Vikings fail to lock up NFC North with 34-23 loss to Lions

In the end, no amount of fireworks from Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson - and they set the air ablaze Sunday - could overcome perhaps the worst game of Vikings running back Dalvin Cook's six-year career.

Cook was held to 23 yards on 15 carries in Minnesota's 34-23 loss to the Detroit Lions, keeping the Vikings from clinching a division title despite Jefferson's franchise-record 223 yards receiving.

Cook's 1.5 yards per carry were the fewest in a game with at least 10 attempts in his career.

"When I look at it, there was some positive performances from some individual players and some things that gave us a chance to be in the football game," Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said. "But just across the board, not enough in the run game offensively and a pretty critical turnover in the low red (zone) trying to take a shot at a play right there."

Cook, who entered averaging 77.3 yards per game, was unable to get unleashed against a Lions defense which is ranked last in the league. He was stopped on a fourth and 1 at the Minnesota 46 early in the game, then fumbled away the ball on a first-and-goal from the Detroit 3 late in the second quarter.

"Dalvin was actually going to attempt to throw that football to Johnny Mundt, and he was open in the back," O'Connell said on the fumble.

"We had the play set up and just didn't execute, and the ball went the other way. It was a critical, critical error."

Cousins threw for a season-high 425 yards, many of them to Jefferson, who had 11 catches and broke Sammy White's franchise record for receiving yards set in 1976.

"I thought (Cousins) was attempting to will our team to victory, with his execution level to Justin and Justin's adjustments he made since the last time he played against these guys," O'Connell said. "I thought (Jefferson) played incredibly fast and explosive and Kirk was right there with him every step of the way."

Cousins admitted the lack of a running game was huge, but he did all he could do to help on offense.

"We really struggled to have a sustaining running game today," he said. "Not enough production there. I appreciate the ability to spread the ball around to get (K.J. Osborn) and Adam (Thielen) involved, and T.J. (Hockenson)."

Cousins said he was not surprised by the attacking defense that Detroit threw at him.

"They play hard and they play tough," Cousins said. "They were sharp against us Week 3, but certainly were today as well. They're a good football team."

The Vikings were missing starting center Garrett Bradbury and tackle Christian Darrisaw. Cousins and O'Connell were not ready to use their absence as an excuse for the loss and praised their replacements.

"Well, I do think that (tackle) Blake (Brandel) and (center) Austin (Schlottmann) did a phenomenal job today," Cousins said. "We asked a lot of them. When you factor in the noise and the silent cadence, there's just a lot of offense and they did a phenomenal job of handling those moving parts. Proud of the way that they played and protected and held up."

The Vikings will have four more chances to win the NFC North. They need just one win or tie to lock it up.

"We didn't want them to win the division in our place," Detroit coach Dan Campbell said.

With just 17 seconds left, the Lions take a 34-23 lead on a Michael Badgley field goal.

That will effectively seal the game for Detroit. The Vikings fail to lock down the division, though they can do so with just one more win or one more Lions loss.

Justin Jefferson continues to break records in his still nascent career.

The Vikings say his 212 yards (so far) on Sunday are good enough for the most receiving yards in a single game in team history.

The previous record stood for nearly half a century -- Sammy White set it it on Nov. 7, 1976, with 210 yards. That game was also against the Detroit Lions.

A long Justin Jefferson catch-and-run put the Vikings in scoring position, and Kirk Cousins hit K.J. Osborn on the sideline in the end zone for a touchdown.

The Lions lead 31-23 with under three minutes left. 

A 41-yard Michael Badgley field goal gives the Lions a 31-16 lead with just about four minutes left in the game.

After an Aidan Hutchinson sack stalled the Vikings offense Greg Joseph hit a 41-yard field goal to make 28-16 with just under 11 minutes left in the game.

A Justin Jackson rushing touchdown puts the Lions up 28-13 early in the fourth quarter.

The Vikings went for it on 4th and 4, and Kirk Cousins hit Adam Thielen for a touchdown.

An unsuccessful two-point conversion makes it 21-13, the Lions still leading.

The Vikings' season-long third quarter woes continue, as the Lions' lead is extended to two touchdowns after a Josh Reynolds touchdown.

The Lions lead 21-7 midway through the third quarter.

The Lions faked a punt on 4th down and got a huge gain out of it. 

C.J. Moore took the direct snap 42 yards into Vikings territory, but a taunting penalty brought it back 15 yards.

The Vikings were set to attempt a Hail Mary pass at the end of the first half, but the Lions' pass rush got to Kirk Cousins before he could pull the trigger.

The Lions take a 14-7 lead into halftime. The Vikings get the ball to start the second half.

The Lions failed to capitalize on a Vikings fumble when Michael Badgley missed a 48-yard field goal.

The Vikings get the ball back with just seconds to go in the half.

The Vikings were in scoring position with about a minute left in the first half, but a seemingly botched play ended in a Dalvin Cook fumble and the Lions recovered.

After Kirk Cousins handed the ball off to Cook, it looked as if Cook was about to attempt a pass, but the ball was knocked out of his hands. The Lions chased it down and fell on it. They're driving with one timeout left.

It's long bombs or nothing for the Lions on Sunday, as their second touchdown comes on a 48-yard pass from Jared Goff to D.J. Chark.

The Lions lead 14-7 in the second quarter.

An off-target pass from Jared Goff on 4th and 4 gives the ball back to the Vikings.

Goff was targeting D.J. Chark, but hit Vikings defensive back Cam Dantzler in the hands.

The Vikings' offense takes over.

The Vikings responded to the Lions' long touchdown with a scoring drive of their own.

Three Lions penalties helped the Vikings get down the field, and Dalvin Cook juked a defensive back out of his shoes to get into the end zone for 6.

It's tied 7-7 late in the first quarter.

The Lions took advantage of the short field after stopping the Vikings on 4th down. Jared Goff hit Jameson Williams for a 41-yard touchdown.

It was Williams' first NFL catch. The Lions traded up with the Vikings to take him in the 2022 NFL draft.

Detroit leads 7-0 in the first quarter.

The Vikings' first offensive drive was briefly extended when an offsides penalty on 4th and 6 negated their punt.

Kevin O'Connell kept the offense on the field, but Dalvin Cook's rush failed to reach the line to gain. The Lions will take over on offense.

The Vikings will be without two of their starters on the offensive line when they take on the Lions on Sunday.

Left tackle Christian Darrisaw and center Garrett Bradbury are both listed as inactive. Darrisaw has missed the last two games with a concussion. On Friday's injury report, Bradbury was listed with a neck injury.

Safety Harrison Smith is also inactive, along with linebacker Luiji Vilain and defensive lineman Ross Blacklock.

The Lions' inactives are Kayode Awosika, Derrick Barnes, Michael Brockers, Evan Brown, Austin Bryant, Will Harris and Tom Kennedy.