Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions: First quarter recap and second quarter discussion

We’ve got fifteen minutes of football in the books from Detroit, and your Minnesota Vikings are tied with the Detroit Lions at 7-7 at Ford Field.

The home team got the ball first, as the Vikings won the coin toss and chose to defer to the second half. Minnesota’s defense then put together a three-and-out, making the Lions do something that they didn’t do at all in their previous game. . .punt the ball away. The Vikings took over at their own 21-yard line after the Jalen Reagor punt return.

The Vikings picked up some yardage on their first possession, with T.J. Hockenson getting a pair of receptions against his former team, but the Vikings were forced to punt it away. . .or so we thought. The Lions were offsides on the punt which gave the Vikings a 4th-and-1 from their own 46, and Kevin O’Connell sent the offense back out on the field to go for it. Kick Cousins handed the ball to Dalvin Cook, and. . .he didn’t get it. The Vikings turned it over on downs and gave the Lions the ball back in Minnesota territory.

It took the Lions just two plays to cash in, as Jared Goff found rookie Jameson Williams for his first NFL catch, a 41-yard touchdown pass. The extra point was good, and just five minutes into the game the Lions had a 7-0 lead.

The Vikings got the ball back and pushed down the field, and got a defensive holding penalty on the Lions that negated a third-down stop and kept the Minnesota offense on the field. After a couple more Detroit penalties, the Vikings had a first-and-goal at the 1-yard line, and Dalvin Cook handled things from there, going in for the score. Greg Joseph’s extra point was good and we were tied at 7.

As we move to the second quarter, the Lions are looking at a 4th-and-4 from the Minnesota 39. The drive should have been a three-and-out, but a penalty on Chandon Sullivan for hitting Goff on his slide kept it alive for Detroit.

We’re through the first quarter in Detroit, with the Minnesota Vikings tied with the Detroit Lions at 7-7. Come on in and join us for the second quarter of play, folks!