Lions Offense vs. Vikings Defense - A Look Back at Week 7
The 2024 Regular Season will end on Sunday night with the biggest game of the year.
The 14-2 Vikings travel to Detroit to take on the 14-2 Lions. The winner takes home the NFC North division title as well as the #1 seed and a first-round bye. The loser gets the #5 seed and a road game in the Wild Card round next week.
The stakes could not be higher.
When these teams last played in Week 7, the Lions kicked a game-winning field goal with 15 seconds remaining to escape with a 31-29 victory.
Since then, both teams have won 9 of 10 games. But the Lions have been decimated by injuries, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, and it’s catching up to them. They’ve allowed an average of 32.5 points over their last 4 games.
The Vikings offense has been great all season, and Sam Darnold has been playing his best football of late. Over his last 4 starts, he’s completed 69% of his passes for 300 yards per game with 12 TDs and just 2 INTs.
It seems like a foregone conclusion that the Vikings will score some points on Sunday Night.
That means the winner of this game will likely be determined on the other side of the ball in a matchup for the ages. The Lions have the best offense in football. The Vikings rank 4th in points allowed and might be the most complex defense in the NFL.
Can Detroit win in another shootout? Or will Minnesota get enough stops to escape with the win?
Here’s my breakdown of this side of the ball from their Week 7 matchup back in late October.
Week 7 Recap - Lions Offense vs. Vikings Defense
The first three possessions of the game did not go well for the Lions Offense: 9 plays, 29 yards, 2 sacks, no first downs.
Minnesota gave them a dose of everything that they like to do as a defense on those 3 drives, and Detroit seemed powerless to stop it.
They got a sack on their first drive using one of Brian Flores’ patented pressures (align with more pass rushers than the protection can handle; linebackers then blitz or drop out after occupying a blocker based on the direction of the slide):
On the Lions’ second drive, the Vikings got to another defense they like to mix in frequently - show pressure and then drop out into cover-2 or Tampa-2 at the snap:
Minnesota only rushed 3 here, but the disguise resulted in Goff holding the ball, and that led to a 3rd-down sack:
The Vikings’ run defense (which ranked 2nd in the NFL entering Week 7) shut down Detroit’s ground game early, including this 3rd-and-1 on the Lions’ 3rd possession.
Watch #90 Jonathan Bullard drive right tackle Penei Sewell into the backfield and set the edge, allowing the rest of the defense to pursue from the backside (he was also involved in the tackle):
Trailing 10-0, it seemed this would just not be Detroit’s day against a formidable defense that looked fresh coming off of a bye week. Might as well just pack it in and move on to the next game, right?
Of course not. The Lions know they have the talent and the scheme to hang with anyone. And from their 4th possession on, they had an answer for everything the Vikings do well as a defense. The result was four straight drives with a touchdown.
Detroit’s offense starts with their offensive line and run game. So it’s no surprise that this is what kick-started their offensive outburst.
On this play, a 45-yard touchdown run by Jahmyr Gibbs, the Lions would run wide zone to the right: