Minnestota Vikings vs. Detroit Lions: Box score, player stats, and summary feat. Justin Jefferson, Jared Goff

The final game of the 2024 regular season was a heavyweight bonanza, pitting the expectedly dominant Detroit Lions against the shockingly resurgent Minnesota Vikings with everything on the line: division, conference top seed, and first-round bye.

Jared Goff and company were always expected to be contenders, but Sam Darnold had an anomaly of a campaign. Finally surrounded by mostrously prolific weapons like Aaron Jones and Justin Jefferson for the first time in his career, he had his best record a starter, setting the record for most games by a quarterback in his first season with a new team.

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Minnestota Vikings vs. Detroit Lions box score

Teams	1Q	2Q	3Q	4Q	Total
Minnesota Vikings	0	6	3	0	9
Detroit Lions	7	3	7	14	31

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Minnesota Vikings player stats

Passing

Player	Completions/Attempts	Yards	Touchdowns	Interceptions	Rating
Sam Darnold	18/41	166	0	0	55.5

Rushing and receiving

Player	Carries	Yards	Touchdowns	Receptions	Yards	Touchdowns
Aaron Jones	10	45	0	5	30	0
Cam Akers	6	65	0	2	4	0
Sam Darnold	2	11	0	0	0	0
Justin Jefferson	0	0	0	3	54	0
Jalen Nailor	0	0	0	3	53	0
Josh Oliver	0	0	0	2	16	0
T.J. Hockenson	0	0	0	2	9	0
Jordan Addison	0	0	0	1	0	0

Defense

Player	Total tackles	Solo tackles	Sacks	Tackles for Loss	Interceptions
Ivan Pace Jr.	10	5	0	1	1
Blake Cashman	8	5	0	0	0
Camryn Bynum	7	7	0	1	0
Byron Murphy Jr.	7	5	0	1	0
Andrew Van Ginkel	7	4	0	1	0
Jonathan Greenard	5	4	1	2	0
Josh Metellus	5	3	0	0	0
Harrison Phillips	5	1	0	0	0
Harrison Smith	4	3	0	0	1
Theo Jackson	3	2	0	0	0
Jonathan Bullard	3	1	1	1	0
Stephon Gilmore	2	2	0	0	0
Shaquill Griffin	2	2	0	0	0
Jihad Ward	2	0	0	0	0
Trent Sherfield Sr.	1	1	0	0	0
C.J. Ham	1	1	0	0	0
Dallas Turner	1	1	0	0	0
Jalen Redmond	1	0	0	0	0
Jay Ward	1	0	0	0	0

Kicking

Player	Field Goals	Extra points
Will Reichard	3/4	0/0

Punting

Player	Punts	Yards	Inside 20	Longest
Ryan Wright	3	155	0	57

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Detroit Lions player stats

Passing

Player	Completions/Attempts	Yards	Touchdowns	Interceptions	Rating
Jared Goff	27/33	231	1	2	80.7

Rushing and receiving

Player	Carries	Yards	Touchdowns	Receptions	Yards	Touchdowns
Jahmyr Gibbs	23	139	3	5	31	1
Craig Reynolds	8	39	0	0	0	0
Amon-Ra St. Brown	0	0	0	6	77	0
Sam LaPorta	0	0	0	7	63	0
Jameson Williams	0	0	0	6	34	0
Tim Patrick	0	0	0	2	15	0
Kalif Raymond	0	0	0	1	11	0

Defense

Player	Total tackles	Solo tackles	Sacks	Tackles for Loss
Alex Anzalone	7	3	0	0
Kerby Joseph	6	4	0	0
Brian Branch	6	3	0	0
Jack Campbell	6	2	0	0
Amik Robertson	5	4	0	0
Za'Darius Smith	3	3	1	1
Levi Onwuzurike	3	2	0	0
DJ Reader	3	1	0	0
Ifeatu Melifonwu	2	2	0	0
Al-Quadin Muhammad	2	1	1	1
Hogan Hatten	2	1	0	0
Terrion Arnold	2	1	0	0
Kindle Vildor	2	0	0	0
Jalen Reeves-Maybin	1	1	0	0
Jameson Williams	1	1	0	0
Mitchell Agude	1	1	0	0
Jared Goff	1	0	0	0
Craig Reynolds	1	0	0	0
Josh Paschal	0	0	0	0
Chris Smith	0	0	0	0

Kicking

Player	Field Goals	Extra points
Jake Bates	1/1	4/4

Punting

Player	Punts	Yards	Inside 20	Longest
Jack Fox	2	102	1	56

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Minnestota Vikings vs. Detroit Lions game summary

The game began with both teams exchanging punts on the first two drives. Eventually, the Detroit Lions struck first via Jahmyr Gibbs charging for six.

Another exchange of punts ensued, lasting into the second quarter. The Minnesota Vikings then managed to get inside the opposing three, only to fail on fourth down and lose possession.

However, they recovered by intercepting Jared Goff and turning it into a field goal. And then they forced a turnover on downs on the next drive and turned it into another field goal, which the Lions answered with one fo their own to end the first half.

The second half began with disaster, as the Vikings failed to convert on fourth down while inside the opposing two and lost possession. However, they managed to recover by intercepting Goff again on the very first play of the next drive and scoring their third field goal of the night.

But at last, the Lions found an aerial breakthrough: Gibbs catching this touchdown down an unguarded middle on fourth down:

Then he did it again to begin the fourth quarter, rushing to the end zone. After the Lions forced a punt, he punished it with another rushing touchdown.

In a desperate attempt to catch up, the Vikings committed a turnover on downs, seedling the game.