The last regular season contest pitted two teams with equal records:14-and 3. It was expected to be a good one despite not really affecting the playoffs. The winner would have home field advantage and the loser would be playing on the road to start.
Veteran QB for the Lions, Jared Goff of California, would face Sam Darnald, the rookie. The first half was tied after 30 minutes and neither team dominated the other. Dropped passes, fumbles, sacks, and missed opportunities characterized the play. The Lions defensive unit showed some success in the red zone, thwarting the Vikes efforts to score a TD. QB Darnald missed open receivers several times. Field goals seemed to be each team's answer to failure to score.
The second half seemed to indicate more of the same: fumbles, dropped passes, missed opportunities. Then, things changed: the Lions started to run the ball successfully against the Vikes spread defense. Goff now had an advantage: sure I can pass against the blitz and aggressive rushers, but I can challenge the Norsemen and keep them honest with a running game. With a mix of runs and passes, the most successful strategy, worked quite well as the Vikes fumbled and stumbled as the clock wound down. The Lions completed the most successful season in their history with 15 regular season games in the win column. The home town crowd were duly impressed and expressed satisfaction following a nice victory at Ford Field.
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