Jared Goff waited until the fourth quarter to deliver the biggest throw of the day, then Jameson Williams did the rest.
Goff hit Williams for a 7-yard touchdown with 4:35 left, and the Detroit Lions finished off the Minnesota Vikings 19-15 on Sunday, knocking the NFL’s last unbeaten team from the ranks of the undefeated. The Lions moved to 5-2 and stretched their winning streak to three, with both of those division victories coming in a crowded NFC North race.
Detroit leaned on Jahmyr Gibbs to keep the offense moving. He ripped off 153 rushing yards and broke loose for a 30-yard touchdown in the third quarter, one of the game’s biggest momentum swings. Goff finished 18 of 25 for 176 yards, with one touchdown and his first interception of the season.
Minnesota, meanwhile, had enough chances to survive and never quite finished the job. The Vikings entered at 6-1 and had not lost since Nov. 30, 2025, at Seattle, but the league’s top defense couldn’t protect a late lead. Kyler Murray went 17 of 29 for 210 yards with two touchdown passes and an interception, though Minnesota managed only 81 rushing yards.
The game opened with both teams feeling out the moment, and Detroit’s first points came after its star receivers got in trouble. Amon Ra-St. Brown and Williams were hit with taunting penalties on the first two drives, then Jake Bates put the Lions on the board with a 25-yard field goal late in the first quarter.
St. Brown later looked like he had erased that mistake with a touchdown catch, but the score came off the board after review showed he never fully secured the ball as he fell. He had made the grab with his fingertips and got both feet down in the end zone, but the replay ruled it incomplete.
Minnesota answered early in the second quarter. Murray floated a 1-yard pass to the left side of the end zone, and Justin Jefferson reached out with his left hand to haul it in before hitting the turf for a 7-3 lead.
Detroit’s defense then made one of its biggest plays of the half. D.J. Reed, who had already broken up an end-zone pass on the opening drive, jumped in front of Jordan Addison for a diving interception late in the second quarter.
The Lions used the rest of the half to chip away. They slowed things down, huddled up and burned clock on their final drive before halftime, converted a fourth-and-1 from their 47, and got another Bates field goal, this one from 37 yards, to cut the deficit to 7-6.
Bates had a shot to put Detroit in front early in the third quarter, but his 46-yard attempt clanged off the left upright.
Minnesota also left points on the field. From the Detroit 25, Kevin O’Connell chose to go for it on fourth-and-5, and Murray’s pass fell incomplete.
Still, the Vikings reclaimed the lead midway through the fourth quarter when Murray found T.J. Hockenson for an 8-yard touchdown and then connected with Jordan Addison on the 2-point conversion to make it 15-12.
That edge didn’t last long. Detroit answered late, and Goff’s touchdown pass to Williams gave the Lions the lead for good.
The game also brought a pair of injury scares. Vikings safety Theo Jackson was hurt with a quad injury.
For Detroit, linebacker Jack Campbell was placed on a backboard, carted off in the fourth quarter and taken to a hospital with a neck injury. Safety Brian Branch and edge DJ Wonnum were evaluated for concussions after colliding late in the second quarter and did not return.
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