Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions: Fourth Quarter Open Thread

To start the second half at Ford Field, the Minnesota Vikings took the kickoff from the Detroit Lions, holding a 14-10 lead. The kickoff from Sam Martin went into the end zone for a touchback, and the Vikings took over at their own 20-yard line.

The Vikings managed to grind their way to a first down to start the drive behind Matt Asiata, but that was all that they could get, and they called on Jeff Locke to punt the ball away. Locke got a really nice punt away, as the coverage team took returner Jeremy Ross down at the Detroit 15-yard line for their first possession of the third quarter.

The Lions finally got a big pass from Matthew Stafford to Calvin Johnson to start their drive. It was just the second catch of the day for Megatron, and it moved the Lions to their own 32-yard line. A couple of plays later, Joique Bell took a screen pass into Minnesota territory, and a pass to Golden Tate put them inside the Minnesota 30. Another pass to Johnson put the Lions into the red zone. The Vikings got a big stop on a Tate run on a 3rd-and-4, and Detroit was forced to bring Matt Prater again for another field goal attempt. Prater knocked it through from 30 yards, and the Vikings' lead was down to 1 at 14-13 with just about four minutes remaining in the quarter.

Cordarrelle Patterson got an opportunity to return the ensuing kickoff, but he only brought it out to the Minnesota 17-yard line. The drive got started with a 12-yard pass from Teddy Bridgewater to Kyle Rudolph, who had been injured earlier in the quarter. Two plays later, Bridgewater found Jarius Wright for 12 more and another first down. The Vikings then faced a 3rd-and-2 at midfield, and the play was a direct snap to Matt Asiata, who just got enough yardage for the first down to the Detroit 48. Bridgewater followed that up with a scramble, and as we move to the fourth quarter of play, the Vikings are looking at 2nd-and-1 from the Detroit 39-yard line.

WIth fifteen minutes of play remaining in Detroit, the Minnesota Vikings are holding the slimmest of leads over the Detroit Lions by a score of 14-13. Can the Vikings hold on and knock off their NFC North rivals in their house?