The Detroit Lions beat the Minnesota Vikings 31-9 in the final game of the NFL’s regular season Sunday, clinching both the NFC North title and the conference’s top seed.
Detroit will have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs after an opening-round bye.
Running back Jahmyr Gibbs starred for the Lions on Sunday. He had 139 yards and three touchdowns on the ground to go along with 31 yards receiving and another score in the air.
Lions quarterback Jared Goff, meanwhile, completed 27 of 33 passes for 231 yards and a score, plus two interceptions.
Vikings signal caller Sam Darnold struggled. He completed only 18 of his 41 attempts, throwing for only 166 yards with no touchdowns.
‘SNF’ blog: Look back at how the game unfolded
Minnesota’s offense especially struggled in the red zone. In four trips inside Detroit’s 20-yard line, the Vikings scored just six points. Twice they failed to convert on 4th-and-goal from inside the 5.
The game was a defensive battle in the first half, with the teams combining for only one touchdown. After Gibbs scored in the first quarter, the Vikings cut the lead to 7-6 with two second-quarter field goals. The Lions made it 10-6 as the first half expired with a field goal of their own.
The second half was all Detroit. After an interception by Goff on the team’s first drive of the second quarter, he led the Lion to a touchdown on three straight possessions. In that time, Minnesota made one field goal, missed another and punted while down two scores.
The Lions finished the regular season 15-2, a three-win improvement from last year’s 12-5 campaign. Detroit made it to the NFC championship game a season ago but lost on the road to the San Francisco 49ers. This year, the Lions will not have to play away from home in the playoffs unless they make the Super Bowl.
The loss is a bitter one for the Vikings. Despite improving its record by seven wins from last season — going from 7-10 to 14-3 — Minnesota will have to open the postseason on the road. Darnold, despite his struggles Sunday, was a revelation. Starting in place of injured rookie J.J. McCarthy, he threw for 35 touchdowns.
The Vikings will open their playoff schedule Jan. 13 against the Los Angeles Rams.
Detroit will have a week to rest as it awaits its opponent.
Around the NFL The wild-card round is official for next weekend:
- No. 5 Los Angeles Chargers at No. 4 Houston Texans (4:30 p.m. ET Saturday)
- No. 6 Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 3 Baltimore Ravens (8 p.m. ET Saturday)
- No. 7 Denver Broncos at 2. Buffalo Bills (1 p.m. ET Sunday)
- No. 7 Green Bay Packers at No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles (4:30 p.m. ET Sunday)
- No. 6 Washington Commanders at No. 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8 p.m. ET Sunday)
- No. 5 Minnesota Vikings at No. 4 Los Angeles Rams (8 p.m. ET Jan. 13)
The Lions and the Kansas City Chiefs, No. 1 seeds in the NFC and the AFC, respectively, will have first-round byes.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the AFC South with a 27-19 win against the New Orleans Saints. They got a big performance from receiver Mike Evans, who finished with nine receptions for 89 yards. It was his 11th straight season with at least 1,000 receiving yards, tying the legendary wideout Jerry Rice.
The Denver Broncos got into the playoffs after a 38-0 win over the Kansas City Chiefs (who were resting most starters with the No. 1 seed secured). Rookie quarterback Bo Nix was impressive with 321 yards passing with four touchdowns and no interceptions. He became the first rookie quarterback ever with multiple games of at least 300 yards passing, four touchdown passes and a passer rating of 140 or higher.
The New York Jets defeated the Miami Dolphins 32-20 in what could have been Aaron Rodgers’ final game. He went out with a bang, throwing four touchdowns, for 503 regular season touchdown passes in his career. He became the fifth player in NFL history with more than 500 regular season touchdown passes, joining Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and Brett Favre.
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