It came down to the same issues that have consistently wrecked this Vikings season. Turnovers and injuries. Turnovers and injuries. Damn turnovers and injuries.
In addition to the players that populate the injured reserve list, the Vikings entered the game without right tackle Brian O’Neill and cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. If no other players were taken from the field, everything would’ve been fine. The Vikings would’ve won this game and remained in contention for the NFC North title. Nope. That didn’t happen. The Vikings lost receiver Jordan Addison in the first half to an ankle injury. They lost tight end T.J. Hockenson to a knee injury, cornerback Mekhi Blackmon to a shoulder injury, and outside linebacker D.J. Wonnum to a quad injury. Without Murphy and Blackmon the Vikings were forced to plumb the depth of their cornerback group. It even forced them to use safeties to cover some of the Lions fleet of receivers one on one on some snaps.
The injuries hurt. The turnovers hurt even more. Nick Mullens threw four interceptions. The fourth interception was a wobbly toss that was easily caught on the goal line. It was a game-clinching interception for the Lions. The ball floated and fluttered like it was tipped. It wasn’t tipped. It simply slipped out of his Mullins’ hand. A good throw would’ve been a 30-yard, game-winning touchdown toss to Justin Jefferson. He was open. Then again, as he’s routinely shown, Jefferson is open even when he’s covered.
The Lions had no answer for Justin Jefferson. That was never more evident than the 28-yard catch he made on third-and-27 from the Vikings own 16-yard line with 1:26 to play. Much like he did against the Buffalo Bills last year, he was so much better than those trying to stop him. That play got what should’ve been the game-winning drive going. Two plays later, the Vikings were at the Lions 30-yard line with 1:05 to play. It was the Vikings game. Then, Mullins gave the ball, the game, and the division title to the Lions.
Jefferson is definitely back from the hamstring injury that took him off the field for half the season. He was the best player on the field and it wasn’t remotely close. He had six catches for 141 yards and a touchdown. Even when Hockenson and Addison weren’t on the field to take some attention away, the Lions couldn’t handle Jefferson. He should’ve had twice as many catches. It would’ve been a very different game if Jefferson had twice as many catches.
The playoffs are still alive for the Vikings. They just need help and some luck. One thing they’ve had nothing of this season is luck. They’ve had plenty of turnovers and injuries but they’ve had very little luck.
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