Everything the Vikings Did Poorly Against the Lions
Josh Frey
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Throughout their 34-23 loss to the Detroit Lions, the Minnesota Vikings did a multitude of things poorly. The most obvious reason for this loss that we can point the finger at is the defense allowing 464 yards of offense to these frisky Lions. However, that’s far from the only problem that Minnesota ran into on Sunday. Here’s a full list of everything the Vikings did poorly against the Lions.
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Pass Protection
Without two starting offensive linemen on Sunday, the Vikings had some major struggles protecting Kirk Cousins. The Vikings QB was sacked three times, and the Dalvin Cook goal-line fumble technically goes down as a sack as well. Even when he wasn’t forced to go down with the ball, there were multiple plays where Cousins was either flushed out of the pocket or hit as he let the ball go.
Establishing the Run
If there’s one trait that Kevin O’Connell and Mike Zimmer are very similar in, it’s their desire to establish the run. On Sunday, that mission supremely failed. The Vikings ran the ball 17 times, but they gained only 22 total yards through their rushes. Of course, part of this likely has to do with the fact that Garrett Bradbury is one of the more consistent run-blocking centers in the NFL. Hopefully against the Colts, they do a better job of making the running game count.
“Bending but not Breaking”
The whole mantra of this Vikings defense this year has been “bend don’t break”. It’s come in handy during games against the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets where victories were sealed by turnovers created on final drives.
Well, this time around, that did not happen. Not only did the Vikings defense fail to force any turnovers, but the Lions were able to accrue three separate plays that gained 40+ yards. Two of these plays directly ended in touchdowns, and another was a 41-yard run on a fake punt. In order for this Vikings defense to work, they have to do two things: 1) force turnovers and 2) limit big plays. They did neither on Sunday.
3rd Downs
For much of the Vikings run to 10-2, their defense did a great job at stopping opponents on third down. Against the New York Jets, Donatell’s defense allowed them to convert fewer than 20% of their third down attempts. This week, the Vikings defense allowed the Lions to convert on 7-of-16 third down attempts. Detroit also went 1-for-2 on fourth down during the game.
Red Zone
The Vikings did a poor job in the red zone both offensively and defensively on Sunday. Throughout the season, this has been a bit of a struggle for this group, but against the Jets, Minnesota allowed touchdowns on just one of New York’s six red zone drives.
This week, the Lions scored touchdowns on each of their red zone drives, but offensively, the Vikings only went 2-for-4 on red zone drives. On one of these drives, the Dalvin Cook fumble, they didn’t get any points at all. Ultimately, kicking a field goal and getting stopped altogether on another drive forced the Vikings to leave 11 points on the board (assuming they would have kicked extra points on touchdowns). The Vikings lost by 11 points.
And there you have it, the summary of just about everything the Vikings did poorly on Sunday against the Detroit Lions. Readers, if you think anything got left out, leave us a comment on either Facebook or Twitter.
Editor’s Note: Info from NFL.com for the Vikings vs. Lions game was used to help with this article.
More Injuries to the Vikings in Week 14
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. He also earned minors in History, Human Biology, and Journalism. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys marathon training, playing video games, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. For more of his opinions, check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.