No longer are the Vikings the kings of the NFC North. That title now belongs to the Detroit Lions.

As much as star receiver Justin Jefferson tried to will the Vikings to a Christmas Miracle, it wasn’t enough in a 30-24 loss to the Lions on Sunday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium. Fittingly, the game ended with quarterback Nick Mullens throwing his fourth interception of the day.

With a chance to give the Vikings the lead in the final minute, Mullens couldn’t get enough mustard on a pass to Jefferson near the goal line. That allowed safety Ifeatu Melifonwu to swoop in at the last moment for an interception that helped the Lions capture their first division title in 30 years.

The game started with the Lions going on a dominant 14-play, 75-yard drive during which they kept the Vikings completely on their heels. It culminated with running back David Montgomery finding the end zone to put the Lions up 7-0.

Fortunately for the Vikings, they responded with an impressive drive of their own, aided by the Lions dropping an interception at the goal line. On the very next play, running back Ty Chandler plunged into the end zone as the Vikings tied the score 7-7.

That score stood until shortly before halftime when the Lions made it 10-7 on a Michael Badgley field goal. The fact they were in position to do so had the Vikings steaming on the sidelines. There was a questionable roughing the passer call that helped extend the drive. There was also a scoop and score from Vikings safety safety Cam Bynum that got ruled an incomplete pass upon further review.

On the next drive, Mullens continued his trend of giving the ball away like candy on Halloween. He underthrew rookie receiver Jordan Addison, allowing safety Kerby Joseph to jump the pass for an interception. A few plays later, running back Jahmyr Gibbs bounced outside for a touchdown to up the Lions’ lead to 17-7.

That’s when the Vikings finally seemed to realize it’s a good idea to throw the ball to Jefferson. He put the team on his back on the final drive before halftime, finishing it with a spectacular touchdown catch to cut the deficit to 17-14 heading into the locker room.

The back-and-forth nature of the game continued after halftime as the Vikings went up 21-17 on a touchdown catch from K.J. Osborn. Not to be outdone, the Lions punched back with a touchdown catch from  Amon Ra St. Brown to make it 23-21 following a blocked extra point.

That lead for the Lions grew to 30-21 as they forced a punt to get the ball back, then methodically marched down the field with Gibbs waltzing into the end zone to put the finishing touches on a solid performance.

Though the Vikings added a field goal from Greg Joseph late to cut the deficit to 30-24, and even got the ball back in the final minutes, they ultimately ceded the NFC North crown to the Lions in dramatic fashion.

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