DETROIT — In the first half against the Minnesota Vikings, the Detroit Lions looked nothing like themselves — a team that had failed to secure a win through 11 games.
The defense was coming up with stops, quarterback Jared Goff was squeezing perfect passes into tight windows and the Lions even caught a critical break from officiating, jumping up to a double-digit lead at the half.
But the inability to finish, the team's biggest flaw throughout the 2021 season, reared its ugly head once again on Sunday as the Vikings charged back, grabbing the lead with 1:50 remaining when Kirk Cousins connected with Justin Jefferson on a 3-yard field goal.
But Sunday would be different. Instead of wilting on an emotional Sunday where both teams honored the community of Oxford following this week's school shooting, the Lions drove the length of the field. And with four seconds remaining, Goff found rookie Amon-Ra St. Brown for a 9-yard score, giving the Lions a 29-27 victory and sending the home crowd into a frenzy.
Things started slowly for the Lions. After forcing the Vikings to punt on the game's opening possession, coach Dan Campbell made a bold call to go for it on fourth down in his own territory only to see Goff's sneak stuffed inches short of extending Detroit's first drive.
Taking over at the Lions' 42-yard line, the Vikings capitalized on the gift, turning the favorable field position into three points when Greg Joseph converted a 41-yard field goal.
Minnesota extended their early advantage to six with another field goal. Opening the drive with a 34-yard completion to Jefferson, running back Alexander Mattison followed up with a trio of carries runs netting 17 yards. But Detroit's defense tightened in the red zone, limiting the damage to a 31-yard Joseph field goal.
The Lions snatched the lead early the second quarter with a quick-hitting, five-play, 69-yard touchdown drive.
On the opening play of the quarter, Goff riffled a pass into a tight window between two defenders to tight end T.J. Hockenson for a 25-yard game, supplemented by a 15-yard penalty against the Vikings for hitting Hockenson in the head and neck area while defenseless.
Two plays later, Goff thread another needle to Hockenson between the coverage of cornerback Bashaud Breeland and Harrison Smith for a 9-yard score.
Minnesota responded with a 44-yard kickoff return by Kene Nwangwu, and a 10-yard run by Mattison moved the Vikings into field-goal range. But the defense tightened again as outside linebacker Charles Harris broke into the pocket and knocked the ball free from Cousins. The loose ball was scooped by teammate Julian Okwara, ending the threat.
In an interesting twist for a franchise often bit by officiating errors, replays showed the Lions caught a break on the fumble. Before Harris knocked it loose, Cousins had his face mask grabbed by defensive tackle Alim McNeill, but the officials missed it.
The Lions needed just three plays to capitalize and get back into the end zone. Goff connected on a short throw to Josh Reynolds to open the drive. From there, the receiver broke a tackle turning it into a 28-yard gain.
Following a short run by Jamaal Williams, Goff faked a handoff to the back before finding tight end Brock Wright down the seam for a 23-yard touchdown to extend Detroit's lead, 14-6.
After Detroit's defense forced another punt, which pinned the Lions at their own 10-yard line, the offense methodically worked to midfield before Goff found Reynolds on a crossing pattern out of play action for a 27-yard field goal. That set up a 31-yard Riley Patterson field goal, making it 17-6.
The 11-point lead marked the largest of the season for the Lions, but was topped minutes later after the defense forced a turnover on downs near midfield. A 24-yard completion from Goff to Kalif Raymond in the closing seconds of the half led to a 41-yard Patterson field goal, giving the Lions a 20-6 lead at the break.
It marked the first time the Lions had scored 20 points in a game since the season-opener, a 41-33 loss to San Francisco.
Of course, nothing comes easy with this team and Detroit proved unable to carry their offensive momentum into the third quarter, going three-and-out with each of their first two possession of the second half.
That opened the door for the Vikings to cut into the lead. With their first crack, the opposition was forced to settle for a 31-yard Joseph field goal after tight end Ty Conklin failed to get his second foot down in bounds in the end zone on third down from Detroit's 12-yard line.
Minnesota then got back within one score on their next possession. Jefferson came up big again, getting behind Detroit's defense for a 48-yard reception to kickstart that possession and Mattison finished it with an 8-yard touchdown romp. A failed two-point conversion attempt left the Lions ahead, 20-15, with a little more than six minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The Lions were able to slow the bleeding thanks to a 17-yard pass interference penalty against the Vikings on a sideline shot to Hockenson keyed a 44-yard drive that ended with a 49-yard Patterson field goal. That kick put the Lions back up eight heading into the final quarter.
The reprieve was short lived as the Vikings ate the Lions up through the air with gains of 16, 16, 14 and 21 yards, the last of which converted a third-and-11. On third-and-goal from the 5, Cousins found receiver K.J. Osborn in the back end zone for a diving grab, beating the coverage of Will Harris with 11:57 remaining.
But again Detroit prevented the two-point conversion when rookie linebacker Derrick Barnes stood up Mattison short of the goal line, preserving the Lions' narrow lead, 23-21.
The Lions looked poised to respond, driving to the fringes of field goal range, but on third down, Goff tried to force a ball into double coverage to Hockenson that was intercepted by cornerback Cameron Dantzler.
Two quick catches by Jefferson brought Minnesota to midfield before a holding penalty and a false start stalled the drive and forced the Vikings to punt it back to the Lions with under six minutes remaining.
Mimicking the daring decision from the first half, the Lions once again opted to go for fourth-and-1 in their own territory, this time the 28-yard line. After taking a timeout, the team tried to run a play-action pass to Williams, but the Vikings sniffed it out. With nowhere else to go with the ball, Goff was sacked, giving Minnesota the ball at the 19 with 4:01 remaining.
That set up a short, six-play drive with two third-down conversions and Jefferson's go-ahead touchdown.
Detroit took over at their own 25 after a touchdown as Goff orchestrated a 14-play, 75-yard drive capped by St. Brown's winner as time expired.
