SportsDirect Inc. staff
Dec 29, 2013
Vikings 14, Lions 13: Rookie wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson ran for a touchdown and caught the go-ahead scoring pass to lift host Minnesota in the regular-season finale.
Matt Cassel threw for 189 yards with a touchdown and an interception as the Vikings (5-10-1) were victorious in the final game ever played at the Metrodome. Matt Asiata, filling in for an injured Adrian Peterson, rushed for 115 yards in his second career start to help Minnesota avenge a season-opening 34-24 loss in Detroit.
Matthew Stafford finished 23-of-33 for 217 yards and a TD to join Drew Brees as the only quarterbacks in league history to throw for 4,500 yards in three straight seasons, but it wasn't enough to prevent the Lions (7-9) from tumbling to their sixth loss in seven games.
Detroit erased a 7-0 halftime deficit when Stafford connected with Reggie Bush on a 19-yard scoring pass and David Akers kicked field goals of 25 and 53 yards for a 13-7 lead with 12:43 to play. The Vikings had four punts and a fumble on their first five second-half possessions, but a 50-yard punt return by Marcus Sherels set up Cassel's 8-yard scoring pass to Patterson with 9:19 remaining.
Minnesota put up the only points of the opening half when Patterson took a pitchout, reversed his field and raced 50 yards to the end zone. The Vikings were driving for another score on their next possession, but Cassel was picked off by Louis Delmas inside the 10-yard line.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Lions WR Calvin Johnson (knee) was inactive, leaving him eight yards shy of becoming the first player in history to register three straight seasons with 1,500 receiving yards. ... Patterson became the first player in NFL history to record a 100-yard kickoff return, 75-yard scoring reception and 50-yard TD run in the same season. ... Lions RBs Bush and Joique Bell finished the season as the first teammates in league history with both 500 rushing and receiving yards in a season.