Lions eek out another close one against Vikes

Detroit won on Thanksgiving in a tight game

Tim Fuller—X02835
Nov 24

DETROIT — Darius Slay doesn’t lack for confidence or a sweet-sounding nickname. In fact, he created it.”Didn’t he have a nickname for himself? We didn’t give it to him,” Detroit Lions coach Jim Caldwell said with a chuckle. “I’m sure he’ll let you know it’s ‘Big Play Slay.'”Detroit’s shutdown corner gave a national audience some evidence of why he’s deserving of the moniker. Slay stepped in front of Minnesota wide receiver Adam Thielen and intercepted a Sam Bradford pass at the Vikings 33-yard-line.Slay returned it 13 yards to the 20 with 30 seconds remaining, setting up Matt Prater’s 40-yard, game-winning field goal in Detroit’s 16-13 Thanksgiving Day victory at Ford Field.”I didn’t get the ball too much all day,” Slay said. “I’m surprised they threw it to that side.”Matt Prater’s 40-yard field goal on the final play gave Detroit a victory over Minnesota and sole possession of first place in the NFC North on Thanksgiving Day at Ford Field.Matthew Stafford completed 23 of 40 passes for 232 yards and a touchdown, and Anquan Boldin caught seven passes for 69 yards and a score for the Lions (7-4).The Vikings (6-5) relied on a short passing game. Sam Bradford completed 31 of 37 passes for 224 yards. Tight end Kyle Rudolph caught nine passes for 64 yards and Adam Thielen gathered in eight passes for 53 yards.