TRENDING NFL Week 8 updates College Fantasy Waiver Wire F1 Mexico City GP updates CFB winners & losers Williams earns MVP honors Story by Detroit News Story by Detroit News Lions overcome injuries to knock off Vikings Nolan Bianchi, The Detroit News Sun, November 1, 2026 at 9:08 PM UTC · 6 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DETROIT — The Detroit Lions showed some serious poise to knock off the previously undefeated Minnesota Vikings at Ford Field on Sunday, Nov. 1.
After losing several key players to injuries, the Lions scored a go-ahead touchdown on a 7-yard pass from quarterback Jared Goff to wide receiver Jameson Williams with 4:35 remaining to win their third straight game and second straight NFC North contest, 19-14.
The Lions (5-2) lost linebackers Jimmy Rolder and Jack Campbell, center Cade Mays (ankle), running back Jacob Saylors (neck), defensive back Brian Branch (concussion) and edge defender DJ Wonnum (concussion) to injuries that ended their day.
Campbell was carted off on a backboard after making what appeared to be a routine tackle on Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson. Wonnum and Branch both exited after a violent friendly-fire collision while trying to tackle Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson. Mays left the game with an ankle injury in the second quarter and did not return.
With the Lions' defense missing several starters, the Vikings offense got going in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Kyler Murray hit a 51-yard pass to Jordan Addison that set up an 8-yard passing touchdown to T.J. Hockenson with 8:44 remaining to give the Vikings (6-1) a 15-12 lead after a successful two-point conversion to Addison.
But the Lions clawed back. Running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and Sione Vaki moved Detroit up the field in a flash, combining for 62 rushing yards on the series to set up the 7-yard touchdown to Williams, his fifth in Detroit's last two games.
The Lions forced a three-and-out on the ensuing Vikings possession and got the ball back via punt with 2:53 to go, shutting the door with their ground game to advance to 2-0 in the division.
Gibbs finished with 153 rushing yards on 23 attempts, including a 30-yard rushing touchdown with 4:40 to go in the third quarter, and Vaki had 65 yards on 11 carries. Williams had four catches for 70 yards and a touchdown and Amon-Ra St. Brown, who left the game with an injury of his own in the first quarter but returned for the next series, caught seven passes for 46 yards.
The Lions defense had another strong showing, holding Murray to 210 yards on 17-of-29 passing for two touchdowns and an interception. Vikings leading rusher Aaron Jones had 22 yards on five carries.
The Lions had a tough time dealing with the Vikings' blitz-heavy defense in the first half. Goff was sacked an average of twice per game entering Sunday; he was sacked four times in the first half alone but was kept clean in the second half. Detroit didn't find the end zone in the opening two quarters, settling for field goals twice.
Goff found some success going over the top of the Vikings' defense, including a 47-yard completion to Jameson Williams early on, but was mostly forced to keep the ball underneath throughout the game.
The Lions gave up a 24-yard completion to tight end Ben Yurosek on the opening play, but rebounded by forcing a 57-yard field goal from Will Reichard that missed wide right to keep the score knotted at zero with 13:08 to go in the opening frame.
Detroit was flagged for taunting twice in the first quarter. St. Brown was called for chirping in Vikings linebacker Josh Metellus' face after a catch, and Williams was flagged for spinning the ball near Vikings defender Byron Murphy Jr. after a 47-yard catch.
Detroit nearly overcame Williams' penalty with a 24-yard touchdown to St. Brown on the very next play, but officials overturned it, and St. Brown departed for the locker room before later returning . The Lions settled for a 25-yard field goal by Jake Bates and a 3-0 lead with 2:18 to go in the first quarter.
The Vikings responded with a touchdown to take a 7-3 lead, a drive aided by a defensive pass interference call on cornerback D.J. Reed that gave the Vikings 23 free yards, and a 22-yard completion to Hockenson on third-and-3 to reach the red zone. Minnesota punched it in from the 1-yard line as Jefferson made a spectacular catch on a goal-line fade with 14:25 to go in the second quarter.
Goff threw his first interception of the season at 12:56 in the second quarter. Williams slipped on a third-down route, allowing Goff's throw to land right in the arms of a diving James Pierre to give Minnesota the ball right back after its touchdown.
The Lions dealt with significant attrition throughout the game. Center Cade Mays left the game with an ankle injury in the second quarter ; defensive back Brian Branch and edge defender DJ Wonnum were both taken to the locker room after a violent head-to-head friendly fire collision and did not return.
The Lions cut into the deficit with two seconds remaining in the first half, thanks in part to an interception by Reed that gave the Lions the ball at their own 38-yard line with 1:47 left in the second quarter. After the Lions got the Vikings to jump pre-snap on fourth-and-1 from near midfield, Gibbs ran for 19 yards to set up a 37-yard field goal for Bates, who pushed it home to make it 7-6 Vikings entering halftime.
The Lions looked shot out of a cannon to begin the second half but their drive stalled in Vikings territory. Bates' 47-yard go-ahead attempt hit the upright and fell to the turf, no good, to preserve Minnesota's lead.
Rolder picked up his first career sack by dropping Murray on third down with 8:20 left in the third quarter.
The Lions ran a play straight out of the Canadian Football League for an elusive third-and-long pickup to St. Brown, who began the play 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage before taking a pass from Goff with a full head of steam and making a few defenders miss. On the very next play, Gibbs broke off a 30-yard touchdown run to put the Lions up 12-7 at 4:40 in the third following a failed two-point conversion.
Campbell and Rolder were both hurt on the first play of the fourth quarter. Campbell was carted off on a backboard after making what appeared to be a routine tackle against Hockenson and Rolder was helped off after going down during a blitz of Murray.
Following a long layoff while Campbell was treated for his injury, Reed broke up a fourth-and-5 pass to receiver Jordan Addison to get off the field.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Lions overcome injuries to knock off Vikings
Source: Sports
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