NFL Game of the Week: Detroit Lions vs. Minnesota Vikings

What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? We might just find out this Sunday as the 4-1 Detroit Lions head to Minnesota to take on the undefeated Minnesota Vikings.

This heavyweight fight for the NFC North Belt will feature the current two best records in the NFC.

Going into this game, the Lions are coming off a 47-9 victory in Dallas. The win has quickly become one of the team’s most famous in recent memory.

The Vikings on the other hand most recently defeated the New York Jets 23-17 across the pond in London. Last week, Minnesota was on a bye meaning they’ve had two weeks to prepare for this matchup.

So far this season, the Lions have been dominant offensively. As a team, they’ve averaged 30.2 points per game which is best in the league.

Jared Goff is also coming off back-to-back games with a rating of 150.0 or better. For his career, Goff has a rating of 94.0 meaning that he heads into this game playing some of his best football ever.

The Lions of course have plenty of weapons around Goff including a running-back tandem that has recently been dubbed “Sonic and Knuckles”.

David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs are the only teammates to both have 400-plus scrimmage yards with four-plus touchdowns.

However, the Lions will be without one of their stars for this game, and for what looks to be a while.

Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson broke the tibia and fibula in his left leg last weekend against Dallas. Therefore Detroit will be missing the heart and soul of their defense.

For Minnesota, few expected their perfect start. Former number three overall pick Sam Darnold seems to have finally found his home with the Vikings.

During the offseason, Vikings rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy tore his meniscus, causing him to miss the entirety of this season.

It’s difficult to say if Darnold would have even started if McCarthy had stayed healthy considering he was Minnesota’s first-round pick last year.

Darnold has made the best of this opportunity to say the least. Multiple statistics, including rating, completion percentage, and touchdown percentage, are all at a career-high level for Darnold.

Darnold will of course be throwing to superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson. Despite being off last week, Jefferson has still recorded four touchdowns.

However, one of the main contributing factors to Minnesota’s success has been its defense. The Vikings defense currently leads the NFL in interceptions with 11.

They are also tied for third in the league for the team with the most sacks at 20 on the year.

In terms of their run defense, the Vikings have held opposing running backs to just 3.7 yards per carry.

With Detroit’s high-powered offense, and Minnesota’s shutdown defense, this matchup is certainly a must-watch. It isn’t every week that one of the best offenses plays one of the best defenses, but the Vikings and Lions will give us just that.

While the NFC North division has still a long journey until it’s decided, these matchups are the ones that can turn the fortunes of one team to win it.

Considering the 4-2 start Green Bay and Chicago have gotten off to, this game is even more vital for both of these two teams to stay ahead of the pack.

Alex Harkins is a second-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email arh6278@psu.edu.