Photos: Vikings vs. Lions

View pregame photos as the Vikings get set for the Week 7 matchup against the Lions at US Bank Stadium.

Four straight losses to the Lions. The D played well but obviously not well enough. Although it took a nearly perfect game from Goff to beat us. Gotta figure out how to stop them going forward. Offensively, we really missed an opportunity at the end by not getting a first down. Really disappointing that Darnold overthrew Jefferson. And then to take the sack to end the game. Not a strong finish. At least we got a short week to turn it around. We really missed an opportunity today. Tough, tough loss.

SKOL,

— J.B. Brunet

Lions Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson and Goff are in their fourth season of working together (Johnson has been the O.C. for the past three seasons after coordinating the team’s passing game in 2021).

All that time on task, as well as a good scheme, stout offensive line and surrounding playmakers have helped Goff play his best football. He became the fourth player since 1950 to post a passer rating of 140.0 or better in three consecutive games, joining Hall of Famers Roger Staubach (1971) and Kurt Warner (1999), along with current QB Aaron Rodgers (2011).

Darnold finished 22-of-27 passing with 259 yards. He finished with a passer rating of 103.5, which is good but could have been better without the interception.

                  Darnold: We’re Going To Continue To Be A Resilient Team       

Sometimes you simply tip your cap. As expected, this was a very close game. Team stats were almost identical in key areas. Turnovers, penalties, sacks, passing and rushing yards, third-down conversions. The Lions simply made one more play today. I could nitpick. Pre-snap penalties and missed tackles are correctable. But the Vikings played a game that I contend provides a win against 30 other teams. And provides a win against a Lions team not playing near perfection. We will see them again. One loss in six games. I’ll take it. On to Thursday night and the Rams.

Skol!

— Jeff in Sacramento, California

It’s a reminder that, if I told you Minnesota would be 5-1 through six games six months ago, would you believe me? Laugh me out of a building?

But there’s no shaking that Sunday was a really big deal because only the top seed in each conference gets a bye and because division winners are guaranteed to host the first round of the playoffs.

There’s quite a bit of football remaining, and yes, Minnesota and Detroit will meet again in Week 18. It’s up to the Vikings to handle the between now and then.

                  Jefferson: We Hurt Ourselves In Plenty of Ways and Just Need To Be Better      

Awesome game, fun to watch!! Super proud! I think we are the better team but needed to close it on the last drive. I think we need a 3-technique nose guard and a cornerback — I think (star) player to make a long run! But what a chess match.

— Toby in Alaska

Most emailers expressed optimism from what they saw during the game, even if the final result was not what they wanted.

The defense has been so good, but that was the best offense it has seen this season.

                  Jones on Playing Through Injury, Responding To Adversity and More      

Vikings played with grit and toughness against a Lions squad that brought a lot of fight, confidence and played the full 60 minutes.

The Lions exposed some areas of improvement for the team, and it will make us a better football team. Some big plays on both sides of the ball kept it exciting, and with a couple of plays you could pick on, Darnold’s again played solid and smart at the position.

On defense, the choice to blitz less may have given Goff more time, but it gave us better matchups. My only critique is Byron Murphy, Jr. Seems like in this game and this season, when the Vikes give up big plays, he is always playing catchup in coverage or missing his assignment? What options would we have to make a change there and seal this gap? You don’t see the other corners having these big lapses in coverage.

— Mike in Arden Hills, Minnesota

I’ll include this question, but I’ll outright say I don’t hang my hat on player evaluations. I do think Murphy has had some good moments, particularly the takeaways at Green Bay, but there isn’t an NFL corner who doesn’t want some plays back.

It seemed like the Vikings had some good ideas to open the game, the Lions adjusted to find success, and Minnesota readjusted.

Flores utilizes so many different players and packages, but some of the success in the second half involved having Van Ginkel (and Dallas Turner on a couple of plays) line up alongside Pace at an inside linebacker spot and then move around the formation.

Vikings.com’s Rob Kleifield covered that here, as well as defensive players owning up to Sunday not meeting the standard they want to set.