Jake Bates boots Lions past Vikings in 31-29 slugfest and into NFC North first place

MINNEAPOLIS — It was the NFL’s best offense against one of the league’s best defenses with 2:32 to go and first place in the NFC North on the line.

That's when Jared Goff and Jahmyr Gibbs helped deliver the Detroit Lions their biggest victory of the 2024 NFL season.

Gibbs had a big run and bigger catch on the Lions’ final drive, and Goff capped another near-perfect day with a laser of a first-down pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown to help the Lions beat the Minnesota Vikings, 31-29 , on a Jake Bates 44-yard field goal with 15 seconds left at U.S. Bank Stadium.

The Lions were in control after overcoming an ugly first quarter, but David Montgomery lost a fumble with 5:40 to play that Ivan Pace returned 36 yards for a touchdown to give the Vikings a 29-28 lead.

Minnesota missed the 2-point conversion and failed to convert a third-and-4 on its next series on a bad pass by Sam Darnold. The Lions, the league’s highest-scoring team, quickly marched 44 yards in eight plays for the victory.

Goff finished 22 of 25 for 280 yards passing with two touchdowns and Gibbs had 116 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 15 carries.

Bates is 10-for-10 on field goals this season after signing following a standout spring season in the United Football League for the Michigan Panthers.

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The Lions (5-1) lead the NFC on the tiebreaker over the Vikings (5-1). The Green Bay Packers (5-2) and Chicago Bears (4-2) also remain in the division title hunt. The Lions host the Tennessee Titans (1-5) next Sunday at 1 p.m. at Ford Field.

Here are three quick thoughts on Sunday’s win:

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Missing Aidan Hutchinson

The Lions played their first game Sunday without NFL sack leader Aidan Hutchinson, who broke his left leg in last week’s win over the Dallas Cowboys, and his absence was evident.

The Lions got one sack from their defensive line on Darnold, when Josh Paschal came unblocked off left end on the last play of the third quarter, and failed to get consistent pressure on the Vikings quarterback (though Trevor Nowaske had a game-ending sack on Minnesota’s final Hail Mary play).

Paschal was in and out of the lineup dealing with an undisclosed injury. Isaac Ukwu and Mekhi Wingo didn’t make much impact as edge defenders. James Houston had one pressure on a third-and-long.

There’s a good chance the Lions make a move to add an edge defender before the NFL trade deadline Nov. 5. I think they can wait till closer to the deadline, especially if they can fit it in their budget to acquire a top pass rusher (Maxx Crosby? Myles Garrett?) who might not be currently available . But even if they settle for a veteran one tier down, it’ll help a defense that will need to generate more four-man pressure going forward.

Cleveland Browns defensive end Za’Darius Smith talked about a possible trade last week , and the Browns may have inched closer to becoming sellers Sunday, losing to the Cincinnati Bengals and losing quarterback Deshaun Watson to an apparent Achilles injury .

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Penei Sewell shows why he's NFL's best right tackle

Offensive linemen toil in anonymity most games, even the best ones in the NFL. But Penei Sewell showed why he’s the best right tackle in football in a handful of plays Sunday.

Sewell made key blocks on both Gibbs touchdown runs, and made two blocks to help keep Goff clean on his 35-yard touchdown pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown. Sewell was blocking one Vikings defensive lineman when another defender came free from the second level on a blitz. He left his first block to shove the second defender to the ground, buying Goff just enough time to hit a wide-open St. Brown downfield.

Sewell wasn’t the only Lion to excel at blocking against Minnesota. The line, after a rough start, did a good job diagnosing the Vikings' exotic blitz packages, and St. Brown and Tim Patrick made key blocks downfield on Gibbs’ long touchdown. Gibbs had a nice pick block on Kalif Raymond’s third-quarter score.

Jared Goff delivers — again

The Lions got off to a slow start, failing to pick up a first down on the first three offensive possessions and turning the ball over deep in their own territory once on a fake punt. But Goff has been the best first-half quarterback in the NFL this season.

Goff was 12-for-12 passing for 156 yards in the first half, the third time in the Lions’ past four games he hasn’t thrown an incompletion in the first half. He was 12-for-12 for 132 yards in the first half of the Lions’ Week 3 win over the Arizona Cardinals, and finished a perfect 18 of 18 for 292 yards in a Week 4 win over the Seattle Seahawks .

Goff did have one panic moment late, when he spun out of a fourth-quarter sack and tried to throw the ball to no one in particular as he was hit. He fumbled and Frank Ragnow recovered to avoid disaster for the Lions.

But Goff played his third straight turnover-free game Sunday with another quarterback rating of 140 or higher. As long as he takes care of the ball, the Lions have an elite offense.

Dave Birkett will sign copies of his new book, " Detroit Lions : An Illustrated Timeline" at 7 p.m., Monday, at 24 Seconds Bar & Grill in Berkley, and from 5:30-7 p.m., Tuesday at Stadium Cards & Comics in Ypsilanti. Order your copy here .

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com . Follow him on X and Instagram at @davebirkett .

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jake Bates boots Lions past Vikings in 31-29 slugfest and into NFC North first place