Losing at home to the Lions and falling out of the playoff mix at the same time wasn’t the gift the Vikings were hoping to deliver to fans, but that’s what they brought on Christmas Eve. Here are five things that stood out during the NFC North showdown.
5 things that stood out in the Vikings’ Christmas Eve loss to Lions
1. Dropped interception in the end zone
Nick Mullens nearly threw the game away on the first drive of the game. On 1st-and-goal from the 2-yard line, Mullens escaped the pocket and threw off-balance into the end zone and hit Lions safety Brian Branch in the hands. Branch dropped what could’ve been a 100-yard pick-six and on the next play Ty Chandler blasted into the end zone for the tying touchdown.
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2. Nick Mullens interceptions
When Mullens threw an interception on 4th-and-2 from the Detroit 40-yard line, it eliminated a chance for the Vikings to turn a Detroit turnover into points. The badly thrown pass came just four plays after Cam Bynum forced a Jahmyr Gibbs fumble to give Minnesota the ball in Detroit territory with a chance to build momentum.
Brian Branch takes it back for the @Lions
📺: #DETvsMIN on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/UIg1XAk0MB pic.twitter.com/upVXp4S1JA— NFL (@NFL) December 24, 2023
Mullens wasn’t done. Trailing 10-7 with just over two minutes to go in the second quarter, the journeyman quarterback fired deep to the left for Addison only to again woefully underthrow the pass and have it intercepted by Kerby Joseph. Detroit turned that turnover into a Gibbs touchdown and a 17-7 lead.
Mullens later threw a third interception on a deep ball that was way overthrown with just over 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Vikings trailing 30-21.
Mullens threw two interceptions in his first start last week against the Bengals and had a third pick called back because of an offsides penalty. It’s a continuation of a career trend for Mullens, who has thrown 29 interceptions in 27 career games, including six in the last two weeks.
3. Questionable calls against the Vikings
With about nine minutes left in the first half and the game tied 7-7, Minnesota edge rusher Patrick Jones II was flagged for roughing the passer. It happened on a 2nd-and-26 play and gave the Lions at automatic first down at the Vikings’ 46-yard line.
Had the flag not been thrown, the Lions would’ve faced 3rd-and-21. Instead, they used the free first down to fuel a scoring drive as Michael Badgley hit a short field goal to give Detroit a 10-7 lead.
But on the play before the field goal, Vikings linebacker Jordan Hicks as Jared Goff was about to pass and the ball popped loose and Cam Bynum scooped it up and ran it back for a defensive touchdown. The officials called it a fumble on the field but replay officials reversed the call and ruled that Goff’s arm was going forward for an incomplete pass.