The Detroit Lions faced the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Oct. 1 in Week 4 of the 2017 NFL season. Here are the highlights from the game.
It was two very different fortunes for the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions a week ago. Despite starting Case Keenum again, the Vikes welcomed the Buccaneers to town and ran them out of the building. On the contrary, the Lions went to the wire with the Falcons, but lost thanks to a dumb run-off rule after a review. With both teams at 2-1, they clashed in Week 4 at US Bank Stadium.
Keenum again got the start for the Vikings. Unfortunately for the home team, they were playing a better and more inspired defense on this day.
It was a war of attrition early on in the matchup, with four straight punts starting the matchup. However, the Lions got on the board first with a field goal. But after a stop, they conceded a touchdown as rookie Dalvin Cook took it to the house. Unfortunately for Minnesota, Cook soon after suffered a scary non-contact knee injury. He did not return to the game.
Meanwhile, the Lions missed a field goal at the buzzer of the first half, giving Minnesota the 7-3 lead at halftime.
Following a Jerick McKinnon fumble to start the second half, the Lions answered with a nice field goal to pull within a point. Then came the aforementioned Cook injury, who fumbled on the play as he went down. That set up the Lions again, and they only needed five plays and 29 yards to score from there, and then convert on the two-point conversion.
From there, Keenum and the Vikings just didn’t have what they needed down the stretch. They missed a field goal after a six-play drive, turned the ball over on downs late in the fourth quarter after a 13-play drive, and then fumbled on their final possession. As such, the Lions defense was able to hold and secure the win to move to 3-1 on the year.
Highlights
Great blocks by the line, and @dalvincook is in for the score.#DETvsMIN #Skol pic.twitter.com/n1oqrVAeFB
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) October 1, 2017
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Most would say Green Bay is favored in the NFC North, but both the Vikings and Lions have a viable shot. As such, these two teams both wanted a win in this matchup for early-year positioning. Winning this one could go a long way.