Detroit Lions tie franchise record in 30-20 win over Minnesota Vikings: Game recap

The Detroit Lions tied the franchise record for most wins in a season and finished the 2023-24 regular season 12-5 after taking down the Minnesota Vikings 30-20 in the regular season finale.

The Lions are most likely locked into the No. 3 seed for the NFC playoffs and will host at least one game at Ford Field for the first time. Detroit could move up to the 2-seed with upset losses by the Philadelphia Eagles and Cowboys in the late-afternoon games thanks to taking care of business at home.

After completing the season sweep over the Vikings, the Lions will host a playoff game at Ford Field next Saturday, Sunday or Monday, looking for their first playoff win since 1991. Multiple Lions players such as tight end Sam LaPorta, who left the game with a knee injury, will be rushing to get healthy before Wild-Card Weekend.

TRENDING: Detroit Lions can't afford for TE Sam LaPorta to miss time in the playoffs

Check out the Lions-Vikings game updates and highlights below:

Lions vs. Vikings game recap, highlights

2:08, fourth quarter: C.J. Gardner-Johnson intercepts Nick Mullens

Welcome back, C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

The Detroit Lions safety made his return this week after being on injured reserve since Week 2 with a torn pectoral and recorded an interception right before the two-minute warning to put a close on the Lions' victory. Detroit had to go three-and-out quickly following Cam Sutton's interception, giving the ball back to the Vikings at its 10-yard line with just under three minutes left. Mullens airmailed a throw over the middle, directly to Gardner-Johnson who fell to the ground as he was securing the catch.

3:11, fourth quarter: Cam Sutton intercepts Nick Mullens

The Lions' defense came up with a big turnover to presumably put an end to the Vikings' comeback hopes. On third-and-10 from the Lions' 26-yard line, the defense brought a blitz up the middle to pressure Mullens, and Alex Anzalone and Ifeatu Melifonwu got home to hit him as he was trying to throw over the middle. The ball fluttered out of his hands directly into the chest of Cam Sutton, who pulled it in and returned it to the 36-yard line.

8:14, fourth quarter: Badgley hits field goal, Lions extend lead to 30-20

The fireworks died down on the next drive from the Lions, who had a 10-play drive lasting five minutes and ended in a 39-yard field goal by Michael Badgley. The Lions primarily kept the ball on the ground during the drive but picked up two first downs with completions to Josh Reynolds and James Mitchell to move into field goal territory. The offense faced a third-and-6 from the Minnesota 12-yard line but Jared Goff was sacked by Danielle Hunter on third down to force the kick. Wide receiver and returner Kalif Raymond injured his knee on the kickoff return and slowly limped off the field with trainers. Raymond was ruled out immediately by the team.

13:22, fourth quarter: Vikings score immediately on Jordan Addison TD, Lions lead 27-20

Well, a shootout has broken out at Ford Field after a relatively quiet first three quarters. The Vikings took three plays to respond to the Amon-Ra St. Brown long touchdown with another deep heave of their own, this time on a 42-yard shot to Jordan Addison. The Vikings picked up 29 yards on the second play of the drive with a 29-yard completion to Justin Jefferson down the seam and followed it up with a play-action shot to Jordan Addison, who beat Cam Sutton one-on-one for a wide-open touchdown to make it a one-score game again.

14:45, fourth quarter: Amon-Ra St. Brown responds with 70-yard TD, Lions lead 27-13

St. Brown saw Justin Jefferson's feats on the last drive and one-upped him on the first play of the fourth quarter with a 70-yard touchdown on the second play of the drive. St. Brown got loose down the left sideline in a gap in the zone, hauled in the catch - yards down the field. After the catch, St. Brown immediately cut across the field towards the right sideline, dancing with safety Camryn Bynum, cut inside Bynum and powered through two defenders to break the goal line. It was the 10th touchdown of the season for St. Brown, joining Sam LaPorta, David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs as Lions with double-digit touchdowns this season.

0:20, third quarter: Justin Jefferson scores long TD on 4th down, Lions lead 20-13

Justin Jefferson added more absurd catches and a long touchdown to his decorated resume against the Lions to pull the Vikings within one score again. On fourth-and-1 from the Detroit 38-yard line, the Vikings came out in a jumbo package signaling a run, but ran a play-action fake and Nick Mullens lofted a perfect pass to Jefferson, who beat Kindle Vildor one-on-one for his second touchdown against Detroit this season. A play before the touchdown, Jefferson pulled down a toe-tapping 9-yard catch while being pushed out of bounds to set up the aggressive fourth down play.

7:14, third quarter: David Montgomery punches in TD, Lions lead 20-6

The Lions offense found its footing again with a nine-play, 71-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by Montgomery who powered through the teeth of the defense for his career-high 13th rushing touchdown of the season. The Lions got a big cheer from the home crowd after Dan Skipper checked into the game as an eligible receiver and caught a pass for a 4-yard gain. It started with a 14-yard completion to Amon-Ra St. Brown, and the next first down was picked up on a 20-yard completion to Donovan Peoples-Jones on 4th down to move into Minnesota territory. A few plays later, the Lions got some help from the referees on a pass interference against the Vikings in the end zone on an attempted pass to Josh Reynolds, which put the ball on the shadow of the goal line to set up the Montgomery score.

11:25, third quarter: Lions defense gets 4th down stop

The Lions defense came up with a big stop at the edge field goal range to start the second half. The Vikings moved the ball to the Detroit 31-yard line on the first six plays of the drive, but couldn't pick up three yards on two plays to continue the drive. On third-and-3, Nick Mullens tried to find Brandon Powell on a slant passed the sticks, but the pass was too low to be caught. On fourth down, the Vikings targeted Powell again, but the speedy receiver and kick returner was tackled a half-yard short of the first down marker by Aidan Hutchinson and Cam Sutton for a turnover on downs.

Halftime: Vikings hit last-second FG, Lions lead 13-6 at break

The Vikings started the final drive of the half at its own 18 with 1:12 remaining but picked up big gains through the air to set up a 43-yard field goal by Greg Joseph as time expired to make it a one-score game. The drive started with back-to-back completions to Justin Jefferson that picked up 47 yards and moved the Vikings into Detroit territory, and a 13-yard completion to Ty Chandler made the field goal a bit easier for Joseph.

The Lions looked primed to drive down the field on a two-minute drive but had to punt after Jahmyr Gibbs was stuffed on third-and-1 to force a punt. Sam LaPorta left the game with a left knee injury after he stayed down on the field holding his leg following a tackle on a five-yard gain. LaPorta limped off the field under his own power and then rode on the medical cart with trainers to the locker room.

The Lions jumped out to a 13-0 lead but had to punt on both of its drives in the second quarter to hold a one-touchdown lead at the break. The Vikings ripped off an eight-minute drive resulting in a field goal, then finished the half with a one-minute drive filled with chunk plays to add another field goal. Detroit's rookies, LaPorta and Jahmyr Gibbs, were responsible for the touchdowns, both of which etched their names in the NFL history books. Jared Goff had a solid half, completing 10 of 15 passes for 126 yards and one touchdown. The defense has shown some struggles against Mullens and the Vikings passing attack, allowing 14 completions for 187 yards on 20 attempts, but has stood tall in its own territory to force the field goals.

9:20, second quarter: Vikings add FG, cut Lions lead to 13-3

The Vikings put together a 14-play drive spanning 59 yards to reach the Lions' 8-yard line, but Aidan Hutchinson came up with a sack on first-and-goal to push Minnesota back to the 20 and ultimately force a 39-yard field goal from Greg Joseph. The drive started with a 32-yard completion to Johnny Mundt on second-and-30 to pick up a long first down, and Nick Mullens continued to attack through the air, primarily targeting Justin Jefferson. The Vikings moved the ball into the Lions' 10-yard line on a 22-yard completion to Jefferson, but Hutchinson's sack saved a potential touchdown.

2:12, first quarter: Jahmyr Gibbs TD extends Lions lead to 13-0

The Lions extended its lead on the ensuing offensive drive with a 3-yard touchdown run by Jahmyr Gibbs on a pitch around the right end. Gibbs followed tight ends James Mitchell and LaPorta, who set the edge and allowed Gibbs to race untouched to the pylon for the touchdown.

The touchdown was set up by a 41-yard deep shot to Kalif Raymond along the left sideline, who was pushed out at the 3-yard line to set up the touchdown. The Lions had to convert a fourth-and-1 for the first first down of the drive, setting up the deep shot. Michael Badgley missed the extra point, meaning the Lions only came away with six points instead of seven.

8:06, first quarter: Lions take 7-0 lead on Sam LaPorta TD

The Lions struck first on its second drive of the game with a one-yard touchdown pass to Sam LaPorta for his 10th score of his rookie season. LaPorta faked a block and fell to his knees on the play-action, but got up and released to the corner where he was wide open to make the touchdown catch. It was the 81st catch by LaPorta this season, passing Keith Jackson for the most catches by a rookie tight end in NFL history.

The Lions forced a quick punt and took over at its 48-yard line after a great punt return from Kalif Raymond, who took the punt from the 5 to near midfield. On the first play of the drive, Dan Skipper checked in as an eligible receiver, receiving large cheers from the angry Lions fans remembering the end of the game last week, and the Lions started with a 34-yard completion to Amon-Ra St. Brown to reach the red zone. St. Brown picked up 13 yards the next play on a screen to reach the Minnesota 5-yard line and set up the score with a short run by David Montgomery up the middle. The fans loudly cheered Skipper when he reported as eligible on two plays on the drive, and followed it up with some cheers on the first called penalty that went against Minnesota.

Pregame notes

Despite being locked into a playoff spot, the Lions are not resting players to protect starters from any potential injury in the final week. Head coach Dan Campbell said the plan is to play everyone available in the final matchup.

The Lions were on the wrong side of a controversial illegal touching penalty on what would have been the go-ahead 2-point conversion against the Cowboys last Saturday night. Campbell was quick to move on and focus on Minnesota, but the aggrieved fanbase focused on the call for most of the week as the NFL released statements and videos to defend its referees.

On the field, the Lions are coming off one of their lowest-scoring offensive performances of the season, scoring under 20 points for the third time this season. The offense gained 420 yards but turned the ball over twice and had to settle for field goals on two long drives to hinder the normally explosive offense. Detroit is hoping to replicate its performance from two weeks ago against Minnesota’s blitz-heavy defense, where it gained 390 total yards, powered by the running game which produced 143 yards and three touchdowns.

The defense is hoping to continue its strong performance throughout December where it produced multiple turnovers in three of the five games in December, and held teams to 23.4 points per game while producing more consistent pressure with the pass rush. The secondary delivered the most in the last matchup with Minnesota, intercepting Nick Mullens four times which helped stave off a late comeback attempt.

Lions injury report

The best news for the Lions is the team is getting healthy at the right time of the season. Defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson and defensive tackle Alim McNeill are returning from stints on injured reserve to provide a boost to the defense. Wide receiver Jameson Williams is out after suffering an ankle injury late against the Cowboys, and James Houston will miss one more week despite being activated from IR during the week.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions vs. Minnesota Vikings: Game recap, highlights