Jahmyr Gibbs tallies 4 touchdowns as Lions take down Vikings to win NFC North, secure No. 1 seed in playoffs

The Detroit Lions are NFC North champions, as they dominated the Minnesota Vikings, 31-9, to win the division title in back-to-back seasons. 

Not only are they crowned division champions, but the Lions will also be the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

Meanwhile, the Vikings are the No. 5 seed as the best of the three wild card squads in the NFC. Instead of the bye week, they will be heading to Los Angeles to face the Rams next weekend. 

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This had "Game of the Year" written all over it, as two of the best offenses in the league were matched up to determine who gets the top seed and the division title all in 60 minutes of play. 

But a shootout wasn't seen at Ford Field on Sunday night, and a lot of that had to do with the tremendous pressure Aaron Glenn's Lions defense put on Sam Darnold and the Vikings' offense. 

On the other hand, the Lions used the man who leads the NFL in touchdowns this season, Jahmyr Gibbs, who added four more to his total in this pivotal game. 

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Gibbs, who is getting more play with the loss of his counterpart David Montgomery in the backfield, capped a nine-play drive for the Lions with a 25-yard burst into the end zone to put the Lions up 7-0 in the first quarter. 

It was surprisingly the only touchdown scored in the first half, but Gibbs got the lead padded for Detroit in the second half when head coach Dan Campbell went for it on fourth-and-2 from Minnesota’s 10-yard line, and Jared Goff tossed a ball to his wide-open back for a 10-yard score. 

Then, after the Vikings missed a deep field goal attempt, Gibbs found another crease, this time going for 13 yards to blow the doors off the game early in the fourth quarter, 24-9. 

Now, this game could’ve been much closer had Darnold, who has been one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks all season long, capitalized on his opportunities in the red zone. 

Early in the second quarter, Darnold had the Vikings first-and-goal on Detroit’s 5-yard line, but was unable to get into the end zone after a couple errant throws to Justin Jefferson, while also failing to see a wide open Jordan Addison in the flat as well. 

Then, after the Vikings’ defense picked off Goff for the first of two times, Minnesota couldn’t find the end zone from the seven-yard line this time, and more poor throws were seen from Darnold. 

Darnold was pestered all game with Glenn dialing up pressure, forcing the Vikings star to speed up his "quarterback clock" as he went through his progressions. He ultimately finished 18-for-41 for 166 yards – his lowest output all season – as the Vikings didn’t score a touchdown all game. 

The victory was sealed by Gibbs’ fourth touchdown of the game, which was a drive that he carried all the way down the Lions’ field. It began with a 47-yard run to push him over 100 yards rushing on the night. 

Then, after the Lions got the Vikings to jump into the neutral zone on fourth-and-2, Gibbs bullied his way into the end zone, carrying multiple Vikings defenders with him to score a four-yard rush for his fourth touchdown of the night. 

Gibbs finished the game with 139 rushing yards on 23 carries and 31 receiving yards on his big night, while Amon-Ra St. Brown had six catches for 77 yards to lead the Lions through the air. 

Goff was 27-for-33 for 231 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. 

With this NFC North finish, the 2024 NFL regular season has come to an end, and the playoffs are set for Wild Card Weekend in a few days. 

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