In their final game before the bye week, the Minnesota Vikings (5-3-1) defeated the Detroit Lions (3-5) at US Bank Stadium, 24-9. Despite Kirk Cousins and the offense only racking up 283 total yards, the Vikings defense put together their best performance of the season. Led by the exceptional game from defensive end Danielle Hunter, Minnesota tallied a team-record ten sacks of Lions signal caller Matthew Stafford.
Altogether, six different defenders were involved in a sack. With injuries affecting the starting defense, reserves filled in admirably and will give the coaching staff confidence moving forward regarding the unit’s depth. With that said, let’s look closer at the dominating Week nine defensive performance by the Vikings.
The Minnesota Vikings Defense Dominates in 24-9 Victory Over the Detroit Lions
Familiar Faces, Old and New, Terrorize Stafford
In defensive end Everson Griffen‘s first game back from mental health issues, he didn’t do much to impact the Week eight game against the New Orleans Saints. But on Sunday against the Lions, Griffen got to Stafford multiple times, compiling 1.5 sacks and provided a vocal presence on the defensive line.
Defensive tackle Tom Johnson, who spent the off-season and beginning of the regular season with the Seattle Seahawks after four seasons in Minnesota, returned to the Vikings prior to Week three. Up until Sunday, his impact was minimal as a backup defensive tackle. But against the Lions, the 34-year old ran with the chance he was given, picking up 2.5 sacks and pushing the pocket all day long. Last season Johnson was the team’s starting three-technique and appeared to slow down as the season wore on. As a reserve, he appears fresh and more comfortable primarily rushing the passer.
But the star of the day was Danielle Hunter. The talented young end worked Lions right tackle Ricky Wagner all day, accumulating 3.5 sacks and returning an inexplicable Stafford fumble 32 yards for a touchdown that sealed the win. Hunter now sits at 10.5 sacks with seven weeks to go, currently leading the league. With Griffen returning to form, a talented defensive line now has production to match their potential and can be lethal during the season’s post-bye stretch.
Vikings Lose Some, Win More Situational Battles
Even though in the world of fantasy football yardage can win and lose matchups, real football games many times come down to four things: Third-down conversions, redzone conversions, the turnover battle, and time of possession. At first glance, the Lions would have appeared to win Sunday’s game after holding onto the football for nearly 37 minutes. Not only does possessing the ball increase a team’s chances of scoring; it decreases their opponent’s chances of putting up points.
Here’s where things went wrong for the Lions. In three trips to the redzone, they kicked three field goals. Worse yet, these three scoring drives took 8:16, 5:44, and 5:46 off of the clock. In all, these drives took 19 minutes and 46 seconds off of the clock for a total of nine points.
The Lions couldn’t keep non-scoring drives going either. They only went 4-of-15 on third-downs. The back-breaking fumble from Stafford ruined another drive and ultimately the game. Minnesota wasn’t perfect but took control when they had to.
Not Giving Up the Big Play
Situational football aside, Minnesota didn’t allow Stafford and the Lions to gash them for big gains like they have in the past. Stafford was 25-of-36 passing on the day, but only picked up 199 yards when it was all said and done. After losing Golden Tate this week to a trade, Stafford didn’t have a go-to receiver when the going got rough. The quick-strike plays that have gashed the Vikings throughout the season on first and second down never popped up in the air.
The run defense was even more stingy, allowing only 66 yards on 24 carries with a long run given up of only eight yards. Lions rookie standout running back Kerryon Johnson only racked up 37 yards on 12 carries after entering the game averaging 5.9 yards per attempt on 80 carries.
It was the first game this season the Vikings did not allow a touchdown. With the bye week coming up, injuries to Xavier Rhodes, Anthony Barr, and Andrew Sendejo should be closer to healed and help this Vikings defense that is starting to get back to form, return to their 2017 dominance. With five consecutive strong showings, Minnesota appears to be turning the corner heading into the meat of their schedule.
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