MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The Detroit Lions fell behind early and never recovered during a 24-9 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in their NFL battle at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Vikings entered the contest as 5 1/2-point favorites. They’re quarterbacked by Holland Christian graduate Kirk Cousins.
Minnesota received the opening kickoff and immediately drove downfield to a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard run by Latavius Murray with 9:53 to go in the opener. The TD was originally awarded to Kyle Rudolph but the officials later ruled that Murray fumbled after he already had crossed the goal line. That score stood until the initial break.
The Lions crept to within 7-3 at the 13:16 juncture of the second stanza on Matt Prater’s 35-yard field goal, the very same distance that he repeated at the 4:45 mark to trim the gap to 7-6.
But Minnesota quickly upped the margin to 14-6 on a 2-yard scoring strike from Cousins to Adam Thielen with 3:20 left until intermission. The Vikings tacked on a 39-yard field goal by Dan Bailey with :04 showing on the clock for a 17-6 bulge at the half.
The two traded possessions and fought to a scoreless draw in the third period.
The finale saw Minnesota get on the board again when a Stafford pitch turned into a scoop-and-score by the Vikings for a 24-6 advantage.
Prater then booted his third field goal, this one a 37-yarder, with 1:12 remaining in the game to set the final score.
The Lions dropped to 3-5 on the season. Next up for Detroit will be a trip to Soldier Field to meet its longtime rival, the Chicago Bears, at 1 p.m. next Sunday.
The Vikings improved to 5-3-1 on the campaign. Minnesota will now enjoy its bye week off before following the Lions to Soldier Field for a meeting against the Chicago Bears, with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 18.
EARLIER STORY:
https://fox17online.com/2018/11/04/lions-trail-vikings-17-6-at-halftime/
