NFC North

Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown caught the game-winning touchdown from quarterback Jared Goff in Sunday's victory over the Minnesota Vikings, giving Detroit its first win of the year.

After the game, St. Brown explained the winning play from his perspective to reporters:

"The biggest thing for me was making sure I'm in the end zone as I catch it, and as I broke in, I was wide open, actually. I was like, 'No way.' So I was looking at Jared, I was like, 'Oh, please just throw it.'"

Sunday's game-winning score was the first touchdown of St. Brown's young career.

The rookie receiver continued: "And the ball was in the air, I was like, 'This can't take any longer,' because I know the DB is coming from behind. So I was just sitting there waiting, because I couldn't really attack it. I didn't want to get back into the field of play. I want to stay in the end zone, so once I caught it, I knew the game was over, but I didn't know if the game was over-over, like walk-off over.

"I went to go celebrate, I look back, and I see Coach [Dan] Campbell walking across the field, and I was like, 'Wow, the game is over.' We don't even have to kick the PAT. So it was nice to finally get a win like that."

St. Brown, a fourth-round pick in this year's draft, led Detroit with 10 catches for 86 yards and the touchdown. Goff finished with 296 yards, three touchdowns and an interception, throwing scores to tight ends T.J. Hockenson and Brock Wright. The Lions are now 1-10-1 this season.

Detroit will face the Denver Broncos (6-5) in a road matchup next Sunday.

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell's mind was on Oxford Township, Michigan, after his team's first win of the season Sunday.

Campbell dedicated the game ball from the victory over the Minnesota Vikings to the Oxford community after the deadly shooting that happened at Oxford High School on Tuesday:

Detroit won the game 29-27 on a touchdown pass from Jared Goff to Amon-Ra St. Brown on the final play and improved to 1-10-1 on the season.

Campbell and the Lions aren't the only athletes from the state of Michigan who honored Oxford this week.

The Michigan Wolverines wore a patch during Saturday's Big Ten Championship Game with four blue hearts in recognition of the four students who were killed in the shooting: Hana St. Juliana, Madisyn Baldwin, Justin Shilling and Tate Myre.

The patch also had the initials "TM" and "42" to honor Myre, who played football for his school:

Aya Elamroussi of CNN reported at least 30 shots were fired during the shooting. The attack wounded six other students and a teacher in addition to the students who were killed.

Ethan Crumbley has been charged with first-degree murder and terrorism, among other charges.

The Detroit Lions got their Christmas present a few weeks early.

The team earned its first win of the season Sunday as Jared Goff hit Amon-Ra St. Brown in the end zone as time expired to seal a 29-27 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. Goff said in his postgame interview the Lions had "just been begging for one."

That desperation seemed evident when head coach Dan Campbell decided to go for it on 4th-and-1 with his offense backed up at its 28-yard line. 

With the Lions holding a 23-21 lead at the time, a first down would've allowed them to eat precious clock time. Instead, this happened:

The Vikings took the lead on a touchdown pass from Kirk Cousins to Justin Jefferson with 1:50 remaining, and it looked like Detroit bumbled its way into an 11th defeat. Campbell's squad had lost five one-score games entering Sunday.

This time, the Lions finally encountered some good luck.

All year they've been slightly better than their record indicated, and their effort level hasn't dropped much as the misfortune piled up. Even if it felt at times as though the football gods were intentionally spiting Campbell, it seemed as though they'd eventually get into the win column.

Now that it happened, the first-year head coach shed a massive weight from his shoulders:

In 2019, the Miami Dolphins lost their first seven games as they embarked on a total rebuild under head coach Brian Flores. They closed out with a 5-4 record over their final nine contests to serve as a springboard toward a 10-win season in 2020.

Maybe Campbell can inspire a similarly strong finish in the Motor City to change the narrative for the Lions in 2021.

The Detroit Lions will not go winless this season.

Dan Campbell's squad got its first win of the 2021 campaign with a 29-27 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. On a 4th-and-2 with four seconds left on the clock, Jared Goff tossed an 11-yard touchdown to wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown to seal the win.

The Lions led the Vikings for most of Sunday's contest, jumping out to a 20-6 lead before halftime. However, Detroit nearly blew it, allowing Minnesota to charge back and take the lead with 1:50 remaining in the game before Goff sent the hometown crowd into a frenzy with his touchdown pass to St. Brown.

The veteran quarterback completed 25 of 41 passes for 296 yards, three touchdowns and an interception in the win. St. Brown was Detroit's best receiver, finishing with 10 catches for 86 yards and a score. T.J. Hockenson and Brock Wright also combined for 77 yards and two touchdowns.

Before Sunday's win, the Lions had been the only winless team in the NFL. They had lost three games on field goals as time expired, including a 19-17 loss to the Vikings earlier this year. In addition, the Lions had not scored more than 20 points since Week 1.

Sunday's win marked Detroit's first victory since Dec. 6, 2020—a span of 364 days. The team is now 1-10-1 on the season.

But while the Lions now have one win under their belt, things won't get much easier for them through the final stretch of the season. Detroit will face the Denver Broncos, Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks before closing out the year against the Green Bay Packers.

The Cardinals (10-2) and Packers (9-3) are Super Bowl contenders, while the Broncos enter Sunday's contest against the Kansas City Chiefs with a winning record at 6-5. And while the Seahawks and Falcons have losing records, they've been much better than Detroit this year.

Regardless, all that matters for Lions fans is knowing the team didn't go winless this year. In addition, they'll still get a top pick in the 2022 draft and will continue to rebuild in the seasons ahead.

The Minnesota Vikings have to play without top receiver Adam Thielen after he was ruled out of Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions with an ankle injury, providing more of an opportunity for Justin Jefferson and others to thrive in the passing game.

The second-year Jefferson has already been one of the NFL's top wideouts this season, totaling 1,027 receiving yards and six touchdowns on 67 catches in 11 games entering the day. That follows a breakout rookie season in which he earned a Pro Bowl selection with 88 catches for 1,400 yards and seven scores.

While the 22-year-old has already shown his big-play ability throughout his time in the NFL, Thielen's absence will make Jefferson an even more important part of the offense. This will especially be the case on the scoreboard, as Thielen has 10 touchdowns on the season.

Jefferson should be a WR1 in all formats and could challenge to be the top overall scorer at the position until Thielen returns.

His injury could also open things up for K.J. Osborn, who has been a quality option for Kirk Cousins even as the third receiver. He got into the lineup after Chad Beebe and Bisi Johnson suffered preseason injuries and now could get an even bigger role.

Osborn should be added in all leagues and could even be an instant start, depending on your options.

The Vikings offense has had some big games this year, and it could lead to fantasy production for anyone with consistent playing time.  

The Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen suffered a sprained ankle in Sunday's loss to the Detroit Lions.

Head coach Mike Zimmer confirmed the severity of the injury to reporters after the star exited in the first half and did not return.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reported Thielen will undergo further testing on Monday:

Despite this setback, durability has been a defining feature of the wide receiver's career.

Thielen dealt with a hamstring injury during the 2019 season and played just 10 games. It was the first time in his career he missed any time after appearing in all 16 games in each of his first five seasons in the league.

The health concerns prevented him from replicating his usually impressive numbers, and he finished the campaign with 30 catches for 418 yards and six touchdowns.

It was a far cry from his back-to-back Pro Bowl campaigns when he tallied more than 1,200 receiving yards in 2017 and 2018.

He bounced back in 2020 and finished with 74 catches for 925 yards and 14 touchdowns in 15 games and has followed with 63 catches for 686 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2021.

While the Vikings' aerial attack will likely be worse with Thielen sidelined, they still have Justin Jefferson as a No. 1 option. Look for K.J. Osborn, Dede Westbrook and Ihmir Smith-Marsette to see more targets as well, and it wouldn't be a surprise if the team relied even more on running back Alexander Mattison until Dalvin Cook can return from his shoulder injury.            

Minnesota Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen announced Friday night he's bipolar and will become an advocate for mental health.

Griffen called police last week saying someone was inside his home. He also made several posts on social media, including one that showed him holding a gun, that raised questions about his well-being. He eventually came out of the house and was transported to a mental health facility.

The 33-year-old NFL player posted an update Friday on Instagram:

It's true I am bipolar. I will embrace it and I will be an advocate for mental health. I been running from it a long time. I'm not ashamed of it anymore. It all started when my mother passed away. Went into a dark place, thought I was great for many years. I promise this time I will do everything the experts say and my wife. I love my family and I miss my friends. Thank you for all the love and support, but most of all thank you for all the prayers.

The Vikings released a statement following the Nov. 24 incident:

Minnesota general manager Rick Spielman thanked local authorities and the team's ownership group, the Wilf family, for having plans in place to help prevent potential tragedies.

"All I know is that when we got the call this morning, that we immediately—our No. 1 concern was because of Everson, [his wife] Tiffany and his family, how much we love them," Spielman told reporters. "And how much they are a part of this family."

The Vikings placed Griffen on the NFL's reserve/non-football illness list while he received treatment.

Griffen was a fourth-round pick by Minnesota out of USC in the 2010 draft.

After a decade with the Vikings, he split the 2020 campaign between the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions before rejoining the Vikes as a free agent in August. 

The four-time Pro Bowl selection has recorded 377 total tackles and 85.5 sacks across 170 games during his 12-year NFL career.

Chicago Bears quarterback Andy Dalton will start for the second week in a row, head coach Matt Nagy told reporters Friday. 

The Bears are set to face the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at Soldier Field, and rookie quarterback Justin Fields is unavailable because of a rib injury. Nagy added that Nick Foles will back up Dalton. 

Fields has been sidelined since injuring his ribs in a Week 11 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. 

In a 16-14 Thanksgiving win over the Detroit Lions, Dalton completed 24 of 39 passes for 317 yards, one touchdown and one interception. It was his best game of the season, and he was the first Bears quarterback since Foles in 2020 to throw for at least 300 yards. 

Dalton began the season as Chicago's starter under center. However, he suffered a knee injury in a Week 2 win over the Cincinnati Bengals and missed the following two games, paving way for Fields to be named the team's starter.

In eight games as a starter, Fields has completed 58.5 percent of his passes for 1,291 yards, four touchdowns and seven interceptions. The rookie first-rounder has also rushed for 277 yards and a score. The Bears are 2-6 in games the Ohio State product has started. 

The Bears are 2-1 with Dalton as their starter. The three-time Pro Bowler has completed 64.3 percent of his passes for 788 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions this season.

In addition to Fields, the Bears will also be without wide receiver Marquise Goodwin (foot/ribs) and defensive linemen Akiem Hicks (ankle) and Mario Edwards Jr. (ribs) on Sunday. 

The Bears, who are third in the NFC North with a 4-7 record, have little chance to make the playoffs this season. When he is able to return to action, Fields will likely take over starting duties from Dalton, who is playing on a one-year, $10 million deal, in order to continue his development.