National Football League
Detroit 34, Minnesota 23
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 11, 2022
Where: Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan
Temperature: Dome
Head Official: Ron Torbert
Attendance: 66374

Jared Goff passed for 330 yards and three touchdowns as the host Detroit Lions prevented the Minnesota Vikings from clinching the NFC North title outright with a 34-23 victory on Sunday.

DJ Chark caught six passes for 94 yards and a touchdown, while Jameson Williams scored a 41-yard touchdown on his first NFL reception. The Lions (6-7) have won five of their past six games.

Kirk Cousins passed for 425 yards and two touchdowns for Minnesota (10-3), while Justin Jefferson caught 11 passes for 223 yards.

A pair of Goff touchdown passes gave the Lions a 14-7 halftime lead.

After the Lions stopped Dalvin Cook for no gain on a fourth down inside Minnesota's territory, Goff found Williams wide open two plays later on the 41-yard touchdown hookup.

The Vikings answered with a 75-yard drive, capped by Cook, who took a toss from Cousins and scored from 1 yard.

Kalif Raymond's 35-yard punt return set up Detroit's next score. Goff found Chark along the left side on the 48-yard touchdown with 6:34 left in the half.

Midway through the third quarter, C.J. Moore raced 42 yards to the Vikings' 32-yard line on a fake punt to give the Lions a chance to get a double-digit advantage. A 14-yard pass to Raymond set up Goff's 5-yard scoring strike to Josh Reynolds for a 21-7 lead.

The Vikings scored on their next possession later in the quarter on a fourth-and-4 situation. Cousins connected with Adam Thielen from 23 yards. Minnesota went for a two-point conversion and failed.

A 75-yard Lions' drive made it 28-13 early in the fourth quarter. Justin Jackson capped it off with a 15-yard run.

Jefferson's 47-yard reception set up Greg Joseph's 41-yard field goal with 10:47 left.

Michael Badgley's 41-yard field goal pushed Detroit's advantage to 15 with 4:06 left.

Minnesota responded with Cousins' 15-yard touchdown pass to K.J. Osborn.

The Lions burned most of the remaining clock with the help of a 9-yard reception by Penei Sewell on a tackle-eligible play. Badgley clinched it with a 48-yard field goal with 17 seconds to play.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
Rushing
Minnesota   Detroit
Dalvin Cook Player C.J. Moore
15 Attempts 1
23 Yards 42
1.5 Avg Yards 42.0
1 Touchdowns 0
5 Long 42
Receiving
Minnesota   Detroit
Justin Jefferson Player DJ Chark Jr.
11 Receptions 6
223 Yards 94
20.3 Avg Yards 15.7
0 Touchdowns 1
47 Long 48
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Minnesota 416 22 394 3 1 0 0.0 0
Detroit 464 134 330 4 2 0 4.0 2
Upcoming Games
  • Detroit will play their next game on the road against N.Y. Jets. The Lions have a W/L % of .600 after a win and .375 after a loss.
  • Minnesota will play their next game at home against Indianapolis. The Vikings have a W/L % of .700 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
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