Tag: minnesota vikings

Seahawks’ win over Eagles forces Lions to wait to clinch a playoff berth

Thanks to a last-minute Seattle Seahawks’ game-winning touchdown, the Detroit Lions will have to wait to clinch a playoff berth which would be their first since 2016. The Seahawks topped the Philadelphia Eagles, 20-17, on Monday night. It was the third straight loss for the Eagles (10-4).

The Lions (10-4) have three games left to solidify the NFC North title which has been their goal since the season started.

“We came into this saying we have got to win this division, that’s the goal, that’s what it is,’’ coach Dan Campbell said on Monday afternoon. “If something happens between now and then, hey that’s all good, but that is our focus.

“We talked about that this morning as a team. That was the focus when we entered it and that’s still the focus. We’re going to do everything we can to win this division and there’s nothing that’s going to be easy about it. We have to go out to Minneapolis and face the Vikings who are a very dangerous team and find a way to win it and get this division,’’ the coach added.

First the Lions play at the Minnesota Vikings (7-7) on Sunday at 1 p.m. Then they will face the Dallas Cowboys (10-4), who got rolled by the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, at 8:15 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 30. Then to wrap up the regular season they play the Vikings at Ford Field on Jan. 7.

The last time the Lions won a playoff game was Jan. 5, 1992, when they beat the Dallas Cowboys 38-6. Erik Kramer threw three touchdown passes, Barry Sanders scampered 47 yards for a touchdown and Cowboys’ QB Troy Aikman was sacked 3 times and threw an interception.

The Lions thought it was their year, but lost 41-10 at the Washington then-Redskins in the NFC Championship game when Sanders was held to 44 yards rushing. Kramer threw one touchdown, was intercepted once and fumbled three times (losing one). 

Since then the Lions have lost nine playoff games dating back to the 1991 playoffs. Eight of those have been on the road. They lost, 28-24, to the Green Bay Packers at the Silverdome in the 1993 playoffs. In that one Sanders had 169 rushing yards.

Dan Campbell: Lions won’t hold anything back in first of 2 games against Vikings

Also updates on injuries, roster moves

ALLEN PARK — The Lions won’t hold anything back when they face the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday for a chance to clinch the NFC North division title.

In a strange scenario, they’ll face the Vikings twice in the last three weeks with a trip to the Dallas Cowboys in-between. The final regular season contest is against the Vikings at Ford Field on Jan. 7.

Lions coach Dan Campbell said the Vikings are a different team offensively and defensively than last season when Detroit split with Minnesota.

“It’s a little bit of a fresh take on them somewhat. That’s a good thing. Our whole focus is this is the first one, so let’s dive into let’s put the best gameplan we can,’’ Campbell said on Monday. 

The Lions (10-4) are coming off an impressive 42-17 win over the Denver Broncos while the Vikings (7-7) lost  27-24 in overtime to Cincinnati on Saturday.

“We can’t worry about game 2. After this, after Dallas, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,’’ Campbell said. “We can’t hold anything back, this is it, everything is about finding a way to get this one – the best gameplan we can possibly put together.’’

The Lions could clinch a playoff berth if Seattle loses to the Eagles on Monday Night Football. 

That would be great with Campbell, but the Lions’ focus on winning the NFC North remains clear.

“For us, that’s all you have to worry about. Let’s clean up what we clean up. We cleaned up the things from the Denver game with the team today — this is where we have to get better, this is what we did well, this is where we continue to go,’’ Campbell said. “We’ll put together a great game plan for these guys and we’ll know what we have to do against Minnesota.

INJURY/ROSTER UPDATE

LB Derrick Barnes injured his shoulder in Saturday’s win but returned to the game in the second half. WR Jameson Williams was banged up too, but Campbell said both appear to be fine.

Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson and fullback Jason Cabinda will open their practice window this week. Gardner-Johnson suffered a torn pec in Week 2. Cabinda has been on injured reserve since Week 3.

Also, Campbell said rookie QB Hendon Hooker will likely be moved to the active roster.

UP NEXT: Lions at Minnesota Vikings, 1 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 24.

Five reasons the Lions bounced back with a 42-17 win over the Broncos

DETROIT — After losing two of three, and coming off a loss at the Chicago Bears, the Detroit Lions were able to get back in gear with a 42-17 win over the Denver Broncos on Saturday night at Ford Field.

“We just needed a win and we did that today. Look, we just cleaned up a couple things, focused on our job at hand, the details of it,’’ Lions coach Dan Campbell said “Honestly we didn’t start real hot early, we didn’t. We can’t do that, we can’t accept that – not with where we’re going. But we got out of it, the defense played well and found a rhythm. I thought (Jared) Goff played a really good game, a number of guys did.’’

With the win the Lions climb to 10-4 and can clinch a playoff spot with some help on Sunday. Two of their remaining three games are against the Vikings who lost on Saturday in overtime to the Bengals.

The Broncos had won six of seven entering Saturday’s game but were no match for the Lions who played one of their best games in several weeks.

Five reasons the Lions won: 

1. Jared Goff set a career-high with five touchdown passes. He started the game passing on the first five snaps which seemed odd but in the long run it worked. The ice was broken with a 19-yard touchdown pass to tight end Sam LaPorta early in the second quarter. Goff was poised and never threw an interception. In fact, the Lions never turned the ball over which had been an issue. Goff was 24 of 34 for 278 yards and five TDs.

2. While the offense took a bit to get heated up, the defense ran out of the tunnel on fire. They held the Broncos to just 75 total net yards in the first half and just 1 of 6 on third-down attempts. “I just thought we were well prepared, we had a real good feel on what we were going to get, we knew what we had to take care of, we couldn’t let (Courtland) Sutton get going, we couldn’t let him launch,’’ Campbell said. Sutton was held to five catches for 71 yards.

3. In the loss at Chicago, LaPorta and Amon-Ra St Brown never were much of a factor. That all changed. When you’ve got offensive weapons like those two, you get them the ball. LaPorta had 5 catches for  56 yards and an amazing 3 touchdowns. St. Brown had seven catches for 112 yards and a touchdown. 

4. Campbell gave credit to defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn for calling a good game. It was the same with offensive guru Ben Johnson. Nothing risky was needed since the Lions held a 21-0 lead at the half. They got key guys involved and made a few effective changes on defense.

5. Much of the game was about attitude. You didn’t expect this bunch to shrug their collective shoulders after losing two of the previous three games and they certainly did not. Campbell keeps them on track. “The ability for our team to win against somebody of (Sean Payton’s) stature, a Super Bowl winning coach who does it right. It’s good, it’s a good win because I know what he’s about,’’ Campbell said. “I’m happy for our guys, that we got the win here, we needed it. We got to 10, now we’ve got 3 to go.’’

UP NEXT: The Lions play at the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec. 24, then at Dallas on Dec. 30 and finish the regular season at home on Jan. 6 or 7.