Lions vs. Vikings: Detroit gives up 27 consecutive points in loss
Second Quarter Continued
After a penalty, the Vikings came out and moved the chains offensively, as they sought to score prior to halftime.
On 2nd & 17, Cousins took a shot down the field for Diggs, as he was covered by Darius Slay, but he missed his target. He didn’t miss on the next play however as wide receiver Adam Thielen found himself wide open as he easily converted the first down with a 40-yard catch. The Pro Bowl corner Slay injured himself after making the tackle on Thielen and remained on the ground for a bit after the play.
Cousins finally connected with Diggs for an 8-yard touchdown to trim Detroit’s lead to 2-points just before halftime, 9-7 Detroit.
Detroit took the field again with a single timeout remaining and 1:25 left on the clock.
Stafford missed on his first two passes but once again a Viking penalty helped Detroit immensely. It was to no avail though and after a batted down Stafford pass led to 3rd & 4, the Lions again (somewhat predictably) went for another screen pass and unsurprisingly, they were tackled short of the first down conversion.
Minnesota managed to move the chains a bit with only seconds remaining until halftime as they tried to position themselves for a field goal attempt to try and take the lead after playing dismally on offense earlier on in the game.
After the game clock initially ran out, the referees ruled that the Vikings managed to call their third and final timeout and they placed 2 seconds back onto the game clock. In a miserable sequence for Lions fans to see, Kirk Cousins dropped back for a Hail Mary pass and his massive tight end Kyle Rudolph easily came down with the 44-yard touchdown catch, 14-9 Minnesota.
Within a relatively short amount of time, Detroit’s defense went from pitching an impressive shutout to going into the break trailing by five after inexcusable end zone coverage on the Vikings’ prayer of a pass attempt.
Minnesota was slated to receive the opening kickoff of the second half.