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Lions DeskThe TapeGame center →

Jared Goff's 7-yard touchdown to Jameson Williams ends Vikings rally in Detroit

Detroit gave back a lead on a 51-yard pass and a two-point conversion, then beat Minnesota 19-15 behind 230 rushing yards.

Jared GoffThe TapeW 19–15vsVIKINGSQBJared Goff
By Lions Desk, Pigskin NightlyNov 7, 1:26 PM ET3 min read

The deciding stretch

Jared Goff dropped back in shotgun with 4:35 left in the fourth quarter and hit Jameson Williams on a short left route for a 7-yard touchdown. J.Bates kicked the extra point. It moved the Lions' win probability by 14 percentage points and made the score 19-15, which held up as the final.

The Lions needed it because the Vikings had just flipped the game. Minnesota trailed 12-7 entering the fourth quarter, and then scored eight points in about two minutes of game clock. The Lions answered with the drive that mattered.

Williams finished with four catches for 70 yards and the touchdown, a 17.5-yard average, on six targets. His long was 46 yards.

The swing

The turn came at 10:16 of the fourth quarter. K.Murray threw deep middle to J.Addison for 51 yards, stopped at the Detroit 10 by K.Dorsey. That play cost the Lions 16 points of win probability.

Two snaps later, at 8:44, K.Murray hit T.Hockenson short middle for an 8-yard touchdown. Minnesota went for two and converted, with K.Murray finding J.Addison. That play cost Detroit another 14 points of win probability. The Vikings led 15-12.

The Vikings' longest drive of the day went 7 plays and 84 yards for a touchdown. They had four three-and-outs, two turnovers, and went 3-for-10 on third down. They were not efficient, but they landed the one big shot Detroit could not take back.

Who moved the needle

Jahmyr Gibbs carried 23 times for 153 yards, a 6.7-yard average, and a touchdown. His 30-yard run up the middle at 4:40 of the third quarter scored and gained 12 points of win probability. The two-point try that followed failed, which left the Lions at 12 instead of 14. That margin mattered when Minnesota later converted its own two-pointer.

Sione Vaki added 11 carries for 65 yards, and Amon-Ra St. Brown ran once for 10. As a team, Detroit rushed for 230 yards at 5.9 per carry. Minnesota managed 81 at 4.5. Detroit held the ball for 35:43 to the Vikings' 24:17.

Amon-Ra St. Brown led the Lions in EPA, or expected points added, which measures how much each play changes a team's expected scoring. He added 4.2 as a receiver on eight plays, and 2.0 on his one rush. He caught seven passes for 46 yards on eight targets. Sam LaPorta had three catches for 33 yards.

Goff's passing numbers were the weak spot. He went 18-of-25 for 176 yards, one touchdown and one interception, with four sacks for 22 yards. His EPA total was minus 4.2 across 29 plays. Detroit's EPA per dropback was minus 0.144, while its EPA per rush was 0.028. The Vikings' rushing EPA was minus 0.262 per carry.

On defense, Jimmy Rolder had five tackles, two for loss, and a sack. Skyler Gill-Howard and Alim McNeill each had a sack. The Lions took three sacks on the quarterback for 25 yards.

Detroit did not attempt a fourth down. Minnesota went 0-for-1.

Where it leaves them

The Lions are 5-2 with a plus-23 point differential, 203 points scored and 180 allowed. They have won three straight and are 4-0 at Ford Field, against 1-2 on the road.

The NFC North is tight. The Vikings are 6-1, the Bears 6-2, the Lions 5-2 and the Packers 5-3. Detroit sits third in the division and holds the sixth seed in the conference.

Next up is a road game, which is where the Lions have lost twice. Week 9 is at the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, Nov. 8, at 1:00 PM ET on Fox.

How this was reported. Every number in this piece comes from the play-by-play, drive, injury and snap data Pigskin Nightly collects for every game. EPA (expected points added) is from the open nflverse model. We do not use anonymous sources or invent quotes. Read how we write; spotted an error? Tell us and we will correct it in the open.