4 winners and 2 losers from Lions dramatic win over the Vikings in Week 7

It was a back-and-forth game Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings, but the Detroit Lions found a way to win and they're now leading the NFC North after a 31-29 win.

There are no apologies for a win in the NFL. The Lions routinely find ways to win when they don't play their best of there are lulls in-game, and Sunday was no different. It being a second straight road win was also big, not to mention it being over a division rival to knock them from the ranks of the unbeaten and take the division lead.

Without further ado, here are our winners and losers for the Lions from Week 7.

4 winners and 2 losers from Detroit Lions' Week 7 win

Winner: Jahmyr Gibbs

David Montgomery was able to return to the game after suffering a left knee injury early, but Sunday became a showcase for Gibbs as the Lions' lead back. The second-year man finished with 160 total yards (116 rushing) and two rushing touchdowns on 19 touches (15 carries). His first touchdown grabbed some momentum after the Lions fell behind 10-0.

Montgomery does not appear to be headed for any missed time due to his injury, but he also had a late fumble the Vikings returned for a touchdown, and that seemed to lead to Gibbs closing out the game. In any case, with Montgomery likely not operating at full strength, Gibbs stepped up big on Sunday.

Loser: Pass protection

Right guard Kevin Zeitler (hip) missed Sunday's game, and his replacement Kayode Awosika picked up three penalties before the first quarter was over.

Overall, Jared Goff was sacked four times, hit seven times (per the inital boxscore) and generally pressured more than is ideal. It will be interesting to see final deeper numbers, but the pass protection was a general issue on Sunday along with a dose of penalties at times (every offensive lineman but Frank Ragnow got called for a penalty in the game).

Winner: Jared Goff

Goff didn't quite get to a third straight game with a passer rating north of 150, but he went 22-for-25 for 280 yards with two touchdowns, no interceptions and 140.0 passer rating on Sunday. He's now the fourth quarterback in NFL history to have three straight games with a passer rating of 140 or better.

Goff started hot again (12-for-12 in the first half, 15-for-15 to start the game), and he was clutch when it counted on the final drive that ended with the game-winning field goal.

Goff has been on quite a run over the last four games.

Loser: Pass rush

The loss of Aidan Hutchinson is surely going to be felt, especially in the first game without him. Three of the Lions' four sacks of Sam Darnold came from linebackers (Malcolm Rodriguez, Jack Campbell, Trevor Nowaske), while Josh Paschal registered the only sack from an defensive lineman. James Houston looked better than he did in his previous game with noticeable action, but there needs to be more.

While four sacks sounds good, Brandon Knapp of Pride of Detroit laid out the context so perfectly it has be highlighted.

"Despite (Darnold) getting sacked four times, you have to look at the context of those sacks. Two of them were by linebackers as Darnold was escaping pressure from the defensive line and he was running forward. The last play of the game was a sack where the Lions sent some pressure on Darnold when he needed time for the receivers to move down the field. The only true sack was by defensive end Josh Paschal..."

It's clearly on the radar, but Sunday's game fully proved the Lions need to make some kind of trade or an edge rusher with Hutchinson (and Marcus Davenport) out.

Winner: Brian Branch

Branch intercepted his fourth pass of the season on Sunday, and he nearly had a fumble return for a touchdown before it was clear Vikings' wide receiver Jalen Nailor had stepped out of bounds before he lost the ball. Despite missing one game and a chunk of another, he also has 11 pass breakups this season now.

Branch somehow fell to the second round of the 2023 draft, due to reasons that have nothing to do with playing football (lack of ideal size and ideal timed speed at the NFL Combine). But you don't start for Nick Saban at Alabama if you can't play, and the Lions knew they had (and continue to know they have) a football player.

Winner: Jake Bates

Bates had never really been tested in a big moment as the Lions' kicker before Sunday. Making some big kicks in the UFL last spring is not nearly the same thing. But after a questionable decision to have Jared Goff kneel down twice, and cede a little yardage for a field goal attempt, Bates drilled the 44-yard game-winner with less than 20 seconds to go.

The Lions have had quite the kicker carousel since Brad Holmes and Dan Campell took over. Bates had made all of his field goals so far this season (10-for-10 now) with one miss on 21 extra point attempts now. There may now be some ability and stability at a position that doesn't feel important until it is, in the spotlight with a game on the line.