Vikings vs. Lions: Score, Twitter Reaction for 2016 Thanksgiving Day Football

The city of Detroit is thankful for Darius Slay.

The cornerback's crucial interception late in the fourth quarter gave the Detroit Lions the chance to kick a game-winning field goal, and Matt Prater converted as time expired, leading the Lions to a crucial 16-13 home win over the Minnesota Vikings on Thanksgiving at Ford Field.

The NFL shared the game's key moment on Twitter:

"

Sam Bradford PICKED by Darius Slay.

Wow. #MINvsDET https://t.co/Ckn5syCJ5b

— NFL (@NFL) November 24, 2016"

It was the Lions' seventh comeback win on the season and their fourth straight Thanksgiving win, as the team was led by a strong defensive performance and the steady Prater, who made all three of his field-goal attempts.

The team also made a bit of history on the day, per ESPN Stats & Info:

"

.@Lions are the first team in NFL history to have each of its first 11 games decided by 7 points or fewer

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 24, 2016"

Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com worded it slightly differently:

The win moved the Lions (7-4) into sole possession of first place in the NFC North, with the Vikings (6-5) essentially two games behind the Lions since Detroit also holds the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Sam Bradford's interception was his one glaring mistake on a day when the Vikings played conservatively, as Bradford finished 31-of-37 for 224 yards. His counterpart, Matt Stafford, finished 23-of-40 for 232 yards and a touchdown, avoiding any turnovers, as both teams leaned heavily on their quarterbacks due to ineffective run games.

Neither team wasted much time getting on the board, trading 12-play, 75-yard scoring drives to open the game.

Stafford's two-yard touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin opened the scoring for Detroit, as the quarterback was a perfect 6-of-6 on the drive, throwing for 46 yards.

Albert Breer of The MMQB was impressed with Stafford's start to the game:

The Vikings promptly answered with a touchdown on the next drive, as Matt Asiata plunged into the end zone from five yards out. Two Minnesota turnovers were overturned on the play, one (a Bradford fumble) by official review and a second (an interception) due to a pass interference call.

The Vikings capitalized on their second and third chances, however.

A Prater 29-yard field goal was the only other score in a first half that started with a bang and settled into a defensive affair throughout the second quarter.

Former NFL executive Joe Banner pointed out Minnesota's consistent pressure on Stafford as the Lions offense stalled:

Ross Tucker of NBCSN cited a lack of aggression from Minnesota's offense while the team struggled to generate points:

Nonetheless, two field goals from Kai Forbath in the second half left the Vikings with a 13-10 lead early in the fourth quarter. That was familiar territory for the Lions, as it represented the 11th time they have trailed in the fourth quarter this season, per Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com.

Indeed, the Lions were up to their old tricks late in the fourth quarter. After getting the ball at their own 2-yard line with 5:02 remaining, the Lions drove 68 yards to set up Prater's game-tying, 48-yard field goal.

That left the Vikings with 1:45 on the clock to earn a crucial win. Instead, Slay intercepted Bradford's pass on 3rd-and-7, giving Detroit the ball at Minnesota's 20-yard line with just 30 seconds remaining. Prater took care of the rest, and Detroit had a huge win against its NFC North rival.

Prater's late-game field goals are par for the course, as he's now 25-of-25 on game-tying or go-ahead field goals in the fourth quarter or overtime, per ESPN Stats & Info.

With the NFC North title now in their control, the Lions will next face the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, Dec. 4, while the Vikings will look to remain in contention for both a division title and playoff spot against the NFC's top team, the Dallas Cowboys, next Thursday night.

Postgame Reaction

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Slay pretty much summed up his game-winning interception with a nickname.

"That's why they call me Big Play Slay," he said, per Twentyman. 

He was also a bit surprised the Vikings targeted him at all.

"I didn't get the ball [thrown to my side] much all day, so I was surprised they threw to that side," he said in his postgame comments, per the Detroit Free Press. You can see his full comments on the decisive play below:

While the Lions were clearly pleased with their divisional win, head coach Jim Caldwell sought perspective.

"They don't hand out trophies for winning a few games," he noted, per Paula Pasche of the Oakland Press.

When asked about being in first place, Caldwell added: "I don't even worry about that stuff."

Stafford, meanwhile, wouldn't mind winning a few more games by a larger margin.

"Charmed life would be up by 30 in the fourth quarter," he said, per Pasche. "We're finding ways to win games and that's important."

In the other locker room, the disappointment was palpable. 

"We fought hard," head coach Mike Zimmer said, per the Vikings. "We didn't execute well at the end of the game, and it's disappointing. We weren't good enough on third downs offensively. We can't continue to shoot ourselves in the foot with some of those penalties and negative plays."

His full comments can be found below:

Bradford, meanwhile, identified another area for improvement.

"We probably have to find a way to create some explosive plays," he said. "It's hard when you are only picking up five, six, seven yards at a time."

Don't expect the Vikings to roll over and concede the season, however.

"We’re fighters. We’re never going to give up," tight end Kyle Rudolph told Brian Murphy of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. "We stick together. That’s the only thing we know to do."

They'll need to stick together if they have any hope of reaching the postseason. Not only do the Lions now have a strong hold on the division lead, but the NFC playoff picture is pretty crowded in general, with nine teams at .500 or better on the season and a number of other dangerous teams still lurking below that group. 

For a Vikings team dealing with a slew of injuries on offense, the road back to the postseason is certainly fraught with danger. Losing tight games like Thursday's divisional affair is no longer an option for the Vikings.

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.