Lions bounce back to dump Vikings, but victory in regular-season finale could prove costly

Detroit — The Detroit Lions did what they needed to do, washing away the stink of last week's controversial loss to the Dallas Cowboys and resetting the vibe by rolling into the postseason with a season-ending 30-20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings at Ford Field on Sunday.

"I thought they did a heck of a job coming out of what we did last week," Lions coach Dan Campbell said. "That was a tough loss, and to come in this week, mentally locked in, ready to roll, right mindset — it was a back-and-forth game, but I thought all three phases we complemented each other, and really came out to finish this season off the right way and get a win."

BOX SCORE: Lions 30, Vikings 20

But matching the franchise's most wins in a season came with a potential cost as record-setting tight end Sam LaPorta and return man Kalif Raymond both exited the contest with knee injuries.

Campbell said neither injury was good, but also probably not as severe as they initially appeared. He also said the team had no regrets playing their starters in a game, and in the case of both LaPorta and Raymond, they didn't have many other options on the roster.

"I mean, you don't want guys to get hurt," Campbell said with a sigh. "I said a prayer last night, I do it every time before these games for our guys. You don't want anybody get hurt, especially a game like this. But there again, we have two tight ends. ... And Leaf, it's kind of the same thing. We try to take care of Saint (Amon-Ra St. Brown) there at the end, get Leaf in the game a little more and Leaf gets hurt.

"It's just a tough deal," Campbell said. "It's tough. I know this, you're either really kind of all in or all out. We were going. We needed to do that."

Despite the Lions leading from start to finish, the outcome wasn't certain until late in the fourth quarter. After both sides punted with their first possession, the Lions (12-5) got a spark from Raymond, who returned the Vikings' effort 42 yards just shy of midfield. Four plays later, the Lions were in the end zone to start the day's scoring. Two long passes to Amon-Ra St. Brown set up a short scoring toss to LaPorta, the rookie's 10th of the season.

Following a three-and-out for the Vikings (7-10), the Lions expanded their early advantage to 13 with an eight-play scoring drive. Running back Jahmyr Gibbs extended the series with a fourth-down conversion that needed to be measured to confirm he got enough. Then, taking advantage of the the fresh set of downs, quarterback Jared Goff hit Raymond in stride on a deep ball down the left sideline to the 3-yard line, leading to a 3-yard touchdown run for Gibbs on a toss sweep going right.

But refusing to go quietly, the Vikings spent the second frame chipping away at the lead.

Converting a third-and-30 with a perfect pass from quarterback Nick Mullens to tight end Johnny Mundt, and picking up a couple of free first downs on penalties against Detroit's secondary, the Vikings worked into the red zone before defensive end Aidan Hutchinson dropped Justin Jefferson for a big loss as the star receiver was looking to throw downfield after taking an end-around handoff. That left Minnesota to settle for a 39-yard Greg Joseph field goal.

Minnesota added another Joseph field goal as time expired in the first half. Again, Hutchinson delivered the defensive critical play, sacking Mullens on a first-down snap from the Lions' 22-yard line, leading to the stall out. That 43-yard kick made it a one-score game, 13-6, at the break.

Coming out of the locker room, the Vikings had a chance to tie it up, but after driving in Lions territory weren't able to convert a fourth-and-3 as receiver Brandon Powell was stopped a half-yard short of the marker.

The Lions had no such issue with their ensuing fourth-down try as Goff found Donovan Peoples-Jones for a 20-yard gain on fourth-and-1. Three snaps later, Josh Reynolds drew a pass interference penalty in the end zone. That set up running back David Montgomery to plow across the goal line from 1 yard out, expanding Detroit's lead to 20-6.

Minnesota managed to trim their deficit back to a touchdown in the final seconds of the third quarter. On fourth-and-short from Detroit territory, Mullens found Jefferson with a step on cornerback Kindle Vildor and connected with his top target for a 38-yard score that made it 20-13 following Joseph's PAT.

But the Lions would have an answer. On the opening play of the fourth quarter, Goff found St. Brown deep and the receiver did the rest, weaving around multiple would-be tacklers while crossing the field laterally before powering into end zone to finish off the 70-yard touchdown. The grab pushed the receiver across the 1,500-yard mark for the season.

St. Brown explained after the game how he switched alignments with Reynolds prior to the play and that he was supposed to be the primary read, but when St. Brown unexpectedly came open, he changed his route and Goff adjusted.

"Jared saw it, he threw it and then the rest is just I’m going to go over and try to score," St. Brown said.

The Vikings' counterpunch would come just as quickly. Following a 29-yard completion to Jefferson, Mullens would find speedy rookie Jordan Addison streaking past the coverage of Cam Sutton for a 42-yard touchdown. The combined three touchdowns in 1:58 left the Lions up seven, 27-20, with 13:22 remaining in the contest.

Despite losing LaPorta to a knee injury in the third quarter and Raymond to an injury to the same body part to start their response drive, the Lions still managed to run a little more than five minutes off the game clock while adding three to their lead with a 39-yards Michael Badgley field goal.

The Lions defense was essentially able to salt away the victory by forcing the Vikings to work for every inch the ensuing series before a blitzing Ifeatu Melifonwu hit Mullens, causing an errant throw that was intercepted by Sutton with a little more than three minutes remaining.

Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, returning from a 14-game absence after tearing his pec early in the year, added an interception before the final whistle.

"It’s going to be a good party every time I step on that field," Gardner-Johnson said. "I’m just going to bring that intensity, just to be a ball hog, what I was brought here for, the intensity and energy, make plays."

The Lions will return home for the first playoff game in Ford Field's history next week against an opponent that will be determined in the 4 p.m. window of NFL games.

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

@Justin_Rogers