Keenum picks apart Lions; Vikings win seventh in row
QB excels with arm, legs, savvy
DETROIT — Case Keenum stood in the pocket to take a hit, dipped his right shoulder to slip out of a sack and shuffled his feet in the pocket 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 Thursday.
Keenum threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score in the first half to give the Vikings (9-2) a double-digit lead, and they went on to win a seventh straight game.
They took a big step toward winning the NFC North by taking a three-game lead over the second-place Lions (6-5).
Keenum, undrafted out of Houston in 2012, suddenly is
7-2 this season after going 9-15 with the Houston Texas and the St. Louis/los Angeles 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 TD passes going to tight end Kyle Rudolph, putting the Vikings up 20-3 late in the second quarter.
“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 made mistakes in every phase of the game, and Minnesota took advantage. Keenum’s 1-yard pass to Rudolph was made easier because the Lions had just 10 defenders on the field.
And Keenum’s 9-yard run came after Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford was charged with a fumble while trying to hand off to running back Ameer Abdullah.