Vikings

RECAP: Vikings Hold Off Lions Rally, Move to 9-2

Photo Credit: Luke Inman

There were nervous moments in the second half, but the Minnesota Vikings held on for a 30-23 win over the Detroit Lions, giving them a three-game lead in the NFC North with five games to go.

Xavier Rhodes intercepted a fourth-down pass late in the game, and a Lions offsides call on Kai Forbath’s late field goal attempt gave the Vikings a first down that enabled them to kneel down.

Case Keenum had a quiet second half, but his two touchdown passes and a touchdown run powered a big first half that staked the Vikings to a 20-10 halftime lead. They extended the lead to 27-10 with an all-run, four-play, 75-yard drive to start the second half.

Detroit, as it has been known to do, rallied late behind Stafford. The Lions failed to score touchdowns twice in Vikings territory, settling for field goals to make the score 27-16, but Stafford hit Marvin Jones Jr. early in the fourth quarter for his second touchdown on a bizarre play where the Vikings had 12 men on the field and Stafford injured his ankle.

Down 27-23, the Lions got the ball back with a chance to take the lead and a hobbled Stafford at the helm, but Golden Tate gave up a possible first down by running himself behind the line to gain after a reception, forcing Detroit to punt.

Minnesota added a critical field goal to make it 30-23 on the ensuing drive, which was far from a guarantee Thursday as Forbath had a field goal and an extra point blocked, not to mention the block in the fourth quarter after the offsides call.

Detroit got the ball back with a chance to tie, but Rhodes picked off Stafford’s pass on fourth-and-eight. Minnesota won the turnover battle 2-0 on the afternoon.

Adam Thielen moved over 1,000 yards for the season, the first Vikings player to do that since Sidney Rice in 2009. He finished with eight catches for 89 yards.

Kyle Rudolph had his first multi-touchdown day since Sept. 23, 2012, catching two first-half scores from Keenum. Latavius Murray and Keenum added rushing touchdowns for Minnesota.

The Vikings’ win was their seventh straight, pulling them within a half-game of the NFC lead. They’ll now get a partial bye week before facing the Atlanta Falcons a week from Sunday.

FIRST-HALF REPORT (Previously Published)

In a must-win Thanksgiving showdown, the Minnesota Vikings took a 10-point lead into the locker room.

Case Keenum passed for two touchdowns and rushed for another as the Vikings built a 13-0 lead in the opening quarter, thanks in part to a Lions turnover, and extended the lead to 20-3 before halftime. But a late Detroit touchdown gave Matthew Stafford and company some life.

Kyle Rudolph got the scoring started with a one-yard touchdown reception on the Vikings 75-yard opening drive. Detroit’s Ameer Abdullah fumbled on the second play of the ensuing drive, and Danielle Hunter recovered for the game’s first takeaway. Keenum then engineered a speedy three-play, 39-yard drive, ending in a read-option keeper for his first rushing touchdown of the season.

Detroit tacked on a field goal to make it 13-3, which held until the final two minutes of the half, but each team manufactured quick touchdown drives to push the score to 20-10. Keenum hit Rudolph for a 22-yard touchdown on his finest throw of the half, dropping a pass to the tight end in the face of heavy pressure. Rudolph led the Vikings with 63 yards receiving in the first half.

The Lions responded in 27 seconds. Stafford connected with Kenny Golladay for 41 yards to put Detroit in scoring territory, then a pair of defensive penalties on Minnesota set up Marvin Jones for a 6-yard touchdown catch.

Keenum far outplayed Stafford in the first half, going 14 of 18 for 189 yards and one touchdown, no interceptions and no sacks taken. Stafford went 9 of 17 for 124 yards and a touchdown.

The Vikings left four points on the field as Kai Forbath had a field goal and extra point blocked.

Neither team got the running game going. Keenum led the Vikings with 23 yards on the ground, while Detroit had just 23 yards as a team.

It was a flag fest in the first 30 minutes, as well. The teams combined for 13 penalties and 101 yards. Seven were charged to the Vikings for 61 yards.

The biggest discrepancy came in third-down conversion percentage. Minnesota gained 4 of 6. Detroit didn’t convert any at 0 of 4.

Minnesota will get the ball to begin the second half.


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