Skip to main content
Advertising

News | Minnesota Vikings – vikings.com

Presented by

Vikings at Lions Game Observations: Run Game Differentiates Outcome in Detroit

DETROIT — Minnesota's opening-season streak of wins was snapped at six Sunday in a 19-15 loss at the Detroit Lions, in which the home team put together multiple successful runs after halftime.

Detroit racked up 153 yards after the break, getting 110 from Jahmyr Gibbs, who managed to avoid contact a couple of times and reverse course for some back breaking gaines.

The Lions found a rhythm in the fourth quarter on their go-ahead drive that was finished with 4:35 remaining.

Detroit cruised 69 yards on seven plays, with the shortest play of the drive occurring on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Jared Goff to Jameson Williams, the first TD allowed by Minnesota in a fourth quarter this season.

Minnesota was unable to answer, going three-and-punt on what proved to be the final Vikings possession of the game. A short completion to Jordan Addison was followed by a run of 1 yard by Jordan Mason.

Kyler Murray's deep toss on third-and-5 to Addison fell incomplete, and Minnesota punted the ball to Detroit, which controlled the final 2:53 of the game and finished in victory formation.

View game action photos from the Vikings Week 8 game against the Lions at Ford Field.

The Lions finished with 219 rushing yards on 33 carries. Gibbs led the way with 147 on 22 rushes. Sione Vaki added 62 yards on 10 rushes, and receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown wound up with a gain of 10 on a clever lateral play.

St. Brown lined up on the outside well behind the line of scrimmage with two receivers ahead of him. He sprinted after the snap and caught a lateral with momentum.

Minnesota rushed 18 times for 81 yards, getting 22 on the ground from five carries by Aaron Jones, Sr., and 20 on eight rushes by Mason. Murray led the team with 35 yards on four rushes, mostly due to a 22-yard scamper.

Detroit won time of possession 35:43 to 24:17.

The Vikings are now 6-1 this season, missing out on the opportunity to open 7-0 for the first time since 2000.

The Lions improved to 5-2 and claimed a home division game for the second consecutive week.

Here are four more observations.

1. Contrasts after takeaways

The Vikings were able to record the first interception thrown by Goof of the 2026 season.

James Pierre nabbed the offering from Goff that was intended for Jameson Williams at the Minnesota 46-yard line.

The Vikings, however, were unable to take advantage of the of the great starting field position.

A false start on Brian O'Neill started the possession. On first-and-15, Murray found Justin Jefferson for a gain of 9, but Mason was bottled up for a loss of 2 on second-and-6. A pass to Jefferson on third-and-8 fell incomplete, leading to a punt.

Detroit, however, capitalized on its takeaway, which was secured on an interception of Murray by DJ Reed with 1:47 remaining in the first half.

The Lions marched 43 yards over seven plays, getting a 19-yard run by Gibbs to set up a 37-yard field goal to make it 7-6 Vikings with 0:02 remaining in the first half.

Prior to that drive, the Lions had 111 yards on 29 offensive plays. After that turnover, the Lions racked up 273 yards on 39 plays (including a couple in victory formation).

2. Passing-game comparisons

The Vikings defense was able to get to Goff early, but Detroit was able to protect the passer better as the game progressed.

He finished 18-of-25 passing for 176 yards with one touchdown, the interception and a passer rating of 88.1. Those are numbers most teams would take any day when facing an explosive offense.

The problem, however, was the Lions contained Murray to a 17-of-29 showing with 210 yards. He threw two scores and the pick on his way to finishing with a passer rating of 89.7.

Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell said Murray experienced a bit of hamstring tightness during the game.

Addison led Minnesota with 66 yards on three catches (eight targets). Jefferson finished with 33 yards on five catches (nine targets). T.J. Hockenson finished with four catches for 58 yards, including an 8-yard touchdown and a long of 22.

3. Van Ginkel's big day

Andrew Van Ginkel finished with a career high 2.5 sacks, splitting one of his takedowns of Goff with Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins.

Michigan native Eric Wilson recorded Minnesota's other sack of Goff.

The Vikings moved Van Ginkel and veteran Kyle Van Noy around their formation.

The Lions didn't allow a sack of Goff over the final 33-plus minutes of the game.

Detroit sacked Murray three times.

4. Special teams mitigated

Credit the Lions special teams for being able to mitigate the impact of the Vikings efforts on special teams that have been quite important throughout the first third of the 2026 season.

Lions punter Jack Fox punted four times for 186 yards, and his net average matched his gross average of 46.5. He forced three fair catches by dynamo Myles Price, and the coverage unit stuffed Price for zero yards on his lone attempt.

Price totaled 72 yards on three kickoff returns.

Kicker Jake Bates pummeled the ball through the back of the end zone just before halftime to again keep the ball away from Price.

Minnesota rookie Brett Thorson punted five times for 217 yards. His net also matched his gross average of 43.4. The Lions fair caught two, one was downed in the field of play, and two landed out of bounds.

2560x1440

Official Minnesota Vikings Mobile App

The Vikings App features all the best content from the Vikings Entertainment Network! Turn on push notifications to be the first to get breaking news, live score updates and join Drops to win free merch or autorgraphed memorabilia!

View the Vikings 2026 Schedule.

Check out the Vikings current 2027 NFL Draft Selections.

Look ahead to the Vikings 2027 Opponents.

Download the official Vikings App.

Learn about the 2028 NFL Draft in Minnesota.

Advertising