The Vikings offense just couldn't get going in Motor City.

Sam Darnold faced pressure all night long, and Minnesota failed to capitalize on opportunities in the red zone, never reaching the paint. The team fell 31-9 in Detroit, effectively finishing its regular season 14-3.

"We didn't do a lot of the things that we've consistently done all season long," Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell said, "and this game came down to finishing in the red zone, weighty downs, third downs, pitching and catching."

Minnesota reached the red zone four times, thanks in large part to stingy plays by its defense, but the Vikings came away without touchdowns each instance and twice without any points at all.

"I thought we had some opportunities, and then some other times they did some good things in man coverage and got us off our first or second reads," O'Connell said. "We didn't put the ball in the end zone at a level we've been doing — you know, we've been at a pretty strong clip down there, finishing with touchdowns over the last six, seven weeks or so. And that did not happen tonight.

"We've got to take a look at it," O'Connell added, "and be ready to try to improve immediately."

The Vikings loss locked them into the No. 5 seed in the NFC Playoffs, and they will now go on the road to face the No. 4 Rams in the Wild Card round. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. (CT) on Monday, Jan. 13, and it will air on ESPN and ABC.

O'Connell and Darnold both were asked if Ford Field's raucous atmosphere affected the game's outcome, and both acknowledged the challenge but certainly didn't use it as an excuse.

"That's what football this time of year is, especially coming to a place where teams have the success they've had," O'Connell said.

After punting on their first series, a 17-yard sack by Za'Darius Smith to start Minnesota's second drive almost seemed to set the tone for the evening's remainder.

The Vikings started their first drive of the second quarter from midfield; after a 1-yard run by Cam Akers and 13-yard completion to Josh Oliver, Darnold hit Justin Jefferson for a 31-yard gain.

Akers carried for 2 yards on first-and-goal, followed by back-to-back incompletions by Darnold. On fourth down from the 3-yard line, O'Connell opted for the aggressive route and kept the offense on the field. But a third straight incompletion followed, and the Lions took over on downs.

Minnesota's defense made another splash on the next series when Joshua Metellus tipped Jared Goff's pass, and Ivan Pace, Jr., intercepted the ball.

Darnold and Company stepped in at the Detroit 7 but couldn't capitalize. After a trio of attempts to Jefferson, the Vikings turned to Will Reichard for the 25-yard field goal to get on the board.

They got to the Detroit 13 on the next series but once again had to settle for a field goal.

Minnesota trailed 10-6 coming out of the half but had an opportunity to make a statement offensively.

A third-down penalty on Brian Branch for illegal contact kept the drive alive, and two plays later Akers broke a big run, bouncing off contact and sprinting 58 yards to the 5.

Akers carried for no gain on the next snap, Darnold tossed to Aaron Jones, Sr., for a quick 3 yards, and then the unit hit another wall with two more incomplete passes.

The ball went back to the Lions for just one play, an interception of Goff by Harrison Smith, and the Vikings had another chance but fell behind the 8-ball after Darnold was flagged for intentional grounding. They couldn't quite make up enough yardage from second-and-23, and Reichard knocked through a 51-yarder to get Minnesota back to within 1.

But things from there spiraled quickly out of control, and the Vikings never regained a foothold.

"Just gotta hit the throws; I mean, it really is as simple as that," Darnold said. "I missed a couple to 'Jets' (Jefferson) in the red zone that I'd like to have back.

"I've gotta look at the tape, see my feet and just correct everything from a mechanics standpoint," he added. "Not look too deep into it but just get better."

Darnold has played tremendously throughout the course of the season but struggled Sunday, finishing the game 18-of-41 passing for 166 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. His passer rating was 55.5.

"I'll have to go back and look at what it was like for him in the pocket — there seemed to be some opportunities, particularly chances to maybe put 7 on the board," O'Connell said. "And listen, he's hit a lot of those all season long, and not one of those plays did I call and the outcome of that play change my mentality for Sam the rest of the day. I always believe he's going to hit the next one. I've got to do a better job giving him some other opportunities, maybe.

"It was a physical game on the outside; there was a lot of challenging — guys coming up and playing man-to-man," O'Connell continued. "It was a physical game and required some pretty detailed pitching and catching and execution of our offense against certain looks, and we just seemed to be a play away for much of the day. Against a team like that, you're hoping to get 7 a few of those times to try to give yourself a real chance to win it in the end."

Jefferson tipped his cap to a Detroit defense that sacked Darnold twice and totaled 10 QB hits, but the receiver ultimately put the onus on himself and his teammates.

"We didn't execute the whole entire game," he said matter-of-factly. "They gave us a little bit of pressure, that man-to-man, Cover-2 man, [and] we just didn't execute the plays that we called. We felt like we called some good plays, some plays that should have scored and put points on the board. We didn't do well enough tonight."

Jefferson was targeted nine times and had just three catches for 54 yards. Jalen Nailor added three catches for 53 yards, and Oliver had two catches for 16 yards. T.J. Hockenson was targeted eight times, including on a few key third-down plays, but ended the night with two catches for nine yards — due to a combination of over-throws, tough coverage by Detroit and at least one play that appeared to be pass interference but wasn't called.

Jones led Minnesota in scrimmage yards, recording 10 carries for 45 rushing yards and five receptions for another 30 through the air. Akers had 65 yards on six attempts.

Jones emphasized execution in the red zone and also on third down; the Vikings were just 3-of-13 in the latter.

"That's what it comes down to," he said.

"We were able to move the ball at times," Jones added, "but we didn't finish, didn't convert, and that's something we can control. We can do better in those [situations]."

The Vikings are certainly disappointed but haven't lost faith in each other or in this team's potential as they head into the postseason.

"That locker room is already ready to go. Guys are ready to respond, and we'll get ready to go for a huge opportunity coming up on Monday night," O'Connell said.

Jefferson echoed his coach's sentiments, calling the regular-season finale a learning point.

"It's something we have to look at and figure out," Jefferson reiterated. "We're not gonna hang our heads too much on this. They're a great team. They're definitely a team we're probably going to see later in the playoffs. Can't really beat ourselves down about it. Gotta just look at it, fix it up and get ready for next week."