Detroit Lions hold off Minnesota Vikings, 30-20, but suffer multiple key injuries
The Detroit Lions bolstered their slim chances of moving up to the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs, but may have hurt their hopes of a long postseason run.
Jared Goff threw for 320 yards and two touchdowns as the Lions beat the Minnesota Vikings, 30-20, in their regular season finale Sunday at Ford Field, but they lost starting tight end Sam LaPorta and punt returner Kalif Raymond to knee injuries in the process.
LaPorta injured his left knee late in the first half when his leg bent awkwardly after he was pulled to the ground on a tackle by Josh Metellus.
The Lions’ second-leading receiver, LaPorta caught a 2-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and set an NFL record for most receptions by a rookie tight end (86) before his injury. He limped off the field and underwent further evaluation under the blue medical tent on the sideline, before being carted to the locker room.
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Lions coach Dan Campbell told the Fox broadcast at halftime that LaPorta would need more tests Monday to determine the extent of the injury.
Raymond injured his left knee on a short catch early in the fourth quarter and limped to the locker room after a brief sideline evaluation.
Receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (torso) and safety Brian Branch (wrist) also left briefly with injuries but finished the game.
The Lions, who finished with 12 wins for the first time since 1991 and the second time in franchise history, open the playoffs next week at home, likely against either the Los Angeles Rams or Green Bay Packers.
They entered the week in control of the No. 3 seed in the NFC, but needed a win Sunday against the Vikings and losses by the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles to move up to No. 2. Both the Cowboys and Eagles play in Sunday’s late-afternoon window and are heavy favorites.
Campbell said this week he planned to play his starters their regular snaps with the No. 2 seed still in play, and he didn’t veer from that plan after losing LaPorta and Raymond.
ANALYSIS: Lions win over Vikings should be sweet, but injuries leave sour taste
Goff played the entire game behind the Lions’ full starting offensive line and finished 23-for-32 passing. St. Brown was on the field for the Lions’ penultimate possession, despite taking a knee to the rib area from Vikings defensive tackle Harrison Smith that had him constantly stretching his side in the second half. And Aidan Hutchinson had a pressure on Vikings quarterback Nick Mullens with just over 2 minutes to play that led to the game-clinching interception by C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
Hutchinson finished with two sacks, giving him a career-high 11½, St. Brown caught seven passes for 144 yards and a 70-yard touchdown, and David Montgomery ran for 40 yards on 10 carries to top 1,000 yards rushing for the second time in his career.
Montgomery, who finished with 1,015 yards, became the fifth Lions player to rush for 1,000 yards since Barry Sanders retried before the 1999 season.
Jahmyr Gibbs, who was 85 yards shy of 1,000 entering the game, finished with 13 carries for 30 yards, leaving the Lions just shy of becoming the eighth team in NFL history to have a pair of 1,000-yard backs. Gibbs finishes with 945 yards.
The Lions, who beat the Vikings to clinch their first division title since 1993 in Week 16, played under a blue NFC North Division championship banner hanging at Ford Field on Sunday.
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LaPorta opened the scoring with a 2-yard pass from Goff, and Gibbs gave the Lions a 13-0 lead late in the first quarter on a 3-yard run.
Montgomery, on a 1-yard run, and St. Brown, on his 70-yard catch in which he weaved all the way across field on his way to the end zone, added second-half touchdowns for the Lions (12-5).
Mullens finished 30 of 44 for 396 yards with two touchdowns and two late interceptions, and Justin Jefferson added 12 catches for 192 yards for the Vikings, who finished 7-10 and missed the playoffs a year after winning the division.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions hold off Vikings 30-20, but suffer multiple key injuries
