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Hail Marys lift Vikes

Minnesota Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph, defended by Detroit Lions defensive back DeShawn Shead (26), catches a 44-yard pass for a touchdown with no time on the clock during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 23, 2018, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

DETROIT (AP) — Looks like the Minnesota Vikings have a feel for desperation.

And desperation pass plays.

Kirk Cousins took a shotgun snap, rolled slightly to his right, stepped up and heaved a pass from near midfield into the end zone.

Kyle Rudolph leaped to make a go-ahead touchdown catch.

Cousins’ 44-yard Hail Mary to Rudolph as time expired in the first half put the Minnesota Vikings ahead and they beat the Detroit Lions 27-9 Sunday, moving a step closer to playing in the postseason.

“It was a big way to gain some momentum going into the half after a slow start,” Cousins said. “They were calling it a Hail Rudy after it happened.”

Minnesota famously beat New Orleans in the playoffs last January on Diggs’ game-ending, 61-yard touchdown reception to advance to the NFC championship game.

The Vikings could have clinched a spot in the playoffs with a win and losses by Washington and Philadelphia this weekend. The Redskins lost to Tennessee on Saturday, and shortly after Minnesota walked into its locker room at Ford Field, the Eagles beat Houston on a game-ending field goal.

Minnesota (8-6-1) can still earn a spot in the postseason by closing the regular season with a win against NFC North champion Chicago at home, or by having wild-card hopefuls lose in Week 17.

“We don’t want to leave it up to anyone else,” Rudolph said.

The Vikings overcame an awful start offensively, scoring two touchdowns on Cousins’ passes over the last 1:32 of the second quarter, and relied on their defense all afternoon against Detroit.

Minnesota had almost as many punts (4) as yards (5) before Cousins led an eight-play, 69-yard drive that ended with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs late in the first half. On the Vikings’ next possession after calling timeout with 2 seconds left in the second quarter against a three-man rush, Cousins capped a 70-yard drive with his Hail Mary to Rudolph, who didn’t have much traffic in front of him,.

“I didn’t have to move one step off of my spot. I was able to jump,” said the 6-foot-6 Rudolph, who was a highly touted high school basketball player in Cincinnati. “I joked earlier I had a lot of rebounds in high school basketball and at that point, it turns into another rebound.”

In the same end zone three years ago, Aaron Rodgers connected with Richard Rodgers on a winning desperation pass to lift the Packers to a win over Detroit to help them make a push to get into the postseason.

Cousins finished 21 of 28 for 253 yards with three touchdowns, matching his career high with 29 set in 2015 with the Redskins. Rudolph had a career-high 122 yards receiving, matched a career high with two touchdown receptions, and had a season-high nine receptions.

The Lions (5-10) wasted opportunities to have a comfortable cushion in the first half because their offense stalled repeatedly. They had to settle for three field goals and a 9-0 lead, and then they had to deal with a 14-9 deficit after the Hail Mary.

Detroit has dropped four of five and seven of nine since reaching .500 in late October, falling apart in Patricia’s first season as a head coach.

The Vikings opened the second half with a field goal for a 17-9 lead that looked like it would be enough against a team that failed to score a touchdown against them in two games this season. Minnesota sent a lot of fans out of Ford Field early in the second half when Cousins threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Rudolph to go ahead by 15 points.

Matthew Stafford was 18 of 32 for 116 yards.

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