DETROIT — The Detroit Lions won a team-record 15 games, running the table on the road and inside the division, leading the NFL in point differential along the way. They also lost only one game to a fellow NFC team all season.
But it still took one more win to clinch the division title and No. 1 seed.
Despite suffering more defensive injuries than anyone else, with stars, starters and glue pieces alike going down, they still got the job done in a high-pressure game. And that defense didn’t just get the job done — they starred.
This franchise, as it has under head coach Dan Campbell time and time again, didn’t flinch in the face of adversity or the national spotlight. They didn’t pout or moan about the fact that a 14-win team found themselves in a winner-take-all showdown after running roughshod on nearly everyone in their way, with the threat of being sent to the wild-card round as a road team a real possibility.
Heck, the Vikings were in the same spot, not losing a game since October, heading into a matchup of two 14-win teams — the most combined wins in a regular-season matchup in NFL history.
Minnesota’s offense had scored double-digit points in every game this year. Sam Darnold was playing lights-out, looking like a different quarterback. Darnold had shined all season while throwing to an impressive group of pass-catchers, with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, and tight end T.J. Hockenson.
Detroit’s defense, which had surrendered at least 300-plus passing yards in its last three games, with 99 combined points allowed in that span, answered the call. The Vikings failed to score a touchdown despite four trips to the red zone, and their usually efficient passing attack was a mess, unable to handle the heat.
Darnold completed only 18 passes on 41 attempts for a season-low 166 yards. Jefferson, Addison and Hockenson combined for only six catches for 63 yards on a whopping 23 targets, an optimism-inducing performance from the Lions and their secondary in the last game before the playoffs begin.
Aaron Glenn kept the pressure turned all the way up, playing a ton of man coverage and trusting his instincts in the 31-9 win over the Vikings. The defensive coordinator has further cemented his resume as one of the top head-coaching candidates after making Darnold look like he was seeing ghosts in the pocket.
Glenn’s defense hit Darnold 10 times, notched two sacks, and held the Vikings to only three conversions on 16 third/fourth-down attempts. The Lions had three goal-line stands, with two resulting in a turnover on downs and the other in a field goal.
“I think that AG does an amazing job leading us, keeping us accountable,” Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone said. “Calling people out when they need to be called out. Teaching when he needs to teach. Uplift when he needs to uplift. Dan and AG are hand-in-hand as far as best leaders I’ve been around.”
Lions trusted unheralded cornerback to stop Justin Jefferson. He did just that.
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In classic Lions fashion, though, they found a way to make it harder than it needed to be.
Jared Goff threw two interceptions in the win over the Vikings, with both of those giveaways coming on the heels of a turnover on downs forced from inside the 10-yard line. Goff lost one of those picks after a tipped pass and some pressure, then another when taking an ill-fated deep shot out of his own end zone.
The Lions quarterback nearly threw a pick-six late in the game, too, and flirted with disaster from his own end zone a couple of times. But Goff and the offense kept their composure, cleaned things up and finished the job, making sure not to waste the defense’s herculean efforts.
“Unbelievable what they did,” Goff said. “They bailed me out a couple times, bailed us out offensively a couple times and team win — we appreciate it. They were unbelievable.”
Goff remained efficient and effective when not playing near his own goalposts. He leaned on receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and tight end Sam LaPorta, with the Lions scoring touchdowns on all three trips to the red zone.
And while Goff and his pass-catchers were strong in the end on Sunday Night Football. It was the Jahmyr Gibbs show, and everyone else was just a supporting actor.
The second-year running back scored four touchdowns, hitting a single-season franchise record with 20 total touchdowns. Gibbs ran 23 times for 139 and three scores on the ground, with five catches on five targets for 31 yards and one touchdown in Week 18.
“He’s as explosive as anybody in the National Football League, and I thought we did a pretty good job on him for the most part, but against a player like that, all it takes is a little bit of space,” Campbell said.
“All it takes is a little bit of grass for him to hit that thing, and he’s going to be tough to tackle in space when he gets out there. And we knew that going in.”
Gibbs punched the Vikings in the mouth with an electric 25-yard touchdown in the first quarter. And he put the double-tap exclamation marks on this one, scoring the game’s final three touchdowns to put this one on ice.
The breakthrough turning point came on fourth-and-2 in a 10-9 game late in the third quarter when Gibbs hit the Texas route for the wide-open touchdown catch, extending the Lions’ lead to 17-9 after that score.
After the Vikings missed a field goal, the Lions finally took advantage of an opportunity to run away. Gibbs scored from 13 yards out. Following another defensive stop, Gibbs put the Vikings away for good, finishing the day with three touchdowns on three consecutive possessions to cap a memorable night from Detroit.
Gibbs has taken full advantage of the workhorse role as running back David Montgomery recovers from a knee injury. He enters the playoffs with 100-plus rushing yards in three straight games, the longest streak for a Lions running back since Barry Sanders in 1998. Gibbs has been explosive as a rusher and receiver, while improving in picking up the blitz as a pass-protector, flashing bonafide superstar potential.
Through two meetings this season, Gibbs hit the Vikings for 255 rushing yards and five touchdowns, with nine catches on nine targets for 75 yards and one score. He ends Year 2 leading the NFL with 20 touchdowns.
And that’s how the Lions won the NFC North and No. 1 seed for the playoffs.
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