The Lions at Vikings: One Stat, Quote, and Matchup to Know Ahead of Week 16
K. Joudry
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Pickup a victory in Week 16 and have a shot at the NFC North. Lose the game and, at best, get into a Wild Card spot. Those are just some of the stakes for this weekend’s Detroit vs. Minnesota tilt.
Giving fans a better understanding of what’s to come for the Lions at Vikings involves PurplePTSD offering up a single statistic, quotation, and matchup to keep in mind. The hope, valued reader, is that the information contained in this piece can function as a bit of a primer for the Sunday matchup.
The Lions at Vikings: Week 16
Stat: 101.6
Add all of Jared Goff’s games against the Vikings together. Doing so would involve the QB having a 101.6 quarterback rating. Definitely solid, but not at an unheard of level in the modern NFL.
Look under the hood and see a few more reasons to respect what Goff can do. His six career starts against Minnesota have resulted in a 3-3 record while completing 65% of his passes. He averages a touch above 299 passing yards per game, so he has found a way of moving the ball through the air.
His 12 total touchdowns and 3 interceptions works out to an average of 2 TDs per game and just half of an interception. In fact, he hasn’t thrown more than a single interception against Minnesota in his career, a fact that Brian Flores will be looking to reverse on Sunday (with a little help from his friends on the coaching staff). Worth noting: Goff has never taken on the Vikings when Flores is the man in charge. Does that change things?
Generating pressure early and often will be the key to neutralizing Goff. If there’s pressure, Goff should struggle to operate the Ben Johnson offense. The key will be finding a way of getting players into the QB’s personal space without leaving the backend of the defense vulnerable to getting shredded by Amon-Ra St. Brown. Losing Byron Murphy for the game stings, so Flores will need to be leaning on his other defensive backs to hang with St. Brown in one-on-one scenarios.
Quote: Kevin O’Connell Expressing Confidence in a New RB1
Has there been a changing of the guard at RB1?
Things appear to be trending in that direction. Take a look at what the head coach had to say about how things would look even if Alexander Mattison were to return: “We have confidence in Alex, but I think Ty has done a lot of great things and will continue to do so and hopefully will be a huge reason why we’re able to have success offensively down the stretch.”
The sophomore with plenty of sizzle looks to be a main part of the offense moving forward (O’Connell elsewhere uses the word “featured”).
Everyone has been able to see that Chandler has a pile of speed but what has been a bit more surprising is seeing him maintain good balance and power coming through contact. He regularly found a way of picking up positive yardage against an underrated Bengals defense, largely contributing to the Vikings’ ability to put together an offensive performance that was good enough to snag a win.
Beating Detroit will likely need to feature a similar effort from Mr. Chandler.
Matchup: Aidan Hutchinson vs. Minnesota’s OTs
With 6.5 sacks, Aidan Hutchinson may appear to be having a bit of an underwhelming season.
The sophomore pass rusher, though, is still a force. Standing at 6’7″ and weighing 268 pounds, Hutchinson boasts 4.74 speed. He finds himself as the 10th-best edge rusher in the PFF rankings, suggesting that the relatively modest sack totals don’t tell the whole story.
In theory, Christian Darrisaw should be up to the task of slowing down the Lions’ top defender. The left tackle is once again playing at a high level, so seeing them square off would be a battle of the titans. Darrisaw has been dinged with allowing 5 sacks, 10 QB hits, and 24 pressures.
The opposite side of the line is where there is a bit more uncertainty.
Brian O’Neill is an excellent player who has had a few rough moments. He has allowed 6 sacks and then 2 QB hits alongside 30 pressures. The major concern is just his ability to play since he’s going into the game with a questionable designation. David Quessenberry has done a nice job of filling in for the top pair of OTs when needed, but letting him participate in a pile of reps against Hutchinson is a tough ask.
Look for O’Connell to help out his OTs on Sunday by chipping and double teaming the Detroit defender on various occasions. Keeping Hutchinson away from a dominant, multi-sack effort will be simply one step toward pulling off the upset win.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and PFF helped with this piece.
The Vikings Issue a Warning
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.