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Greg Joseph’s kick went through the western uprights of US Bank Stadium, providing the Vikings with an escape route from the winless Lions and triggering an extended celebration that seemed fueled by relief and liberation.
The players assaulted Joseph in the midfield, hoisting him into the air as he pointed skyward. Kirk Cousins grabbed trainer Mike Zimmer by his sweatshirt; the quarterback bellowed his “Do you like that ?!” slogan, sources said, before Zimmer gave it a two-handed push, in a celebration emotionally charged enough to inspire social media conjecture that the two were about to fight. Afterward, players detonated DJ Khaled’s “All I Do is Win” from the locker room loud enough to be easily heard by journalists gathered outside.
The 19-17 victory at least helped balance the ledger, after three one-scoring losses in the first four weeks of the season. And Joseph’s placement, after three Cousins goals in the final 37 seconds of the game, maintained an eight-game winning streak against the Lions despite the Vikings losing a 10-point lead in the final five minutes. Match.
But the Vikings will play four of their next six away games, facing teams with combined records of 20-9 and making two trips to each coast in the process. They’re heading for the stretch with issues Sunday’s win couldn’t hide.
The Vikings have now gone four games without an offensive touchdown in the second half, following a game where just two practices produced goals on the field after half time and one ended in an interception by Cousins. A conservative approach, overtaken only by the risk aversion of Lions coach Dan Campbell, had the Vikings run four times in second downs where they needed at least 10 yards and kept them from adding at least one basket before half-time.
And then, after Joseph’s 49-yard field goal with 4:28 to go was short and the Lions got their own quick field goal, Jalen Reeves-Maybin pulled the ball out of the hands of Alexander Mattison in the 20 with two minutes to go. That set up a Lions touchdown and a two-point conversion that gave Detroit a 17-16 lead with 37 seconds left. The Lions had been lagging since the start of the second quarter and only reached the red zone after Mattison’s fumble.
BOXSCORE: Vikings 19, Lions 17
“Sometimes when you win games like this it’s a good thing because it balances out at some point if you can keep tune in,” Zimmer said. “I’m proud of our guys for the way they fought, but not particularly the way we played.”
The Vikings allowed just 288 yards and stopped two Detroit drives with turnovers in Vikings territory: a backpack that Everson Griffen shared with Danielle Hunter and an interception from Eric Kendricks when Jared Goff tried to force a pass between four defenders.
The game remained tight, however, as the Vikings’ offense was periodically booed, for things ranging from conservative game calls to offensive line penalties and careful Cousins throws.
After recovering the ball with 42 seconds left in the first half, the Vikings opted to throw the ball twice and end the half instead of pushing the ball down, despite the fact that Justin Jefferson had already gained 104 yards on five receptions. Fans scoffed at the decision as the Vikings made their way to the locker room and again expressed their displeasure when Rashod Hill – who had traded playoffs with rookie Christian Darrisaw on the left tackle – was knocked down for a sack from Trey Flowers in the first game of Part Two. The Vikings led Alexander Mattison in second and 15 (one of four times they chose to run in second and 10 or so); they kicked two coins later.
Zimmer said the only streak he thought the Vikings were too conservative was in the fourth quarter with 3:39 to go, when they ran Mattison twice, gaining just 3 yards and leading to Joseph’s failed field goal, after having sacked Goff in the third and fourth until getting the ball into Detroit territory.
Asked about his thoughts on the show before half-time, Zimmer said, “I shouldn’t have to explain all of this to you. But the plan was that we messed up a few pieces at the end of the first half of this year, isn’t it, because we went over the line. We did some things. So the plan was to throw the ball the first play, see how many yards we get and go from there. If we get a first down, so we get on the ball and move. But we didn’t have any yards so that was it. “
When asked about the streak at the end of the first half, Cousins said: “The coaches are going to decide what to do and we’re going to do with it. We trust them and that’s their call.”
Jefferson caught five passes for 104 yards in the first half; he only had two targets in the second half. Although a hold call canceled out Adam Thielen’s 21-yard gain on a screen, he didn’t catch a pass until the Vikings’ final practice.
“They played a lot of Justin in two depths and obscured,” Cousins said. “So it’s basically double coverage. A few times Alex Mattison got the ball, CJ Ham got the ball, Justin is the designer, but they took him.”
Campbell – who worked with Zimmer on Bill Parcells’ staff in Dallas and interviewed for the Vikings offensive coordinator position in 2018 – was even more conservative in his decision-making for much of the day than the Vikings did. ‘were in theirs.
The Vikings recovered the ball late in the first half after Campbell opted for a Minnesota 34 field goal rather than attempting it in the fourth and second. Then, after the Lions headed for the Vikings 42 as they trailed seven in the fourth quarter, Campbell sent the punt team into the fourth and fourth and delayed the game before Jack Fox only throws the ball into the end zone for a touchdown.
His most aggressive decision of the day – aiming for two and the lead after D’Andre Swift’s 7-yard touchdown run – led Goff to find KhaDarel Hodge in the back of the end zone. The coach was in position for his first NFL victory and the Vikings were in position for a mind-blowing loss.
Three throws from Cousins and a big kick from Joseph were the only things that kept the game from ending that way.
“We are not happy with our performance,” said Thielen. “But at the end of the day we have to take advantage of a win. We have to always use it as a momentum. It is much easier to correct mistakes when you win. That’s what it is. We have it. a lot of mistakes to correct. But it always feels good to win. “
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