While the Vikings hold a sizeable advantage in their all-time series against the Lions (79-40-2), Detroit appears to be on the upswing this season with the offense averaging 35.5 points per game this season. The Vikings have won 8 of the last 9 meetings between the teams since Thanksgiving Day 2017, but the last three games have been decided by 2 points.
2021 season
Dec. 5: Lions 29, Vikings 27
Detroit QB Jared Goff drove the Lions on a 75 yards in the final 1:50 and hit Amon-Ra St. Brown with the winning 11-yard TD on fourth and 1 as time expired.
Oct. 10: Vikings 19, Lions 17
The Vikings blew a 10-point lead in the final five minutes, but Greg Joseph capped a 37-second drive by kicking a 54-yard field goal on the final play.
2020 season
Jan. 3, 2021: Vikings 37, Lions 35
Kirk Cousins threw for 3 TDs and 405 yards — including 133 to Justin Jefferson, who broke Randy Moss' team record for rookie receiving yards — as the Vikings wrapped up a 7-9 season with their sixth game decided by 3 points or less.
Nov. 8: Vikings 34, Lions 20
Dalvin Cook had his first 200-yard rushing game of his career as the Vikings ran for 275 yards against an overmatched Lions defensive front.
2019 season
Dec. 8: Vikings 20, Lions 7
The Vikings rebounded from a "Monday Night Football" blowout loss to Seattle and improved to 9-4, but as Cousins said, "It felt like we couldn't take a big step forward."
Oct. 20: Vikings 42, Lions 30
Cousins, playing in front of family and friends from his hometown of Holland, Mich., had 337 yards passing and four TDs as the Vikings gained 503 yards overall.
2018 season
Dec. 23: Vikings 27, Lions 9
The Vikings pulled away with 27 unanswered points, including a Hail Mary pass from Cousins to Kyle Rudolph for a TD at end the first half.
Nov. 4: Vikings 24, Lions 9
The Vikings set a team record by sacking the quarterback 10 times. Danielle Hunter had 3½ sacks along with the fumble recovery for a touchdown.
2017 season
Nov. 23: Vikings 30, Lions 23
On Thanksgiving in Detroit, the Vikings built a 17-point lead and weathered a furious Matthew Stafford-led comeback.