The Detroit Lions pulled away for a 31-9 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night to secure the top seed in the NFC playoffs for the first time in franchise history.
The Lions clinched the NFC North title for the second straight year after ending the Vikings' nine-game winning streak and will bye next week ahead of home advantage throughout the conference playoffs.
Jahmir Gibbs rushed for 139 yards and three straight touchdowns in the second half for four total, while Jared Goff completed 27 of 33 passes for 231 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions for Detroit (15-2).
Sam Darnold completed 18 of 41 passes for 166 yards for Minnesota (14-3), which failed to score a touchdown and will enter the postseason as a Wild Card team and the No. 5 seed in the NFC.
The Vikings travel to California to take on the fourth-seeded Los Angeles Rams on January 13.
Statistics leaders
Minnesota Vikings:
- Scrolling: Sam Darnold, 18/41, 166 yards
- haste: Cam Akers, 6 carries, 58 yards
- Receiving: Justin Jefferson, 3 catches, 54 yards
Detroit Lions:
- Scrolling: Jared Goff, 27/33, 231 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs
- haste: Jahmir Gibbs, 23 carries, 139 yards, 3 TDs
- Receiving: Amon-Ra St. Brown, 6 catches, 77 yards
Gibbs stars as the Lions win the NFC North
Detroit was clinging to a 10-9 lead when Gibbs caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Goff with 2:30 remaining in the third quarter.
Gibbs then added a 13-yard rushing touchdown to increase Detroit's lead to 24-9 with 13:06 remaining in the fourth but the running back wasn't finished.
Detroit Lions running back Jahmir Gibbs (Associated Press)
He moved across the goal line for a four-yard touchdown to make it 31-9 with 5:14 to go to join Barry Sanders as the only running backs in team history to score four touchdowns in a game.
Gibbs set the franchise record for most rushing and receiving touchdowns in a single season (20), surpassing the previous mark of 17 set by Sanders in 1991 and matched by Jamaal Williams in 2022.
Detroit opened the scoring with 1:43 remaining in the first quarter when Gibbs cut to his left and sprinted for a 25-yard touchdown.
The Vikings pulled within 7-6 after back-to-back field goals by Will Richard but Jake Betts nailed a 48-yard field goal to give Detroit a 10-6 advantage at intermission.
Richard then made his third field goal of the game, a 51-yarder, to cut the Vikings' deficit to 10-9 with less than 10 minutes left in the third quarter.
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