The 4-4 Detroit Lions head to Minnesota to play the Vikings Sunday with the opportunity to move over the .500 mark for the first time since Week 1.
Detroit will face a sliding Vikings team as the Lions are re-surging so essentially it seems like a good match up for the Lions. Minnesota has lost 3 of their last 4 including their last 2 in which they gave up nearly 400 yards a game. Their play action passing game that over the first 6 weeks created much of their success has fallen to 50% at 11 for 22 the last 3 weeks (ESPN Stats and Information). However in this same period Adrian Peterson has rushed for 458 yards and has been basically the entire Vikings offense. Detroit though did a good job against him in the first game holding him to 21 carries for 106 yards.
The Viking defense still has the same M.O. of getting after the quarterback.
Jared Allen on the blind side has 7 QB kills this year and always brings a tough battle to a left tackle. Middle linebacker Chad Greenway has played out of his mind so far this year leading the NFL in tackles with 94. This same defense put Stafford on the ground for 5 sacks in week 4 something that obviously cannot happen again this weekend. And speaking of Stafford, he is one of the few signal callers to put up yards against this Vikings pass defense as they have been ball hawks in the secondary and rely on pass deflections for their success.
In week 4 at home against the Vikings Detroit lost the game 20-13 in which the Lions had a good defensive showing but the offense failed to score when it mattered. Essentially Detroit lost this game failing to lock up special teams with the Minnesota offensive special teams returning a punt and kickoff for touchdowns.
Percy Harvin though who returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown has been seen limping at Vikings practice as he is sitting out nursing a leg injury and may not be ready for Sunday.
The Lions are looking at this game as a chance to get back into the division race as they’ve managed to stay in the playoff hunt at the midway point of the season. And at 5-4 they’d have a tie breaker over Minnesota if needed.
The Lions should be a tough match for the Vikings, and it will definitely be interesting to see what a new found Lions running game can do against a rush defense of Minnesota’s caliber. Detroit should be able to throw the ball but Stafford will have to be smart and not let the coverage fool him. Detroit can’t come out and force the football through the air and some early play action should show Stafford what Minnesota plans to do, if they are respecting the run Detroit featured last week or putting double coverage on Calvin Johnson. Either way the Lions will need someone to step up as we’ve seen the last two weeks. Two weeks ago rookie Ryan Broyles and Titus Young Sr. picked up for the loss of Nate Burleson while last week Mikel Leshoure and Joique Bell accounted for much of the offensive presence. This week look for the tight ends to step up with Scheffler showing some good hands and Pettigrew finding open seams up the middle.
Match ups to watch this week: Jeff Backus vs. Jared Allen, Calvin Johnson vs. Dave Winfield +1, Ndamukong Suh vs. Adrian Peterson.
Prediction: Detroit has shown us a different team the last few weeks, putting up points and continuing to play good defense. The first game between these two teams is one Detroit knows they could look back and see it as a game that could end up costing them a playoff berth. They will not forget it going into this match up.
Lions 31, Vikings 24
