Minnesota (4-2) and Detroit (2-2-1) meet Sunday afternoon at Ford Field for an NFC matchup. The Vikings lead the all-time series 74-39-2 including two victories in 2018. Can Minnesota’s offense put up impressive offensive numbers in back-to-back weeks or will the Lions rebound from a tough road loss at Lambeau with a key divisional victory?
The Vikings have won their last two games after dropping an NFC North contest to the Bears. In a 28-10 victory over the Giants and 38-20 win this past weekend against the Eagles, Kirk Cousins has shown why the Vikings invested $84 million in him. Cousins has over 300 yards passing in both games and a total of six touchdowns. Now that the air attack is going, the Vikings aren’t one dimensional and riding the run game week in and week out. Alexander Mattison added 63 yards on the ground against the Eagles while Dalvin Cook rushed for 41 yards and one touchdown. Cook is fourth in the NFL with 583 yards. The Vikings ground and pound ranks third in the league with an average of 159 yards per game. Stefon Diggs, who was rumored to be looking for a trade, asked for more deep balls and had his wish granted. Diggs hauled in seven passes for 167 yards and three touchdowns with All-Pro receiver Adam Thielen adding six catches for 57 yards and a touchdown.
While Minnesota’s offense produced some of the best numbers of the season, the defense held Philly to just 20 points and forced three turnovers. They were also in the face of Eagles’ quarterback Carson Wentz, pressuring him throughout the game. Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr both racked up ten tackles. Mackensie Alexander recorded three tackles, a half a sack, and one interception, while Danielle Hunter continued his dominance up front. Hunter had three tackles and one sack to bring his total to six on the year, fifth-best in the NFL.
The Lions can’t seem to catch a break after falling 23-22 on the road to the Packers. Bad officiating, controversial calls, or failure to get the job done, the result wasn’t what Detroit had hoped for in a key divisional contest that came down to a game-winning field goal for Green Bay. Matthew Stafford threw for 265 yards, 121 of which went to Kenny Golladay but was unable to find the endzone. The Lions lone score came on a run by Kerryon Johnson, who had a total of 34 yards in the game. Kicker Matt Prater made all five of his field-goal attempts including a 54 yarder and accounted for 16 of the team’s 22 points. If they want a chance to beat the Vikings, they will have to have more offensive production than the 299 they had against Green Bay.
Detroit’s defense has been its weak point all season long. The unit ranks near the bottom in total yards (29th– 413.8), passing yards (280 – 28th), and rush yards allowed (133.8 – 27th). They will have their hands full against a Vikings team that showed us last weekend they can put up points through the air and with Dalvin Cook, one of the best running backs this season.
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