By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com
Lions 22, Vikings 16 (OT) – Golden Tate’s 28-yard game-winning touchdown reception with 8:21 left in overtime propelled the Lions to a road win against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday afternoon.
The Lions forced overtime with a game-tying 58-yard field goal by kicker Matt Prater as time expired after Detroit drove the ball 35-yards on three plays in 21 seconds.
Detroit, which will head into its bye week, is now 5-4 on the season, good for second place in the NFC North Division.
Both teams exchanged field goals during the first quarter.
The Lions took a 10-3 halftime lead after a one-yard Anquan Boldin reception from quarterback Matthew Stafford with one second left in the second quarter.
Minnesota responded with a one-yard reception from tight end Kyle Rudolph from quarterback Sam Bradford with 4:02 left in the third quarter, but failed to tie the game on the ensuing extra point.
Detroit increased its lead to 13-9 with a 53-yard field goal by Prater with 12:33 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Vikings looked to have the game won on a Rhett Ellison one-yard scamper with 23 seconds left to give Minnesota a 16-13 edge.
But the Lions drove the ball 35 yards on two plays, then spiked the ball with two seconds left to set up the game tying field goal, which led to the game-winning score in overtime.
Stafford threw for 219 yards for Detroit while Tate caught 11 passes for 79 yards and Eric Ebron made seven catches for 92 yards.
Tahir Whitehead led the Lions defense with nine tackles.
Record: 5-4
2nd Place in NFC North Division (1/2 game behind first place Minnesota)
1/2 Game behind Washington for final playoff spot
Magic # to clinch a playoff spot: 8.5
Magic # to clinch an NFC North Division title: 9
Next Game: 11/20/2016 vs Jacksonville Jaguars 1:00 p.m. @ Ford Field
Stats: Passing-Matthew Stafford 23/36 219 YDs 2 TDs 1 Int. Rushing- Theo Riddick 14 Att 70 YDs Receiving- Eric Ebron 7 Rec 92 YDs, Golden Tate 11 Rec 79 YDs 1 TD, Anquan Boldin 2 Rec 10 YDs 1 TD. Defense- Tahir Whitehead 9 Tackles Kicking-Matt Prater 3/3 FG (47, 53, 58 YDs) 1/1 XP.
Oilers 2, Red Wings 1 – The Red Wings dropped their fifth straight, falling to the Edmonton Oilers at home on Sunday evening.
Muskegon native Justin Abdelkader scored Detroit’s lone goal of the game, which gave the Red Wings a 1-0 advantage.
Edmonton responded with a first period goal by Tyler Pitlick and a late second period goal from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
Jimmy Howard took the loss for the Red Wings in net, stopping 26 of 28 shots.
The Red Wings, who are 6-6-1 on the season, will look to snap their slide on Tuesday night on the road against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Record: 6-6-1 13 pts
5th Place in Atlantic Division (8 points behind Montreal)
Tied for 7th Place in Eastern Conference (8 points behind Montreal)
Tied with four teams for the final two playoff spots
Magic # of pts to clinch a playoff berth: 143 pts
Magic # of pts to clinch a regular season Atlantic Division title: 149 pts
Magic # of pts to clinch a regular season Eastern Conference title: 149 pts
Next Game: 11/08/2016 @ Philadelphia Flyers 7:00 p.m. @ Wells Fargo Center
Stats: Goals- Justin Abdelkader (3). Assists- Brendan Smith (2), Frans Nielsen (5). Goalie- Jimmy Howard L (2-2-0) 26 saves on 28 shots.
