The Lions and Vikings have played twice annually since the Vikings entered the league’s Western Conference in 1961. The two teams moved to the NFC Central after the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, which became the NFC North after the NFL's 2002 realignment. This is the only NFC North rivalry without any head-to-head postseason meetings. Both teams play in indoor stadiums, and both are known for their bad luck.
Since the rivalry's establishment with the Vikings joining the NFL in 1961, Minnesota has largely dominated the series. The most lopsided decades were in the 1970s and 2000s, with the Vikings going 35–5 against the Lions in those two decades. The Vikings lead the series 80–43–2 as of 2023.[2]
In the 2000s, the Vikings had a commanding 18-2 record against the Lions.
2020s: Lions and Vikings compete for playoffs[edit]
In the 2021 offseason, the Lions decided to trade QB Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for QB Jared Goff, a 2021 third-round pick and two first-round picks in 2022 and 2023.[3]
Both the Lions and Vikings were off to slow starts in the 2021 season when they met in Minneapolis on October 10. Going into the 4th quarter, the Vikings had a 13-6 lead. K Greg Joseph made another field goal to make it 16-6. A failed 4th down attempt by the Lions gave the Vikings the ball on Detroit's 34-yard line. The Vikings set up Joseph for a 49-yard field goal, but Joseph, who has made 3 field goals, missed the kick. The Lions responded by making their kick to make it 16-9. Then, disaster struck for the Vikings as RB Alexander Mattison fumbled the ball and LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin recovered it at Minnesota's 20-yard line with under 2 minutes left to go. RB D'Andre Swift ran it in for a touchdown. Rather than tie the game to go into overtime potentially, HC Dan Campbell called a two-point conversion. Goff successfully threw a pass to WR KhaDarel Hodge to take a 17-16 lead for the Lions. The Vikings got the ball back with 33 seconds left. QB Kirk Cousins completed two deep passes to WR Adam Thielen for 40 yards and one pass to WR Dede Westbrook for 6 yards to set up a 54-yard field goal try with 3 seconds left. Joseph redeemed himself and made the kick, winning it 19-17 for the Vikings. With the win, the Vikings extended their win streak against the Lions to 8.[4] After suffering consecutive defeats on game-winning field goals (the first one against the Baltimore Ravens), Dan Campbell was visibly emotional during the post-game press conference. He expressed, "When you see your players give all that they have and you lose that way, it's tough. You know, you don't want that for them."[5][6]
The Lions were still looking for their first win of the season when they played again in Detroit on December 5. They were sitting at a record of 0-10-1 and their last win was on December 6, 2020, against the Bears, just over a year. The Vikings started the game with two field goals to take a 6-0 but the Lions scored 20 unanswered points to be up 20-6 by the end of the half. The Vikings started to respond and the score was 23-21 by the start of the 4th quarter. The Lions went for it on 4th-and-one on their 28-yard line, but Goff was sacked LB Blake Lynch and fumbled the ball, which Lynch recovered. Kirk Cousins found WR Justin Jefferson to take a 27-23 lead with 1:50 left. With no timeouts, Goff engineered a 75-yard drive down to Minnesota territory. On the last play with 4 seconds left, Goff found WR Amon-Ra St. Brown for an 11-yard touchdown pass, winning the game 29-27. Not only did the Lions snap an 8-game losing streak to the Vikings, but they earned their first win in 364 days.[7]
Vikings win 13 straight meetings (1968–74). Lions win in Bloomington came as the Lions intercepted a pass in the end zone on the game's final play. Vikings lose Super Bowl IX.
Lions' first season sweep since 1962. Barry Sanders rushed for 220 yards and four touchdowns in the game in Minneapolis, which was the first game for the Lions after guard Mike Utley suffered a broken neck one week earlier.
The meeting in Minnesota assured the winner would host their first playoff game, a Lions' victory in this game would've resulted in a rematch the following week in the wild-card round in Detroit.
Lions' QB Dan Orlovsky infamously runs out of the back of his own end zone for a safety in the game in Minneapolis. Lions complete first 0–16 season in NFL history.
In Minneapolis, Vikings win on a game-winning field goal to 8 straight meetings (2017–21). In Detroit, Lions win on a last minute touchdown for their first win in over a year.
