Game Information:
Last Meeting: Detroit 16 – Minnesota 14 on December 14, 2014.
Series Overall: Minnesota leads 36-69-2
Location: TCF Bank Stadium – Minneapolis, Minnesota
Weather Forecast: 65 degrees and sunny. Winds out of the South-Southwest at 12 miles per hour. Chance of rain is zero percent.
Kickoff Time: 1:00 PM ET
Betting Line: Minnesota -2.0, Total 44.0
Broadcast: FOX and the Detroit Lions Radio Network
Like always you can’t catch the game live on TV or on the radio you can follow The Majors Detroit’s Facebook and Twitter feeds for live game updates of today’s action. There will also be a The Majors Detroit live blog hosted by TMSNX’s Vice President Adam “Dorf” Waltersdorf available at www.detoit.themajors.net.
STATISTICAL LEADERS:
Detroit Lions:
PASS: Matthew Stafford: 63.3% CMP, 246 YDS, 2 TD, 2 INT
RUSH: Ameer Abdullah: 7 CAR, 50 YDS, 1 TD
REC: Eric Ebron: 4 REC, 53 YDS, 1 TD
DEF: Glover Quin: 8 TACK, 0 SACK, 0 TFL, 1 PD, 1 INT
Minnesota Vikings:
PASS: Teddy Bridgewater: 71.9% CMP, 231 YDS, 0 TD, 1 INT
RUSH: Adrian Peterson: 1o CAR, 31 YDS, 0 TD
REC: Mike Wallace: 6 REC, 63 YDS, 0 TD
DEF: Anthony Barr: 12 TACK, 1 TFL, 1 PD
Detroit Lions Depth Chart:
Offense:
| POS | FIRST | SECOND | THIRD |
| WR | #15 Golden Tate | #16 Lance Moore | #13 TJ Jones |
| LT | #71 Riley Rieff | #70 Corey Robinson | |
| LG | #63 Manny Ramirez | #72 Laken Tomlinson | |
| C | #65 Travis Swanson | #63 Manny Ramirez | #65 Taylor Boggs |
| RG | #75 Larry Warford | #63 Manny Ramirez | #65 Taylor Boggs |
| RT | #66 LaAdrian Waddle | #77 Cornelius Lucas | |
| TE | #87 Brandon Pettigrew* | #85 Eric Ebron | #89 Tim Wright |
| WR | #81 Calvin Johnson | #10 Corey Fuller | |
| QB | #9 Matthew Stafford | #8 Dan Orlovsky | |
| RB | #35 Joique Bell | #25 Theo Riddick | #21 Ameer Abdullah |
| #34 Zach Zenner | |||
| FB | #46 Michael Burton | ||
| *Expected to miss game injured | |||
Defense:
| POS | FIRST | SECOND | THIRD |
| DE | #91 Jason Jones | #52 Darryl Tapp | |
| DT | #93 Tyrunn Walker | #90 Gabe Wright | |
| DT | #92 Haloti Ngata | #97 Caraun Reid | #63 Jermelle Cudjo |
| DE | #94 Ezekiel Ansah | #98 Devin Taylor | #58 Phillip Hunt |
| OLB | #59 Tahir Whitehead | #53 Kyle Van Noy | #95 Brandon Copeland |
| MLB | #55 Stephen Tulloch | #50 Travis Lewis | |
| OLB | #54 DeAndre Levy* | #57 Josh Bynes | |
| CB | #23 Darius Slay | #30 Josh Wilson | |
| CB | #31 Rashean Mathis | #24 Nevin Lawson | #28 Quandre Diggs |
| SS | #32 James Ihedigbo | #32 Don Carey | |
| FS | #27 Glover Quin | #42 Isa Abdul-Quddus | |
| *Expected to miss game – injured | |||
Minnesota Depth Chart:
Offense:
| POS | FIRST | SECOND | THIRD |
| QB | #5 Teddy Bridgewater | #13 Shaun Hill | #6 Taylor Heinicke |
| RB | #28 Adrian Peterson | #31 Jerick McKinnon | #44 Matt Asiata |
| FB | #48 Zach Line | ||
| WR1 | #11 Mike Wallace | #84 Cordarrelle Patterson | #17 Jarius Wright |
| WR2 | #12 Charles Johnson | # 19 Adam Thielen | #14 Stepfon Diggs |
| TE | #82 Kyle Rudolph | #85 Rhett Ellison | #83 Mycole Pruitt |
| #86 Chase Ford | |||
| LT | #75 Matt Kalil | ||
| LG | #63 Brandon Fusco | ||
| C | #61 Joe Burger | #67 Zac Kerin | |
| RG | #79 Mike Harris | #78 Jeremiah Sirles | |
| RT | #68 T.J. Clemmings | #74 Austin Shepherd | |
| *Expected to miss the game – injured | |||
Defense:
| POS | FIRST | SECOND | THIRD |
| LDE | #96 Brian Robison | #95 Scott Crichton | |
| DT | #73 Sharrif Flod | #92 Tom Johnson | |
| NT | #98 Linval Joseph | #93 Shamar Stephen | |
| RDE | #97 Everson Griffen | #94 Justin Trattou | #99 Danielle Hunter |
| SLB | #55 Anthony Barr | #51 Edmond Robinson | |
| MLB | #50 Gerald Hodges Jr. | #57 Audie Cole | #54 Eric Kendricks |
| WLB | #52 Chad Greenway | ||
| LCB | #23 Terence Newman | #26 Trae Waynes | |
| SS | Andrew Sendejo | Robert Blanton | |
| FS | Harrison Smith | Antone Exum Jr. | |
| RCB | #29 Xavier Rhodes | #24 Captain Munnerlyn | #35 Marcus Sherels |
| *Expected to miss the game – injured | |||
Injury Report:
Lions injury designations:
| POS. | NAME | INJURY | WD. | TH. | FR. | STATUS |
| TE | Brandon Pettigrew | Hamstring | NP | NP | NP | Out |
| LB | DeAndre Levy | Hip | NP | NP | NP | Doubtful |
| DT | Haloit Ngata | Shoulder | NP | LP | LP | Questionable |
| DT | Caraun Reid | Ankle | LP | LP | LP | Questionable |
| CB | Darius Slay | Ankle | LP | LP | LP | Probable |
| QB | Matthew Stafford | Right Upper Arm | FP | FP | FP | Probable |
| WR | Golden Tate | Quad | NP | LP | LP | Probable |
| OT | LaAdrian Waddle | Elbow | NL | FP | FP | Probable |
| OG | Larry Warford | Ankle | LP | LP | FP | Probable |
Vikings injury designations:
| POS. | NAME | INJURY | WED | THUR | FRI | STATUS |
| RB | Jerick McKinnon | Ankle | FP | FP | FP | Probable |
| DT | Shamar Stephen | Knee | FP | FP | FP | Probable |
PREGAME ANALYSIS:
Both teams are not satisfied with their week one performances on the West coast. Detroit blew a two touchdown lead and Minnesota only was able to muster three points against a team that was supposed to be the worst in football.
Three Keys to the Game:
- Don’t let Adrian Peterson get going: In his return from suspension last week he managed only 31 yards on ten carries. Let’s keep his touches to a minimum and keep his average carry right in that area.
- Get Ameer Abdullah more touches: The Lions only got him seven carries in his debut and he managed to get 50 yards. Why wasn’t there more touches for him? Who knows.
- Remember Calvin Johnson is still open if he’s double covered: Having a player that makes almost 20 million dollars only be involved in ten percent of the offensive play calls. That’s flat out unacceptable. Matthew Stafford has to find a way to get him the ball even if he is double covered. Every team’s number one receiver is double covered and yet other quarterbacks find a way to get them the ball, why should Calvin be any different.
Prediction
Detroit is a field goal underdog on the road, meaning they are essentially even teams in the eyes of the casino’s in Los Vegas. I think Detroit and Minnesota will bounce back from poor performances last week, just the Lions’ bounce back will be a bit better than Minnesota’s.
Detroit Lions 24 – Minnesota Vikings 21.