Detroit can be a scary place to play, but it was the Vikings who spooked Jared Goff and the Lions offense Sunday.

Sacks, tackles for loss and a forced fumble and recovery were all part of Minnesota's recipe as the Vikings upset the division rival 27-24 over Halloween weekend.

"I feel like the group was just all-in," cornerback Byron Murphy, Jr., said. "We were getting to the ball, doing the stuff we talked about. We were just sticking to one play at a time, then moving on to the next and kept playing for the guys next to you."

The Vikings had a full defensive arsenal ready to go Sunday and relied on everyone in a physical NFC North showdown.

Linebackers Blake Cashman and Eric Wilson played like men on fire, showing up all over the field.

Cashman led Minnesota with a whopping 14 tackles in his third game back from Injured Reserve. He also had a tackle for loss and forced the Vikings lone turnover of the game, a fumble by David Montgomery in the third quarter. "Cash" punched the pigskin out for a recovery by Harrison Smith.

Five plays later, QB J.J. McCarthy scrambled 9 yards for the Vikings third touchdown.

"Between the blocked field goal [by Levi Drake Rodriguez] and the Harrison Smith fumble recovery, what I loved was the complementary nature of that," Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell said. "It shows you you've got a totally connected team to make that play and then find a way to get points off those drives, including of course J.J.'s touchdown run on a pretty weighty third-and-[8]."

Andrew Van Ginkel returned to action for the first time since Week 3 and had three tackles, a tackle for loss and a QB hit. He recorded a key TFL of Jahmyr Gibbs just before halftime, helping the Vikings hold Detroit to a three-and-punt.

The Lions went three-and-out four times out of 11 possessions Sunday (36.4 percent). Entering the game, the Vikings ranked fourth in the NFL with a three-and-out forced percentage of 26.0.

Goff was pressured early and often by Brian Flores' defense, which sacked the QB five times. The last time Minnesota had five sacks in a contest was Week 11 of last season, at Tennessee.

Wilson sacked Goff twice, bringing his season total to a career-high 3.5. One especially impactful takedown occurred just before halftime, when Wilson took down Goff on third down for a loss of 10, forcing a Lions punt.

Wilson, who's plenty familiar with the division after a combined seven-plus seasons in Minnesota and Green Bay, added four tackles, three tackles for loss and two QB hits.

"He went out there and balled," Murphy said of Wilson, a Michigan native. "But he's been doing that all season."

Wilson, who's plenty familiar with the division after a combined seven-plus seasons in Minnesota and Green Bay, added four tackles, three tackles for loss and two QB hits.

"He went out there and balled," Murphy said of Wilson, a Michigan native. "But he's been doing that all season."

Javon Hargrave had eight tackles, two tackles for loss, two QB hits and a sack of Goff. Fellow defensive linemen Jalen Redmond and Levi Drake Rodriguez also secured a sack apiece.

"The guys up front, they always set the bar for us," Murphy said. "It's always shout-out to the d-line first. Shout-out to 'Grave' for making those plays and setting the tone for us. He just got us going."

The Vikings have now recorded multiple sacks in all eight games this season, the team's second-longest streak to begin a season in franchise history (14 straight to start the 2021 season). Dating back to last season, the Vikings have multiple sacks in 12 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the NFL and tied for the second-longest streak in team history.

Goff finished the day 25-of-37 passing for 284 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. His passer rating was 108.4.

"I thought the pressure — we moved Jared off the spot, and he's as good as anyone in the National Football League if he can stay clean all day long," O'Connell said. "We were able to move him off the spot and affect some plays. Even when they made some plays, we tried to make it hard on them.

Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta had 97 receiving yards each; LaPorta and Jameson Williams scored Detroit's two receiving touchdowns.

The Vikings effectively contained a dangerous Detroit run game that was averaging 133.7 yards on the ground entering Week 9. The Lions were limited to 65 yards rushing, divided between Montgomery (11 carries, 40 yards) and Gibbs (9 carries, 25 yards).

"I thought the line of scrimmage was big," O'Connell said. "You know, our defensive line, our edge players, having Andrew Van Ginkel back, the physicality that they played with up front, allowed guys … to go make a lot of tackles, make a lot of plays.

"Flo' did a really good job mixing it up, but it wasn't always scheme," O'Connell added. "It was a lot of guys defeating blocks, not getting knocked back, trying to stop the run early. And I thought we did a good job."

The Vikings did give up three fourth-down conversions, including two of Detroit's touchdowns, but also forced an aggressive Lions squad to punt five times for just the third time this season.

"You know they're gonna keep competing. You know they're gonna make some plays," O'Connell said. "They've got some really good players over there, and it just felt like our guys kept playing and pressed onward."

With Sunday's win, the Vikings are back to .500 (4-4) and are 2-0 in the division with victories at Chicago and Detroit.

"This is a tough place to come win, and I'm just really proud of our guys," he emphasized. "Proud of them from the beginning of the week 'til now. Would be very easy to just kind of succumb to some of the aspects of this league when things aren't going your way — and this team just does not do that."

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