The 11-5 Detroit Lions return to Ford Field following two consecutive road games. It is the first home game for the Lions since winning the NFC North, and a raucous atmosphere awaits the Honolulu Blues.
The 7-9 Minnesota Vikings are the Lions’ opponents. Detroit can still win the NFC’s second seed; the Lions must win and hope the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys lose. The Vikings are still in the race for a wildcard place. Minnesota must defeat Detroit and hope several teams lose.
Head coach Dan Campbell confirmed that his team will play to win the game. Here are three keys to victory for the Lions in this matchup.
Pressure Nick Mullens
The Vikings have announced that Nick Mullens will return to the starting lineup on Sunday. Mullens started against the Lions two weeks ago, and while he did throw for over 400 yards, the Lions went after him.
Detroit racked up 11 quarterback hits and four sacks. Mullens was under heavy fire all game. Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn routinely sent extra rushers to disrupt and hurry Mullens. The plan worked to an extent; Mullens threw four interceptions.
The pressure rattled Mullens. He became erratic and rushed. The Lions must do that again. Pro Bowl defensive end Aidan Hutchinson will need to lead that effort. Hutchinson tallied six pressures and three quarterback hits in the first matchup. He backed that up with a three-sack performance against Dallas in Week 17.
Aaron Glenn did hint that the Lions would stay aggressive against Mullens. In the first game, the Lions’ secondary players also brought pressure on designed blitzes. Brian Branch and Ifeatu Melifonwu both registered quarterback hits on Mullens. Both are excellent at triggering downhill and shooting gaps.
Mullens is fearless in throwing deep. If he has time, he will attack vertically. The Lions can disrupt and unnerve him. It was the key to the first game, and it will be critical in this game.
Contain Justin Jefferson
This is easier on paper than on turf, but somehow, the Lions must corral Justin Jefferson. Jefferson was at his exceptional best in the first game. He recorded six receptions on ten targets, scored one touchdown and tallied 141 total receiving yards.
Unlike their Week 3 matchup from 2022, Detroit did not play Jefferson with a capped defender. On that particular day, Jeff Okudah had over-the-top safety help. If the Lions are going to stay aggressive, their secondary defenders will need to win their matchups against Jefferson. Cam Sutton will likely be the defender matched one-on-one with Jefferson, and Glenn has called on his defenders to be more physical with Jefferson.
The Lions Offensive Line Must Win Their Matchup
Detroit’s offensive line is the engine. If the offensive line splutters, then the offense splutters. And the offensive line spluttered last Saturday against the Dallas Cowboys.
Dallas recorded 17 pressures and seven quarterback hits. Furthermore, the Cowboys blew up several run plays. Overall, Dallas notched seven TFLs. It was a challenging day for the Lions’ offensive line. Graham Glasgow and Jonah Jackson, in particular, endured tough games.
Earlier this week, Dan Campbell provided his analysis of the performance:
“They had a number of TFLs on us. They had about seven of them, which is too much. And that hurts. And I can tell you, when you’re in (offensive coordinator) Ben (Johnson)’s seat, and you call a first-down run, and you lose three, and now you’re second-and-13, those are tough.”
Campbell also said:
“There were just a couple of things. Man movement got us on a couple of areas, and we got hit on the perimeter a little bit, and we’ve got to be a little bit better, tight end position. We’ll be better as we move forward. And some of that, look, it’s the first time that we saw some of that type of speed up front. And it got us on a couple of things.”
Detroit’s offensive line was excellent against Minnesota in the first game. Aided by Jared Goff, Detroit picked up Minnesota’s blitzes all game. And they cleared rushing lanes for their running backs. After a problematic performance in Dallas, the Lions’ front five will be keen for a bounceback.