MINNEAPOLIS — The Vikings opened the fourth quarter of the 2019 season by taming the Lions for the better part of four quarters on Sunday in a 20-7 victory.

Minnesota (9-4) built a 17-point lead by the half thanks to 9-yard touchdown pass to Bisi Johnson and a 44-yard completion to Stefon Diggs that set up a 3-yard rushing touchdown by Dalvin Cook.

Cook led the Vikings with 62 yards on 18 rushes, and Alexander Mattison added 46 yards on 14 runs.

Danielle Hunter turned in a hat trick of sacks in the first half, hitting David Blough for losses of 6, 14 and 12 on three separate third downs.

It was Blough's second-career start, and the Vikings sacked the undrafted rookie five times and intercepted him twice.

His stats got a boost in the fourth quarter, but Blough finished 24-of-40 passing 205 yards and a passer rating of 60.9. The Lions fell to 3-9-1.

His counterpart Kirk Cousins finished 24-of-30 passing for 242 yards with one touchdown and no turnovers and a passer rating of 111.4 that was on-point with his passer rating heading into Week 14. Cousins was sacked once.

Diggs led the Vikings with 92 yards on six receptions, and Laquon Treadwell caught two passes for 42 yards.

A total of 11 different Vikings were credited with a catch, including center Garrett Bradbury, who corralled a deflection but lost 4 yards on the play.

Everson Griffen and Jaleel Johnson also recorded sacks.

Harrison Smith recorded his 22nd career interception in the third quarter, and Andrew Sendejo picked off Blough in the end zone to put the Vikings in victory formation.

Minnesota outgained Detroit 354 to 231 and possessed the football for 33:42.

Scoring summary

Q1, 5:47 remaining

Vikings 7, Lions 0

Bisi Johnson catches a 9-yard pass from Kirk Cousins (Dan Bailey kicks PAT) [10 plays, 82 yards, 4:40 time of possession]

5 of 9-plus: The score was the fifth play of the possession that gained at least 9 yards. Minnesota had completions of 11, 14, 10 and 9, plus a 9-yard run by Dalvin Cook on the drive.

Q2, 4:42 remaining

Vikings 10, Lions 0

Bailey kicks a 27-yard field goal [9 plays, 56 yards, 4:42 time of possession]

25 for No. 30: Fullback C.J. Ham, who was wearing cleats to honor his mother, provided the longest play of the drive with a 25-yard reception. Ham had a spirited run after the catch.

Q2, 0:20 remaining

Vikings 17, Lions 0

Dalvin Cook rushes for a 3-yard score (Bailey kicks PAT) [6 plays, 65 yards, 0:46 time of possession]

Diggsy deep: Cousins made a brilliant throw, and Diggs responded with an excellent catch to beat a 1-on-1 matchup against Darius Slay for a gain of 44 to the Minnesota 3.

Q4, 14:55 remaining

Vikings 20, Lions 0

Bailey kicks a 50-yard field goal [9 plays, 32 yards, 4:29 time of possession]

Points off turnover: Bailey's kick was the 31st from 50 or more yards of his career and his fourth with the Vikings. It followed an interception by Harrison Smith at the Minnesota 36.

Q4, 2:09 remaining

Vikings 20, Lions 7

Kenny Golladay catches a 10-yard pass from David Blough (Matt Prater kicks PAT) [12 plays, 75 yards, 3:30 time of possession]

Avoiding the shutout: The scoring pass on a fourth-and-5 prevented the first shutout in U.S. Bank Stadium history.