Losing at home to the Lions and falling out of the playoff mix at the same time wasn’t the gift the Vikings were hoping to deliver to fans, but that’s what they brought on Christmas Eve. Here are five things that stood out during the NFC North showdown.
1. Dropped interception in the end zone
Nick Mullens nearly threw the game away on the first drive of the game. On 1st-and-goal from the 2-yard line, Mullens escaped the pocket and threw off-balance into the end zone and hit Lions safety Brian Branch in the hands. Branch dropped what could’ve been a 100-yard pick-six and on the next play Ty Chandler blasted into the end zone for the tying touchdown.
— follow @aryepulli (@Apullivids) December 24, 2023
2. Nick Mullens interceptions
When Mullens threw an interception on 4th-and-2 from the Detroit 40-yard line, it eliminated a chance for the Vikings to turn a Detroit turnover into points. The badly thrown pass came just four plays after Cam Bynum forced a Jahmyr Gibbs fumble to give Minnesota the ball in Detroit territory with a chance to build momentum.
Brian Branch takes it back for the @Lions
📺: #DETvsMIN on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/UIg1XAk0MB pic.twitter.com/upVXp4S1JA— NFL (@NFL) December 24, 2023
Mullens wasn’t done. Trailing 10-7 with just over two minutes to go in the second quarter, the journeyman quarterback fired deep to the left for Addison only to again woefully underthrow the pass and have it intercepted by Kerby Joseph. Detroit turned that turnover into a Gibbs touchdown and a 17-7 lead.
Kerby Joseph started celebrating his interception ASAP 😂
📺: #DETvsMIN on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/UIg1XAk0MB pic.twitter.com/ijUtWOZs3E— NFL (@NFL) December 24, 2023
Mullens later threw a third interception on a deep ball that was way overthrown with just over 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Vikings trailing 30-21.
Mullens threw two interceptions in his first start last week against the Bengals and had a third pick called back because of an offsides penalty. It’s a continuation of a career trend for Mullens, who has thrown 29 interceptions in 27 career games, including six in the last two weeks.
3. Questionable calls against the Vikings
With about nine minutes left in the first half and the game tied 7-7, Minnesota edge rusher Patrick Jones II was flagged for roughing the passer. It happened on a 2nd-and-26 play and gave the Lions at automatic first down at the Vikings’ 46-yard line.
Roughing the passer called here on the Vikings.. #DETvsMIN pic.twitter.com/2PW66o98Q5
— Rate the Refs App (@Rate_the_Refs) December 24, 2023
Had the flag not been thrown, the Lions would’ve faced 3rd-and-21. Instead, they used the free first down to fuel a scoring drive as Michael Badgley hit a short field goal to give Detroit a 10-7 lead.
But on the play before the field goal, Vikings linebacker Jordan Hicks hit Jared Goff as he was about to pass. The ball popped loose and Cam Bynum scooped it up and ran it back for a defensive touchdown. The officials called it a fumble on the field but replay officials reversed the call and ruled that Goff’s arm was going forward for an incomplete pass.
Do you agree with this being ruled a forward pass instead of a fumble? #DETvsMIN pic.twitter.com/6mjORUUSdM
— Rate the Refs App (@Rate_the_Refs) December 24, 2023
4. Injuries were one-sided against the Vikings
Detroit entered the game with fairly good health and didn’t get rocked by injuries like the Vikings did during the game. The Vikings lost rookie receiver Jordan Addison (ankle) in the second quarter, star tight end T.J. Hockenson (knee) and rookie starting cornerback Mekhi Blackmon (shoulder) in the third quarter, and the team’s second-leading sacker D.J. Wonnum (knee) in the fourth quarter.
Injuries depleted the Vikings to the point that cornerback Jaylin Williams was playing in his first NFL game and he was penalized for illegal contact on a key third down with just over four minutes to go in the game. The penalty gave Detroit a first down when they otherwise would’ve been forced to punt while gripping a 30-24 lead.
5. Justin Jefferson almost willed the Vikings to a win
Jefferson couldn’t have done more than he did. He had five catches of 20+ yards and finished the day with six catches for 141 yards and a spectacular touchdown catch.
The 24-year-old’s touchdown trimmed Detroit’s lead from 17-7 to 17-14 just before the end of the first half. And after going without a catch in the third quarter he was an unstoppable force in crunch time.
Trailing 30-21, Jefferson caught a 28-yard pass over the middle and absorbed a huge hit from Kerby Joseph in the process. Jefferson bounced up immediately and flexed his muscles as Joseph dropped to the ground in pain while being assessed a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty.
Then with the Vikings down 30-24, Jefferson sprinted from well away from the play to recover Nick Mullens’ fumble. On the next play Jefferson skied over two defenders to make an incredible catch, turning 3rd-and-27 into a first down.
JUSTIN JEFFERSON ON 3RD AND 27. HIM.
📺: #DETvsMIN on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/UIg1XAk0MB pic.twitter.com/hFmR4VnHgm— NFL (@NFL) December 24, 2023
And it was Jefferson who found an opening behind the defense in the end zone when Mullens was intercepted for a fourth time – his third on a badly underthrown ball – to seal the win for the Lions.
Jefferson did everything possible to keep the Vikings in the game.
