Vikings’ Defense Made a Mark on Sunday
The Minnesota Vikings faced their toughest task yet when they faced off against the Detroit Lions on Sunday. Maybe it’s not fair to suggest that giving up 31 points at home is a great thing, but it wasn’t as though Brian Flores’ unit failed to show up.
Vikings’ Defense Made a Mark on Sunday
For the past couple of years, the Detroit Lions’ offense has looked like one of the best in the NFL. Jared Goff gets the ball out to his plethora of pass catchers, while David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs control the ground game. Beating the Lions is often more about hanging with them than simply stopping them from scoring.
Flores would certainly appreciate a performance that didn’t see his unit giving up 31 points. Still, though, he has to be happy with the spots they put themselves in. Minnesota still racked up four sacks, two of which came from absolute menace Andrew Van Ginkel. The unit recorded five tackles for losses, and Ivan Pace Jr. scooped up a fumble to score.
On the flip side, Goff was entirely too comfortable in the pocket. The Lions quarterback had just three incompletions on the day and threw for nearly 300 yards with a pair of touchdowns. Although the Vikings did get home, the quarterback remained too comfortable. However, the secondary should feel good about what Goff was forced into. Jameson Williams was non-existent, as Amon-Ra St. Brown was the only real wideout to do anything of note. Sam LaPorta had just two targets, and the running backs were often targeted on checkdowns.
When Minnesota dials up future film as they look to best Detroit later in the season, Flores will certainly have a blueprint to get the job done. The NFC North has been discussed all season as a reflection of quality teams. The Green Bay Packers may hang around, but it seems as though the Lions and the Vikings have a real shot at making noise in the playoffs.
If Kevin O’Connell can continue to see his offense produce at a high level, then the quality of defense Flores generated against Detroit is enough to win many games. The Vikings forced themselves into a position to win the game later but came up short.
They’ll take many things from that performance going forward and likely be parlayed into more wins.
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Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes daily for Minnesota Sports Fan. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.
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