DETROIT (AP) — Case Keenum stood in the pocket to take a hit http://www.jaguarsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-gardner-minshew-ii-jersey , 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 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 a double-digit lead and they went on to win a seventh straight game.They took a huge step toward winning the NFC North by taking a three-game lead over the second-place Lions.Keenum, undrafted out of Houston in 2012, is suddenly 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 Kyle Rudolph Christian Wilkins Jersey , giving the Vikings a 20-3 lead 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 (6-5) made mistakes in every phase of the game and Minnesota took advantage. Keenum’s 1-yard pass to Rudolph was made a little easier because the Lions had just 10 defenders on the field.And, Keenum’s 9-yard run came after Matthew Stafford was charged with a fumble while trying to hand off to Ameer Abdullah.Instead of winning to pull within a game of Minnesota and having a potential tiebreaker, the Lions’ loss hurts their chances of making a second straight postseason appearance.“Don’t count us out just yet http://www.dolphinsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-michael-deiter-jersey ,” Detroit coach Jim Caldwell said. “We’ve got a lot of football yet to play.”FALLING SHORTThe Lions rallied to pull within four points early in the fourth quarter on Stafford’s second TD pass to Marvin Jones, who leaped to beat two defensive backs for the 43-yard score as his quarterback was on the turf with an injured right ankle.Xavier Rhodes sidetracked Detroit’s comeback hopes with an interception at the Detroit 37 late in the game.Detroit’s Darius Slay blocked a field goal with 1:15 left and teammate Nevin Lawson recovered the ball and returned it 77 yards for an apparent TD, but it was negated by Slay being offside and that quieted a roaring crowd.BY THE NUMBERSLatavius Murray had 84 yards rushing and a 2-yard score, giving the Vikings a 27-10 lead early in the third quarter.Minnesota’s Adam Thielen had eight receptions for 89 yards and deflected credit to his quarterback.“Case Keenum is one tough human being,” he said. “When he’s hanging in there — giving you time to get open — you feel like you’re letting him down if you can’t do it. He’s willing to get crushed to make a play, and that makes us want to come though on our end.”Everson Griffen had two sacks Garrett Bradbury Jersey , tying his career high with 12 on the season, for the Vikings.Stafford struggled even before he was hurt late in the game, missing open receivers, and finished 20 of 35 for 250 yards with two TDs and an interception on fourth down with just under three minutes left. Jones had six catches for 109 yards and two TDs. The Lions were held to a total of 53 yards rushing.INJURIESVikings: CB Trae Waynes left the game with an injured right shoulder, but was able to return. RT Mike Remmers was inactive with a concussion and Rashod Hill replaced him.Lions: Stafford, with a lot of tape covering his right cleat http://www.vikingsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-irv-smith-jr.-jersey , stayed in the game after hurting his right ankle on his second touchdown when DT Tom Johnson fell on him. S Tavon Wilson (shoulder) and C Travis Swanson (knee) left the game in the third quarter with injuries.UP NEXTVikings: Play Dec. 3 at Atlanta.Lions: Travel Dec. 3 to Baltimore. ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — The NFL said Thursday it will investigate whether the Oakland Raiders violated the “Rooney Rule” when they hired Jon Gruden as coach.The Fritz Pollard Alliance called for the investigation on Wednesday out of concern that Raiders owner Mark Davis came to an agreement with Gruden before the team interviewed any minority candidates as required by the NFL since 2003.NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement that the NFL will “look into this.”The Fritz Pollard Alliance is dedicated to promoting diversity and equality of job opportunity in the coaching, front office and scouting staffs of NFL teams.Davis said Tuesday at the news conference introducing Gruden as the team’s new coach that he had been trying to make the move for six years and finally believed it would happen after a meeting in Philadelphia on Christmas Eve, the day before Gruden worked a game between the Raiders and Eagles on ESPN.“I felt pretty confident that he was all-in,” Davis said. “And that’s the term that we were using in our discussions and everything, are you all-in? And I never wavered from all-in. And this time he didn’t waver Alexander Mattison Jersey , either.”Davis fired Jack Del Rio a week later and the team officially hired Gruden on Jan. 6. Davis also said he wouldn’t have fired Del Rio if he didn’t believe Gruden would sign on as coach.“I believe that I would’ve sat down with Jack and we would’ve figured out coordinators and assistant coaches and things like that and try to figure out how to reinvigorate the franchise through Jack,” he said.Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie said Tuesday he interviewed two minority candidates before Gruden’s hiring was announced. Those candidates were Oakland tight ends coach Bobby Johnson and Southern California offensive coordinator Tee Martin.The Raiders haven’t commented on the request from the Fritz Pollard Alliance.