Rapid Rewind: Lions avoid disaster behind Jake Bates' game-winning kick, taking control of the NFC North

Oct 20, 2024

Minneapolis — Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell was almost unintentionally prophetic late last week when talking about the challenge of playing the Vikings on the road. But the Lions were able to avert disaster after coughing up a double-digit lead in the second half when Jake Bates made the biggest kick of his young career, sending a 44-yard boot home with 15 seconds remaining to give the Lions a 31-29 victory and control of the NFC North.

"I just know since I’ve been here, man, it’s a battle going back and forth and we just made some bad plays at the worst times,” Campbell said on Friday. “The mistakes are one thing, it’s when the mistakes are being made and then what it’s costing you when you make that mistake.”

After overcoming a sluggish start with a 21-point second quarter, the Lions held an 11-point advantage at the half. But the Vikings continued to chip away down the stretch, slicing the lead to five with a field goal with a little more than six minutes remaining in the contest.

That’s when the critical mistake hit. Lions running back David Montgomery had the ball punched from his grasp by safety Josh Metellus on the second play of the ensuing drive and that fumble was scooped up by linebacker Ivan Pace Jr., who returned it 35 yards to put the Vikings on top, 29-28.

The sides traded punts, with Detroit's defense forcing a three-and-out, setting up the game-winning drive. Quarterback Jared Goff completed both of his throws on the drive, including a 16-yarder to Amon-Ra St. Brown, to set up Bates' kick.

The Vikings worked into Hail Mary range, but quarterback Sam Darnold was sacked on the final play by linebacker Trevor Nowaske.

The loss was the Vikings first of the season, dropping them to 5-1. The Lions match that mark with the win, but gain the head-to-head tie-breaker.

Game ball

Goff continued an unbelievably stellar stretch, completing 22-of-25 for 280 yards and two touchdowns.

Scoring summary

First quarter

● 11:43 — Taking over in Lions territory, the Vikings needed two plays to open the scoring. Running back Aaron Jones took a handoff and bounced left, catching rookie cornerback Terrion Arnold cheating inside and romping 34 yards to paydirt. VIKINGS 7, LIONS 0

● 5:34 — Extending the series with a third-down completion to Justin Jefferson, then moving across the field on a defensive holding infraction against Carlton Davis III, the Vikings stalled, settling for a 57-yard field goal from rookie Will Reichard, who remained perfect on the season with the make. VIKINGS 10, LIONS 0

Second quarter

● 13:42 — Shouldering the load with Montgomery briefly sidelined by injury, Jahmyr Gibbs received the first three touches of the quarter, breaking free around the right side of the formation with the third, picking up a number of key blocks before making safety Camryn Bynum whiff in the third level en route to a career-long 45-yard run across the goal line. VIKINGS 10, LIONS 7

● 8:38 — St. Brown popped off with three catches for 64 yards, running open down the seam from the right slot for a 35-yard touchdown to put the Lions in front. The Vikings sent heavy pressure on the snap, but right tackle Penei Sewell was able to knock an unblocked blitzer off balance at the last possible moment to allow Goff to deliver the scoring strike. LIONS 14, VIKINGS 10

● 0:26 — Gibbs kickstarted the drive with three touches that netted 34 yards before a 25-yard completion to Sam LaPorta thrust Detroit into the red zone at the 2-minute warning. After a timeout, the Lions gave it to Gibbs on a shotgun handoff. He followed a bulldozing block from Sewell into the end zone from 7 yards out. LIONS 21, VIKINGS 10

Third quarter

● 10:42 — Surviving a turnover scare that was overturned by replay review, the Vikings opened the third quarter with a nine-play, 80-yard touchdown march to eat into the Lions’ halftime advantage.

Darnold was sharp on the series, connecting four times with star receiver Justin Jefferson, including a 25-yard touchdown while working against nickel cornerback Amik Robertson. LIONS 21, VIKING 17

● 5:43 — Behind the continued strong play of Goff, the Lions responded to the Vikings' score with a lengthy touchdown drive of their own. The quarterback connected with Kalif Raymond twice on third down, including a shallow cross on third-and-6 where the receiver picked up a block from Gibbs to get the corner and race into the end zone for a 21-yard score. LIONS 28, VIKINGS 17

Fourth quarter

● 14:24 — Darnold brought the Vikings across midfield with a beautiful deep ball to Jalen Nailor, just over a leaping effort to deflect it by Robertson. A few plays later, the QB kept the drive alive with a third-down completion to Jones. But while knocking on the door of the red zone, Darnold was dumped by Josh Paschal for the Lions’ first sack of the day, and pressure by James Houston on third down forced the QB to tuck and run, leading to a 42-yard Reichard field goal. LIONS 28, VIKINGS 20

● 6:04 — After pinning the Vikings deep in their own territory with a punt, the home team immediately dug out of the hole with a play-action bomb to Jordan Addison for 51 yards. But the Lions' defense tightened up again in its own territory, sacking Darnold on back-to-back plays to limit the possession to a long field goal. LIONS 28, VIKINGS 23

● 5:50 — Two plays into Detroit’s response, disaster struck as Montgomery fumbled on run up the middle. The fumble was scooped by linebacker Pace Jr., who returned it 35 yards to put the Vikings back on top, even with the two-point attempt failing. VIKINGS 29, LIONS 28

● 0:15 — Driving 44 yards in eight plays, Bates drilled the 44-yarder to give Detroit the lead. LIONS 31, VIKIGNS 29

Turnovers

● Bypassing an open throw to his running back, Jones, Darnold took a deeper shot to Addison running the over route, only to have Lions safety Brian Branch undercut the throw for a leaping interception in the second quarter.

Key stats

● Gibbs paced the Lions with 115 yards and two touchdowns on just 15 carries. He added another 44 yards on four receptions.

● St. Brown led pass-catchers with eight grabs for 112 yards and a touchdown.

● Without Aidan Hutchinson, the Lions were able to sack Darnold four times.

Notable

● Starting as an injury replacement, backup guard Kayode Awosika committed two holding infractions on Detroit's opening possession. He also had a false start ahead of a fourth-and-1 try, leading to a punt.

● Undrafted rookie Isaac Ukwu got the start in place of Hutchinson. Other players who saw snaps on the edge included Levi Onwuzurike, rookie Mekhi Wingo, linebacker Trevor Nowaske and Houston.

● The Lions faked a punt on their opening possession, but an unblocked defender easily stopped linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin, who took the direct snap on the play.

● Goff had his third first half without an incompletion in the past four games, completing all 12 of his passes for 156 yards and a touchdown. Going back to Dallas and extending into the third quarter against Minnesota on Sunday, the QB completed 20 straight.

● There was a lengthy review early in the third quarter that overturned a fumble recovery for a touchdown by Branch.

Injuries

● Montgomery needed to be helped off the field after suffering a left knee injury in the first quarter, but was able to return after missing a series.

Inactives

The Lions ruled out guard Kevin Zeitler, who came into the day listed as questionable with a groin injury. The team’s five other inactives were healthy scratches. That group consisted of safety Loren Strickland, defensive end Isaiah Thomas, tight end Parker Hesse, offensive tackle Giovanni Manu and wide receiver Isaiah Williams.

The game marked the first of the year where Hesse was inactive. Often lining up in fullback alignments for the offense, he logged a season-high 23 snaps in last week’s win over Dallas.