The Detroit Lions defeated the Minnesota Vikings 31-9 on Sunday night to clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs for the first time in franchise history.
The Lions clinched the NFC North title for the second straight year after ending the Vikings' nine-game winning streak and will have a bye next week before having home-court advantage during the conference playoffs.
Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 139 yards and three straight touchdowns in the second half for four total, while Jared Goff completed 27 of 33 passes for 231 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions for Detroit (15-2).
Sam Darnold completed 18 of 41 passes for 166 yards for Minnesota (14-3), which failed to score a touchdown and will enter the postseason as a wild-card team and the No. 5 seed in the NFC.
The Vikings travel to California to face the fourth seeded Los Angeles Rams on January 13th.
Statistics leaders
Minnesota Vikings:
- Passage: Sam Darnold, 18/41, 166 yards
- rush: Cam Akers, 6 carries, 58 yards
- Receiving: Justin Jefferson, 3 catches, 54 yards
Detroit Lions:
- Passage: Jared Goff, 27/33, 231 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
- rush: Jahmyr Gibbs, 23 carries, 139 yards, 3 TDs
- Receiving: Amon-Ra St. Brown, 6 catches, 77 yards
Gibbs plays the Lions who win the NFC North
Detroit clung to a 10-9 lead when Gibbs caught Goff's 10-yard touchdown pass with 2:30 left in the third quarter.
Gibbs then added a 13-yard rushing touchdown to extend Detroit's lead to 24-9 with 13:06 left in the fourth, but the running back was not done.
Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (Associated Press)
He crossed the goal line for a four-yard touchdown to make it 31-9 with 5:14 left to join Barry Sanders as the only running backs in team history to score four touchdowns in a game.
Gibbs set the franchise record for most rushing and receiving touchdowns in a single season (20), surpassing the previous mark of 17 set by Sanders in 1991 and followed by Jamaal Williams in 2022.
Detroit opened the scoring with 1:43 left in the first quarter when Gibbs cut to his left and sprinted 25 yards.
The Vikings pulled to within 7-6 on back-to-back field goals by Will Reichard, but Jake Bates hit a 48-yard field goal to give Detroit a 10-6 lead at the break.
Reichard then made his third field goal, a 51-yarder, to cut the Vikings' deficit to 10-9 with just under 10 minutes left in the third quarter.
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