(Minneapolis) Read the reports of the games played Sunday in the NFL.
Published at 5:08 p.m. Updated at 5:56 p.m.
Aided by two rushing touchdowns from Jahmyr Gibbs and another from Amon-Ra St. Brown that allowed them to take the lead, the Detroit Lions earned their first section title in 30 years when they defeated the crippled Minnesota Vikings by a score of 30-24 Sunday afternoon.
Ifeatu Melifonwu intercepted a pass from Nick Mullens – his team’s fourth interception of the game – at the Lions’ five-yard line with 49 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Mullens made an imprecise pass to Justin Jefferson, who was left completely exposed, three plays after Jefferson made a spectacular leaping catch in the air, despite the presence of two rivals, for a first down on a third down and 27 yards to go.
For the Lions, quarterback Jared Goff accumulated 257 passing yards without committing a single turnover. Running back David Montgomery added a touchdown for the Lions (11-4), who delivered another solid performance on offense.
The Lions are guaranteed to play a playoff game for the first time in 22 years at Ford Field, where a banner commemorating their NL championship will fly.
The last banner was raised to underline their title of the Central section of the National Association, in 1993.
In the loss, Mullens threw two touchdown passes, a 26-yard touchdown pass to Jefferson with 29 seconds left in the first half, and a six-yard touchdown pass to KJ Osborn that gave the Vikings a lead a 21-17 lead early in the third quarter.
But like the previous week in an overtime loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, turnovers had a big influence in the final outcome of the game.
Dave Campbell, Associated Press
Team record for Cooper in Browns win over Texans
PHOTO MARIA LYSAKER, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ka’dar Hollman (20) and Amari Cooper (2) catches
Amari Cooper set a team record with 265 passing yards, scored two touchdowns and scored a two-point conversion to help the Cleveland Browns defeat the Houston Texans 36-22 on Sunday .
The previous Browns record belonged to Josh Gordon, who had 261 yards passing against the Jacksonville Jaguars on December 1, 2013.
Cooper has 1,250 passing yards this season, making him the first wide receiver in team history to have two consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 passing yards.
The Browns (10-5) cannot secure a playoff spot this week, but remain in good position to qualify for only the second time since 2002.
In his fourth start with the Browns, Joe Flacco threw three touchdown passes and amassed 368 yards. He was the victim of two interceptions.
Cooper caught touchdown passes of 75 and seven yards, in addition to making a 53-yard catch on the first play of the game to lead his team to the first major of the duel.
The Browns, who won their third straight game, led 22-7 at halftime.
The Texans (7-8) didn’t help themselves in their quest for a playoff spot. Case Keenum had just 62 passing yards with two interceptions in his second game in the absence of freshman sensation CJ Stroud, who is sidelined with a concussion .
Davis Mills took over for Keenum late in the third quarter.
The Browns quickly took the lead thanks to Jerome Ford’s touchdown run, on a four-yard run. Cooper then made it 14-0 following his 75-yard reception early in the second quarter.
Dameon Pierce cut the lead in half by returning the punt 98 yards and into the end zone.
Kicker Dustin Hopkins, who wanted to catch Pierce during the sequence, was injured and never returned to the game. The Browns did not attempt a conversion the rest of the game.
Kristie Rieken, Associated Press
2023-12-24 22:08:28
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