Missed opportunities, Jahmyr Gibbs doom Vikings in gut-punch loss to Lions

Sam Darnold played his worst game in two months when it mattered most.

Jan 5, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) attempts to pull in a pass in front of Detroit Lions cornerback Amik Robertson (21) during the first half at Ford Field. / David Reginek-Imagn Images

The Vikings found out the hard way on Sunday night that missed opportunities are a death sentence against elite teams.

Kevin O'Connell's team will have nightmares tonight about all of the chances they couldn't convert in this highly-anticipated battle of NFC North juggernauts with so much on the line. They played well at times, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, but the Lions just keep coming at you and coming at you and coming at you.

Sam Darnold's red zone woes, a couple mistakes in the kicking game, and one notable missed chance on defense made the difference in a 31-9 Lions victory that drops the Vikings to the No. 5 seed in the NFC and sends them on the road next week to take on the Rams in the wild-card round.

There were a couple controversial no-calls by the officiating crew, but that's far from the reason the Vikings lost. This one boiled down to a complete inability to score touchdowns when the opportunities presented themselves. In a stretch between early in second quarter and early in the third, the Vikings ran 11 plays inside the Lions' 10 yard-line and threw on nine of them. Eight were incomplete. The end result of those possessions was a short field goal and a pair of turnovers on downs inside the 5, with another red zone field goal mixed into that stretch as well.

Darnold's worst game in a couple months came at the worst possible time. He finished 18 of 41 (44 percent) with no touchdowns and two sacks taken. He simply looked off for essentially the entire night. Whether it was nerves or just a very bad game in a very big spot, Darnold was consistently too high on his passes. His 14 passes intended for T.J. Hockenson and Jordan Addison resulted in three completions for nine yards. That's hard to fathom. He was also just 3 of 9 targeting Justin Jefferson.

The Lions ran away with this one and secured the No. 1 seed behind a whopping four touchdowns from Jahmyr Gibbs, but the Vikings were in it for three quarters, and it's hard to count the number of plays that could've potentially altered the outcome. There were all the misses in the low red zone, several of which were intended for Jefferson. On a couple of those plays, Addison appeared to be open.

Neither of these passes were thrown to Jordan Addison pic.twitter.com/Mzqmm8YESZ

— Underdog (@UnderdogFantasy) January 6, 2025

There was a kickoff out of bounds and a missed field goal by Will Reichard. There was a potential pick-six that Andrew Van Ginkel couldn't come down with in the third quarter. And there were a few no-calls — a facemask, an intentional grounding, and a pass interference — that arguably hurt the Vikings, though there were likely iffy officiating decisions both ways.

In the end, it's hard to blame the Vikings' defense for this one. They came up with two interceptions and a turnover on downs while holding the Lions to 10 points on their first seven possessions. But eventually the dam broke and Gibbs scored touchdowns on three consecutive drives to make it a blowout. Coming into this game, it was basically a given that Detroit would put up plenty of points. It was the Vikings' offense that didn't hold up its end of the bargain.

The Vikings were 3 of 13 on third down, 0 for 3 on fourth down, and 0 for 4 in the red zone, which is how you get blown out in a game where you win the turnover margin 2-0.

The first half was characterized by Darnold overthrows and a big-time performance from the Vikings' defense. The Lions opened the scoring on a Gibbs touchdown run that was set up by a fourth-down conversion against the blitz, but that was about all Flores' defense allowed. The Lions' next three possessions resulted in a loss of 16 yards, a deflected interception by Ivan Pace Jr., and then a fourth-down stop on a Jonathan Bullard pass deflection.

But while their defense was busy rising to the occasion, the Vikings' offense looked nothing like the group that had been mostly shredding opponents for the past couple months. Minnesota's first two drives ended in punts. Their next was a turnover on downs at the Lions' 3. Then, after Pace's pick set them up inside the 10 again, they settled for a short field goal. And then another short field goal in the red zone.

It ended up as a 10-6 margin heading into the break because Reichard's kickoff with 20 seconds left went out of bounds, gifting the Lions excellent field position that they capitalized on. The missed opportunities continued throughout the third quarter, and it all fell apart in the fourth.

As much as this one stings, the Vikings' season isn't over. The first 14-win wild card team in NFL history is now headed to Los Angeles to take on the Rams on Monday the 13th in the last of six first-round matchups. They'll look to get revenge from their Week 8 loss in LA and keep their season alive against a 10-7 Rams team with a -19 point differential on the season.

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