Minnesota Vikings grind out a win vs. Detroit Lions in Week 14

The Minnesota Vikings move to 6-0 at U.S. Bank Stadium after knocking off the Detroit Lions in Week 14 of the 2019 NFL season.

The Minnesota Vikings entered Week 14 of the 2019 NFL season hoping to stay in the playoff picture and maybe even gain some ground on the Green Bay Packers in the race for the NFC North championship.

However, the Detroit Lions had other things in mind. The Motor City Kitties were eliminated from playoff contention but still wanted to prove they are a team to be taken seriously with talent on both sides of the ball.

The game took place in front of a packed U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis where an ocean of purple and gold cheered on the Vikings. Thankfully, fans of Minnesota did not disappoint, showering the field with loud crowd noise and SKOL Chants throughout the contest.

Let’s talk a little bit about what happened during this game, breaking it down into chunks.

First half

Rookies were the highlight of the first half, at least offensively. Bisi Johnson scored the first touchdown of the game with a highly athletic leaping score to catch a pass from Kirk Cousins, giving the team a 7-0 lead.

Defensively, this was Danielle Hunter‘s game in the first half. With a powerful pass rush and a non-stop motor, the defensive end brought down David Blough three times in the first two quarters of this contest, proving why he should be in the Pro Bowl this year.

Later, following an amazing hurdle from Alexander Mattison, a penalty pushed the Vikings back on fourth down when going for it within the five-yard line. The team was forced to settle for a short Dan Bailey field goal, which the kicker knocked through for a 10-0 lead.

It looked as though Detroit would get on the board after a flurry of penalties helped move the Lions into field goal range, which is quite large for the big-legged Matt Prater. The veteran kicker failed to connect on the kick,

Minnesota wasn’t done yet though. A beautiful deep connection from Kirk Cousins to Stefon Diggs set the Vikings up in a great position to score again. That opportunity was cashed in by Dalvin Cook, who ran in the score on a sweep thanks to beautiful blocking from his offensive line.

HALFTIME SCORE: 17-0 Vikings over Lions

Second half

When the game returned to action, there wasn’t a lot going on. The two teams traded possessions after being unable to get solid drives offensively. Even a high-point interception from Harrison Smith couldn’t help the purple and gold to get points on the board in the third quarter.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Minnesota had the ball at the 33-yard line and came to fourth down. Mike Zimmer decided to attempt the field goal and Dan Bailey powered it right between the uprights. The Vikings took a 20-0 lead early in the fourth quarter.

It took until the final three minutes of the fourth quarter for another score to go on the board. Sadly, it was a garbage-time touchdown pass from David Blough to Kenny Golladay to end the shutout. Following that, Minnesota’s offense ran down the clock and an interception from Andrew Sendejo sealed the game.

FINAL SCORE: 20-7 Vikings win!

With the exception of a handful of excellent plays, this was a pretty boring game for casual fans. But even when a game isn’t a shootout like the 49ers and the Saints were in Week 14, a win is a win and the Minnesota Vikings move to 9-4 on the season.