Minnesota's winning streak lasted 11 games over the course of 11 months.

During the stretch that began in December last season and carried through October this year with four different starting quarterbacks, the Vikings balanced giveaways and takeaways better than everyone, leading the NFL in turnover margin at plus-13; they were No. 2 in point differential (plus-119) and yards allowed per play (4.26); and they stood head and shoulders above the rest of the league with an allowance of just 11.5 points per game.

Their run of fortune ended in the Motor City on Sunday in a 19-15 loss to Detroit. The team's first defeat in 329 days lacked many of the elements that were present through the finish of last season and the start of this one. Namely, it lacked complementary execution.

Some things that haven't happened, well, happened.

Normally automatic kicker Will Reichard missed his lone attempt from 57 yards (not a gimme, but well within his range) on Minnesota's game-opening drive, which featured a big completion from Kyler Murray to tight end Ben Yurosek for 24 yards on the very first snap.

The defense uncharacteristically missed more than a dozen tackles and gave up 230 yards to Detroit's backfield — the most under Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores since Week 2 in 2023 at Philadelphia (his second Vikings game) — including 153 to Jahmyr Gibbs.

And, the offense see-sawed between great highs, such as Justin Jefferson's brilliant, twirling one-handed touchdown catch on a goal-line fade and Jordan Addison's 51-yard reception, and lows that included an interception by Murray with less than 2 minutes to go in the first half, and possessions that either left points on the board or never got into a rhythm.

Ultimately, the Vikings were consumed by their woes and unable to meet the moment.

"There's a lot of things to work toward in a positive manner because of the talent, the skill sets of all of our guys, but we've got to … [keep] working with the same urgency we've had," Head Coach Kevin O'Connell said. "The preparation has been really good, just continuing to wait for that consistent four quarters of good football and [to] see what that looks like."

Murray finished 17-for-29 passing with 210 yards, two touchdowns and the pick. He also rushed four times for 35 yards to lead the Vikings on the ground; Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones, Sr., toted the rock eight and five times, respectively, for 20 and 22 yards, and DeeJay Dallas carried once for 4. (Mason had a 29-yarder that was wiped out by a holding penalty).

Including the score that only he could grab, Jefferson caught five of nine targets for 33 yards. His lone target in the second half resulted in an 8-yard gain on second-and-7, and on the next play Murray spiraled a deep pass to Addison, who sprinted past a flat-footed safety and away from a cornerback and tracked the football into his hands, down to Detroit's 10.

Murray connected with T.J. Hockenson for an 8-yard TD up the seam two plays later — Hock' made several nice catches attacking that part of the field and had four receptions for 58 yards overall — and retook the lead, 15-12, with a 2-point conversion pass to Addison with about nine minutes remaining in the contest. But that was pretty much all she wrote.

Minnesota got one more opportunity and didn't savor it long, going three-and-out after the Lions went 69 yards on seven plays and jumped in front via a short TD to Jameson Williams.

As the Lions gained three first downs and drained the clock before setting up in victory formation, it was tough not to dwell on the what-ifs. Like, what if Murray and Co. buttressed the Vikings defense in the first half, when it rattled Jared Goff to the tune of four sacks and his first interception this season, which Vikings CB James Pierre gathered close to midfield.

Minnesota went three-and-punt in less than 90 seconds in a series that involved a false start, a 2-yard loss when Mason tripped over Murray's knee on a handoff, and a sailed pass.

"That's not the formula," O'Connell said. "We've got to avoid those negatives, avoid any of the negatives that are self-inflicted either by execution, you know, some chances to maybe put the ball in play and scratch and claw your way back to just that new set of downs because you can see it when we get going a little bit there's some encouraging things going on out there, but we just need to do it more consistently to help [complement the defense].

"Football is just a game of momentum and when you can capture it — when you get a play to capture it — you've got to capitalize on that and go get some points," O'Connell added.

Another what-if … Murray wasn't picked off by a diving DJ Reed on an errant attempt coming out of the 2-minute warning before halftime. The quarterback had just scrambled for 22 and there was time to tack on points and fortify a 7-3 lead. Instead, Detroit got good field position and cut its deficit to a point before getting the ball to begin the third quarter.

"I thought we had a chance at Justin on the play," O'Connell said about Murray's interception, adding Kyler could have run, too. "We had some good ways of getting him on the perimeter today, getting him moving outside the pocket, and thought we had a chance at Justin, who he was trying to throw to on the play. I think it just got away from him."

And, what if Minnesota had something to show for its only drive of the game that continued for more than four minutes (Detroit had four such possessions). … The offense married the run and pass well on an 11-play hike that carried into the final stanza but amounted in zero points when a fourth-and-5 pass for Addison from the Lions 25 was knocked away by Reed.

"It just felt like it was a moment to be aggressive knowing that I have total trust and confidence in our defense — and they got the stop," O'Connell said. "We got the ball back and we went down and got a fourth quarter lead. But tip your cap to [the Lions] for the way they were able to move it and go down there and get the touchdown to take the lead back."

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