Lions vs. Vikings: Live score updates, highlights, injury news

The NFL Game of the Week will be played this Sunday in Minneapolis. The 4-1 Detroit Lions face the 5-0 Minnesota Vikings in the battle for the lead of the NFC North. The Lions' success is no surprise. They were considered NFC champions and Super Bowl contenders throughout the offseason. A 4-1 start is exactly what was expected for the first six weeks of the season.

The same cannot be said for the Vikings. Their win total in Las Vegas for the entire season was around 6.5, and after the bye they are already at five. Not only are the Vikings one of two undefeated teams, they also have a pretty strong record. They beat both the Texans and 49ers and took on the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau.

But none of these teams are playing better than the Lions right now. Detroit has scored 89 points in its last two games. Most notably, they made the trip to Dallas and finished them off with a 47-9 win. Their offense was outstanding and their defense seemed to have improved significantly from last year.

However, the loss of Aidan Hutchinson is imminent. The Lions defensive end was in the midst of his Defensive Player of the Year career, recording a league-leading 7.5 sacks in just five games. Without Hutchinson, will the Lions still be able to generate consistent pressure? Can the secondary hold out a little longer now?

We'll see how they do against the Vikings this week.

This is a live update post providing drive-by-drive analysis, results updates and injury news. Come back for kickoff (1 p.m. ET) for continued updates from Minneapolis.

First quarter

The Vikings won the kickoff and retired, giving Detroit its first opportunity to put points on the board. However, they were unable to do so as a holding penalty against Kayode Awosika – who was filling in for Kevin Zeitler – put Detroit behind the posts and a sack ensured that Detroit went out with a three-pointer. The Lions made a bad situation worse by faking a punt, and the Vikings were all over it.

The Vikings needed just two plays to capitalize, with Aaron Jones breaking off a 34-yard touchdown run to do it 7-0 Vikings just over three minutes into the game.

Detroit didn't respond and it went to a three-pointer again. Jared Goff couldn't find an open player on third-and-4 and struggled for a one-yard gain.

The Vikings responded by extending their lead. Minnesota's drive got off to a good start thanks to a third-and-1 diving catch by Justin Jefferson for 18 yards.

A defensive holding call on Carlton Davis put Minnesota on the Lions' side. Then Sam Darnold faced a third-and-8 and had to checkdown and settle for a 57-yard field goal attempt that Will Reichard drilled. 10-0 Vikings.