Northern exposure: A look at an NFC rivalry

LIONS

Check out this retrospective of Detroit’s biggest games vs. Minnesota in last decade

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison, defended by Detroit Lions cornerback Kindle Vildor, is unable to catch a pass during a Jan. 7 game in Detroit. ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

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By Nolan Bianchi

The Detroit News

ALLEN PARK >> Eyes of the football world will descend on Minneapolis this weekend for one of the best matchups between the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings in some time.

According to the second-hand ticket marketplace TickPick, Sunday’s average ticket price is $246, representing the highest average ticket price ever for a game between these two teams.

With just one combined loss between the Lions (4-1) and Vikings (5-0), this game has massive implications for the division race.

Let’s take a look at some of the biggest Lions victories against Minnesota in the last decade:

Week 16, 2023: Lions 30, Vikings 24

The Lions went into Minnesota on Christmas Eve last season with the chance to clinch their first division title in 30 years against a Vikings team that proved to be a tough out, despite the loss of starting quarterback Kirk Cousins. Christmas Eve hadn’t been kind to Detroit in recent years: The season prior, with the chance to give themselves an inside track at the playoffs, Detroit went down to Carolina and was obliterated by a flailing Panthers team; in 2017, with another opportunity to keep their playoff dreams alive, they lost to the Cincinnati Bengals on the road, 26-17, to essentially bring an end to the Jim Caldwell era.

Last year, against an undermanned Vikings squad, many feared a similar outcome: Wide receiver Justin Jefferson went off for 141 yards and a touchdown, while backup quarterback Nick Mullens threw for 411 yards, despite turning it over four times. Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs led the way for Detroit with 100 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns and receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown added 106 receiving yards and a touchdown.

After the Lions punted the ball away with 2:36, Lions fans collectively held their breath after Minnesota reached Detroit’s 30-yard line with 1:05 to go in the game.

But in the end, Ifeatu Melifonwu saved the holiday with a division-sealing interception.

Week 13, 2021: Lions 29, Vikings 27

It’s funny to think about now, but there was a time when it seemed like the Dan Campbell era might follow a similar path to regimes prior. Detroit was 0-10-1 heading into the Week 13 home matchup against a sputtering Vikings team.

The Lions had already wasted a chance to get a win over Minnesota earlier in the season when a missed Lions field goal late in the fourth quarter gave the Vikings a chance to steal the victory at U.S. Bank Stadium in Week 5.

The Vikings took a 27-23 lead on a touchdown to Jefferson with 1:50 left in the game, but the Lions led a 14-play drive the other way, culminating in an 11-yard touchdown pass to St. Brown — his first career touchdown — as time expired to snap an eight-game losing streak to Minnesota and breathe life into Campbell’s Lions career.

Week 12, 2016: Lions 16, Vikings 13

Matt Patricia never beat the Vikings as head of the Lions, so we have to go all the way back to 2016 for our next moment — but it’s a really good one. There were actually two memorable wins against the Vikings in 2016, and we’ll start with the game that came on Thanksgiving.

Entering the 2016 season, Detroit had actually won three Thanksgiving Day games in a row. But it looked like that streak was in jeopardy after Matt Prater’s 48-yard tying field goal, which gave Minnesota the ball back in a 13-13 game and 1:45 on the clock. But early on in the potential go-ahead drive, Lions cornerback Darius Slay intercepted Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford to set up another field goal for Prater — this one from 40 yards out — to steal a 16-13 win as time expired.

Week 9, 2016: Lions 22, Vikings 16 (OT)

Here’s a fun stat to give Lions fans some good feelings going into Sunday: The last time the Vikings got off to a 5-0 start (2016), the Lions won both meetings against Minnesota that season.

Before the Lions could get their big win at home on Thanksgiving, they had to go to Minnesota in Week 9 against a Vikings team that had lost two straight after winning five consecutive to open the season. Minnesota looked well on its way to earning the victory when Rhett Ellison’s 1-yard rushing touchdown with 23 seconds left gave the Vikings a 16-13 lead.

But in this season, the Lions were comeback kings, winning eight games via fourth-quarter comebacks. And this was maybe the most satisfying of them all: Detroit moved the ball down the field in three plays to set up a 58-yard tying field goal by Prater, and in overtime, Golden Tate broke off a 28-yard touchdown reception that ended with him flipping into the end zone and embarrassing multiple Vikings defenders.

The victory proved to be a big one. The 9-7 Lions went on to make a playoff appearance that year, while the Vikings finished 8-8 and missed the postseason.