3 Takeaways from Vikings' Week 14 Loss vs. Lions

The Minnesota Vikings had an opportunity to clinch their first NFC North title since 2017 on Sunday afternoon. The Detroit Lions, who remained alive in the division race, prevented that from happening.

For only the third time this season, the Vikings were defeated, as they fell 34-23 to the Lions at Ford Field. It was Minnesota's first loss to an NFC North rival, with its previous defeats coming against the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys.

This game went the Lions' way from the start. The Vikings never led, and they trailed by as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter. Kirk Cousins' 15-yard touchdown pass to K.J. Osborn cut Detroit's lead to 31-23 with 2 minutes and 50 seconds to go, but Michael Badgley's 48-yard field goal sealed it for the Lions with 17 seconds remaining.

Here are three takeaways from Minnesota's Week 14 loss.

The Vikings have lost twice in the past four weeks, and their defense has a lot to do with that. Minnesota has given up more than 400 yards in each of its past five games, and it's now allowing an NFL-high 403.7 total yards per contest.

The Lions racked up 464 total yards and committed no turnovers on Sunday. They scored four touchdowns, including two that came on plays of 40-plus yards. Jared Goff aired it out for 330 yards and three touchdowns, having no trouble against the Vikings' secondary. And Minnesota didn't generate enough pressure, recording no sacks and only three QB hits.

"We've got to take a look at what we can do to help our guys be in position to make more plays," Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell said, per Jim Souhan of the Star Tribune. "Be a little more aggressive, possibly. I think we've got to generate some more rush, however we do it, and then just try to limit the explosives."

Minnesota has a high-powered offense, but it can't always be relying on that unit to make up for its defensive shortcomings. The Vikings don't need to have the top defense in the league in order to have success, but they have to do a better job on that side of the ball.

Sunday's loss can't be blamed on wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who once again had another incredible showing for the Vikings' offense. The 23-year-old had 11 catches for 223 yards, the most in a game in franchise history.

With four games to go in the regular season, Jefferson has a league-high 1,500 receiving yards. The NFL single-season record is 1,964, set by Detroit's Calvin Johnson in 2012 (albeit in one fewer game, due to the shorter schedule at that time).

Jefferson may be racking up the yardage, but his focus isn't on making more history.

"I'm proud of myself individually, but it isn't an individual game," Jefferson said, per Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. "So I would rather have the win over the stats any day."

It's possible Jefferson could get plenty of both the rest of the way, though. Minnesota is still having a strong season, and he's likely to continue to be a major part of it down the stretch.

It shouldn't be much longer before the Vikings clinch the NFC North title. They'll do so with their next win or with the Lions' next loss/tie. So it wouldn't be surprising to see Minnesota secure the division championship in Week 15.

The Vikings are set to host the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday, which seems like a game they should easily win. Even if they somehow don't, the Lions have a challenging road matchup against the Jets on Sunday.

The odds are in Minnesota's favor, considering it would need to lose out and Detroit would need to win out in order for the Lions to end up ahead of the Vikings in the NFC North. That shouldn't happen and would mark a wild turn of events.

However, Minnesota lost ground in the race for the NFC's No. 1 seed, as it's now two games back of Philadelphia and even with Dallas. So the Vikings will still have the motivation to win after they've become the NFC North champion.