Case Keenum was impressive, throwing for two touchdowns and running for another as Minnesota won its seventh straight.
Case Keenum stood in the pocket to take a hit, dipped his right shoulder to slip out of a sack and shuffled his feet to give his receivers more time to get open.
Looking like a savvy winner instead of a journeyman, he picked apart Detroit’s defense with his arm and made plays with his legs to help the Minnesota Vikings beat the Lions, 30-23, on Thursday.
Keenum threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score in the first half to give the Vikings a double-digit lead, and they went on to win a seventh straight game.
They took a huge step toward winning the N. F. C. North by taking a three-game lead over the second-place Lions.
Keenum, undrafted out of Houston in 2012, is suddenly 7-2 this season after going 9-15 in his time with the Houston Texans and the Rams.
“I want to be great, and I have confidence in myself that I can be great,” he said.
The Vikings signed him to be a backup, and he has made the most of his opportunities with Sam Bradford injured and Teddy Bridgewater recovering from a knee injury.
Keenum was 21 of 30 for 282 yards, with both touchdown passes going to tight end Kyle Rudolph.
“Case is amazing because he does so many small things to pick up first downs and keep drives alive,” Rudolph said.
“Every time he finds a way to convert another third down, it means we’ve got three more plays to attack the defense. With the number of big-play guys we’ve got now, we can do a lot of damage with those three plays.”
Detroit (6-5) made mistakes in every phase of the game, and Minnesota took advantage. Keenum’s first touchdown pass to Rudolph, a 1-yard strike in the first quarter, was made a little easier because the Lions had just 10 defenders on the field.
Keenum scored on a 9-yard run later that quarter after Matthew Stafford fumbled while trying to hand off to Ameer Abdullah.
A victory would have put the Lions a game behind Minnesota in the standings and given them a potential tiebreaker. Instead, the loss dealt a blow to their chances of making a second straight postseason appearance.
“Don’t count us out just yet,” Detroit Coach Jim Caldwell said. “We’ve got a lot of football yet to play.”
Xavier Rhodes sidetracked Detroit’s comeback hopes with an interception at the Detroit 37 late in the game.
Detroit’s Darius Slay blocked a field goal with 1 minute 15 seconds left, and his teammate Nevin Lawson recovered the ball and ran it 77 yards into the end zone. However, the play was negated because Slay was offside, and the penalty quieted a roaring crowd.
Minnesota wide receiver Adam Thielen, who had eight receptions for 89 yards, deflected credit to his quarterback.
“Case Keenum is one tough human being,” he said. “When he’s hanging in there — giving you time to get open — you feel like you’re letting him down if you can’t do it. He’s willing to get crushed to make a play, and that makes us want to come though on our end.”
Everson Griffen had two sacks for the Vikings, tying his career high with 12 on the season.
Stafford struggled even before he was hurt late in the game, missing open receivers and finishing 20 of 35 for 250 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, which came on fourth down with just under three minutes left. Marvin Jones had six catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns. The Lions were held to a total of 53 yards rushing.
