Behind Enemy Lines: What Lions Writers Are Saying About The Vikings Game
K. Joudry
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Minnesota has the unique ability to fall short at the most inopportune times. Losing tomorrow would fall into that category. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that. In my online travels, I’m seeing exclusively purple picks when it comes to the Lions vs Vikings game.
On Vikings.com, the variety of experts are all rolling with the Vikes. The team’s website offers up Gregg Rosenthal’s rationale:
I’ve been impressed with how Mike Zimmer has kept his defense looking like the usual Vikings unit despite injuries. This is the right week to be without Patrick Peterson. And the loss of Dalvin Cook hurts less because, as Zimmer noted this week, Minnesota wasn’t running it well anyway. The Lions defense had some extra days of rest, hasn’t given up more than 16 points in the three games since the bye and did a great job against the Vikes in Week 5. Detroit has lost by double digits only once since Week 7. With D’Andre Swift expected to be out, the talent disparity appears too great here. Could it be a rare normal Vikings game?
The folks over at Pro Football Talk have continued with their full weekly predictions. Both MDS and Florio are picking Minnesota. Here is MDS’s take on why the Vikings will emerge triumphant in the Lions game:
The Lions nearly earned their first victory of the season the first time these teams met, but this time I’m not expecting them to put up much of a fight. MDS’s pick: Vikings 30, Lions 20.
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Morgan Cannon from Pride of Detroit details some ways that Detroit can upset their division rival. He thinks one key rests in the Lions’ OL getting the best of Minnesota’s beleaguered DL:
And while the Lions will be without running back D’Andre Swift this week, the Vikings have injury issues of their own: defensive ends Danielle Hunter and Everson Griffen are both out. Week to week, the Lions don’t have a lot of major personnel advantages; it’s just not how this roster is currently constructed in year one of a complete rebuild. But, I think we can confidently say this week that the Lions offensive line is a better unit than the Vikings’ defensive front.
I understand what Cannon is saying. The Vikings are definitely at less than full strength along their DL. With Pierce and Tomlinson in there, though, the DL will take a massive step forward. Moreover, Sheldon Richardson has been good at DE, and Armon Watts ought to continue producing. The Vikings may need to consider finding a way to get all four DTs on the field at once.
Benjamin Raven from MLive will similarly be keeping an eye on the Detroit run game:
With all that said, there is reason for optimism concerning Detroit’s rushing attack on Sunday. The Vikings are allowing a league-worst 4.8 net yards per rushing attempt but look to be getting some pieces back this weekend. Dalvin Tomlinson returned for a full practice to close the week after getting activated from the COVID list. Armon Watts and Sheldon Richardson also practiced in full on Friday. Linebacker Anthony Barr is questionable with knee and hamstring injuries, with Eric Kendricks questionable due to a biceps injury. Barr and Kendricks are vital in the middle of Minnesota’s defense, so those are two designations worth tracking.
I’m of the opinion that shutting down the Lions run game will mean it’s a relatively easy Vikings win. Strange things can happen, though it’s hard to envision Jared Goff finding too much success without considerable support from the run game.
As I said up top, the Vikings have never been bound by what ought to happen. The Lions & Vikings game will be yet another opportunity for them to prove that. Ideally, it’s actually a stress-free win leading into the Steelers TNF game.
