After the Vikings defense forced a three-and-out, sacking Goff on third down for emphasis, the offense needed to sustain a drive with 4:16 left. But the Vikings went three-and-out, too. On third-and-4, Darnold overthrew Justin Jefferson and they had to punt. Given more than two minutes and needing only a field goal to win, Goff delivered.

But the Vikings made a critical play in the fourth quarter to give themselves a slim lead midway through the fourth quarter. On second-and-10 from the Detroit 30, running back David Montgomery took a handoff to the left and once he was 5 yards down the field safety Joshua Metellus punched the ball out of Montgomery’s arms.

He also helped Jared Goff guide the Lions 48 yards in four plays to get in range for their rookie kicker while forcing the Vikings to burn their timeouts. Bates is 10 for 10 on field goals this season.