The Lions beat the unbeaten Vikings 31-29 on a late field goal to crown an NFC North thriller.

 

The Lions beat the unbeaten Vikings 31-29 on a late field goal to crown an NFC North thriller.

A late Lions field goal handed the Vikings their first loss of the season. A 44-yard field goal by Jake Bates late in the fourth quarter gave the Lions the lead for good, winning the game 31–29 over the Vikings.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Jake Bates made a 44-yard field goal with 15 seconds left and the Detroit Lions beat Minnesota 31-29 on Sunday, handing the Vikings, one of the division's best, their first loss in a back-and-forth game. NFL-worthy.

Jahmil Gibbs ran for 116 yards and two of Detroit's three touchdowns in the second quarter and helped Jared Goff lead the Lions 48 yards in four plays, putting them within range of the rookie kicker and forcing a Vikings timeout. Bates is 10-of-10 from the field this season

For the third straight game, Goff completed 22 of 25 passes for 280 yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers for a passer rating of at least 140. This tied him with Aaron Rodgers (2011), Kurt Warner (1999) and Roger Staubach (1971) as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to accomplish this feat.

Gibbs had 150 total yards and was a dominant performer at the line of scrimmage for the Lions (5-1) against a defense that entered the week averaging 3.6 yards per play, second in the league.

With 5:50 left in the game, Ivan Pace Jr. returned a David Montgomery fumble 35 yards for a touchdown, giving the Vikings (5-1) a one-point lead after trailing 21-10 at halftime. But Sam Darnold's crucial two-point conversion pass went over Justin Jefferson.

The Vikings approached the halfway line with a possession with two seconds left, but perfect rookie Will Reichard was too far away for a field goal. Darnold was sacked, the game was over, and the Lions had won four straight games against the Vikings, their longest winning streak in the series since 1961-63. For Minnesota, Aaron Jones ran 93 yards and a touchdown, but was in doubt with a hamstring injury. Jefferson rushed for 81 yards and a touchdown, and Reichard made three field goals, including one for 57.

Darnold

completed 22 of 27 passes for 259 yards, but ruined a promising drive in the second quarter when the Vikings needed to get back into rhythm by ignoring Jones, who was completely free in the flat field after a play-action fake, and throwing to Jordan Addison, who was intercepted by a diving Brian Branch.

The Lions played a long second quarter, thanks to some smart play from offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who neutralized Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores' moves as Goff broke blitz after blitz.

Lions: RB Montgomery (knee) limped off the field in the first quarter but returned before halftime. ... RG Kevin Zeitler (groin) was inactive and his replacement, Kayode Awosika, was penalized twice for holding and once for a false start in the first quarter. The Vikings were denied a holding for sacking Goff on the play.

Vikings: LB Blake Cashman (toe) was inactive. UP NEXT

Lions: Host the Tennessee Titans next Sunday afternoon.