It won’t go down as the ‘win of the year’ and nothing particularly great happened, but that’s OK. The Vikings beat the Lions 20-7 in Week 14 at U.S. Bank Stadium, improving to 9-4 on the season.
With the Packers beating the Redskins 20-15, the Vikings are still a game back in the NFC North, but they did extend their lead to 1.5 games as the second wild card team.
The star of the game for Minnesota was its pass rush. Danielle Hunter had three sacks, and Everson Griffen and Jaleel Johnson had one each. Lions rookie quarterback David Blough never looked comfortable and both Harrison Smith and Andrew Sendejo came away with interceptions in the game.
Kirk Cousins completed 24 of 30 passes, throwing for 242 yards and a touchdown. Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison combined for 108 rushing yards and a touchdown. Stefon Diggs led the receivers with six catches for 92 yards.
Overall, a much-needed win from the Vikings. With the victory, FiveThirtyEight gives the Vikings an 82 percent chance to make the postseason.
Their next test will be next week in Los Angeles against the Chargers.