Heading into the 272nd and final game of the 2024 NFL regular season, the Minnesota Vikings had it all to play for – but they failed miserably.
IMAGE: Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold reacts after a play during the second half of Sunday’s loss to the Lions at Ford Field in Detroit (NurPhoto/Getty Images)
The Minnesota Vikings travelled to Ford Field earlier this week to face off the Detroit Lions in the last game of the regular season on the back of a nine-game win streak – their longest since 1975. A win would see them claim their 22nd divisional title, along with their first 15-win season and #1 seeding since 1998.
A tie wouldn’t be enough for the Vikings to claim the division, with the Lions holding the tiebreaker courtesy of their 31-29 victory over the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium in week 7. In that game Lions kicker Jake Bates gave his team the lead after he hit a 44-yard field goal with just 15 seconds remaining.
But instead of getting a bye next week and having home ground advantage until the Super Bowl, the Vikings couldn’t score a touchdown against an increasingly depleted Lions defence, losing 31-9.