DETROIT, Mich. — The NFL no longer has an undefeated team. Detroit beat Minnesota 19-15 at Ford Field on Sunday, ending the Vikings’ 6-0 run and leaving the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only club ever to finish a season without a loss.
The Lions, playing banged up, leaned on the ground game. Detroit piled up 230 rushing yards while holding Minnesota to 81, and Jahmyr Gibbs accounted for 168 yards from scrimmage.
Points were scarce early. Jake Bates supplied all six first-half Detroit points with field goals of 25 and 37 yards, and Gibbs broke a 30-yard scoring run late in the third quarter for a 12-7 edge. That was his 10th touchdown this season, making him the second Lion after Barry Sanders to reach 10 in four seasons in a row.
The Detroit defense held Minnesota to 266 yards of offense, sacked Kyler Murray three times and got a takeaway from cornerback D.J. Reed.
Minnesota had built its fast start on defense, giving up 12.3 points a game, the fewest in the league. Detroit’s 19 points were the most the Vikings had allowed since the opener, when Green Bay put up 22.
Even with the loss, Minnesota sits at 6-1 and still leads the NFC North, though the division race tightened with the result.
The 1972 Dolphins under coach Don Shula went 14-0 in the regular season and won all three playoff games, capping the run with a 14-7 Super Bowl victory over Washington. Fifty-four years later, no team has matched it.
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