Game day: How to watch and 3 things to watch for Lions vs. Vikings
Game information
● What: Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings
● When: Sunday, Oct. 20, 1:00 p.m.
● How to watch: Fox (Adam Amin/Greg Olsen/Pam Oliver
● How to listen: 97.1-FM The Ticket in Metro Detroit or any number of network affiliates around the state.
● Line: Vikings -1.5
● Injury report: The Lions placed defensive linemen Aidan Hutchinson and Kyle Peko on injured reserve this week. Additionally, the team has listed cornerback Carlton Davis III and guard Kevin Zeitler as questionable for the contest.
For the Vikings, starting linebacker and leading tackle Blake Cashman is out, while running back Aaron Jones and defensive tackle Harrison Phillips are questionable. Tight end T.J. Hockenson, who is working his way back from last year’s torn ACL, was downgraded to out on Saturday.
● Officiating assignment: Clay Martin’s crew. This will be the ninth time Martin has served as the head referee for a Lions game since getting promoted to the role in 2018. He had the Tampa Bay game earlier this year, as well as matchups with Tampa Bay and New Orleans in 2023.
● Last meeting: The Lions swept the season series from the Vikings last season, scoring exactly 30 points in both Week 16 and Week 18 victories. The Jared Goff-to-Amon-Ra St.Brown connection fueled the Lions in the regular season finale, with the All-Pro receiver catching seven passes for 144 yards and a score.
Meanwhile, Detroit’s defense intercepted Minnesota backup quarterback Nick Mullen to end each of the team's last two possessions, sealing the victory.
Coverage from the week
● Three-and-Out: Lions can’t afford to stand pat after Hutchinson injury
● All options on the table, but Lions won’t be hurried into edge rusher move
● Film review: In-depth look at offense’s nine consecutive scoring drives
● Everything you need to know about new edge rusher Isaiah Thomas
● Lions hand out another monster extension, this time it’s for Alim McNeill
● How the Vikings went from projected to finish last in NFC North to conference’s final unbeaten team
● Appreciation for Saints scheme fueled Lions search for killer safety tandem
● Lessons learned from Myles Garrett and Trey Hendrickson shaped Isaiah Thomas’ approach.
● How Detroit’s top stars deal with ebbs and flows with their production
● Seven thoughts to end the week ahead of game with Vikings
● A look back at one of the greatest what-if team’s in franchise history, the 1962 Lions
Three things worth watching
● Obviously, the question at the top of all our minds is what does a post-Hutchinson defense look like, particularly along the edges of the front?
Presumably, Josh Paschal is in line to take on a more significant workload. He’s proven more than capable of handling 50-plus snaps, it’s a matter of maintaining the steady impact he's had the past two weeks.
Beyond Paschal, things get more cloudy, especially when you consider the Lions are also backfilling Marcus Davenport’s playing time.
Will Levi Onwuzurike take on more edge responsibilities? The same can be asked about Pat O’Connor, who was promoted off the practice squad on Saturday. He has a frame more suited for playing inside but does offer some edge experience from his time in Tampa.
Other options include Isaac Ukwu, James Houston and Trevor Nowaske, who are all relatively inexperienced, but being counted on to step up.
The final piece to the puzzle is schematic adjustments. None of those players are capable of replacing Hutchinson’s ability to consistently win one-on-one and affect the quarterback. Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn is going to have to find ways to manufacture pressure, with more twists, stunts and blitzes.
Glenn is no stranger to sending extra rushers, but also understands every blitz exposes something in the back end of his defense. The coverage is more equipped than in past years to hold up against that added strain, but there’s a likely limit on how the secondary can handle if the defense becomes over-reliant on the strategy.
● While the Lions have had decent success blitzing, the Vikings set the standard. Under the direction of defensive coordinator Brian Flores, they do it more than anyone and have as much success disrupting the pocket as any team in the league.
Detroit has been highly efficient on offense in recent weeks, scoring more than 40 points each of the past two games. That starts with the blocking. Obviously, the Lions would like to continue to run the ball effectively, but might have some trouble against an opponent that’s allowing 67.2 yards per game and 3.6 yards per carry.
If the lanes aren’t there like they have been for David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, it puts more on the shoulders of quarterback Jared Goff. And if you’re going to ask him to carry you, you better keep the pass rush at bay. From a clean pocket, Goff has a passer rating of 115.0 in 2024, but that plummets to 77.8 when pressured.
Goff had plenty of success against the Vikings last year, but they have better personnel and should have some new wrinkles to their game plan. Lions center Frank Ragnow is among the league's best at identifying what the opponent is trying to do pre-snap through his extensive film study process. He'll need to be on top of his game for this chess match.
● The Lions once held Vikings superstar receiver Justin Jefferson to 14 yards, but that feels like an eternity ago. In the past three matchups, he’s torched them to the tune of 29 receptions for 556 yards and two touchdowns.
After revamping the secondary this offseason, the Lions have done a much better job against No. 1 receivers. Last week, they held Ceedee Lamb to a manageable 89 yards on 14 targets.
Detroit’s improvement has been the result of a healthy mix of physical play and the judicious use of a second defender to double up star pass-catchers, especially on crossing patterns.
If the Lions can keep Jefferson around 100 yards, it should go a long way toward limiting the overall potency of Minnesota’s offense, which enters the matchup averaging 27.8 points per game.
Pat O’Connor is more of a grinder like Cominski. But he is only around 260-270 pounds. Is he more of a run stopper?