Minnesota Suffers First Defeat: 3 Takeaways From The Lions’ Win Over The Vikings

The 1972 Dolphins can celebrate once again. The NFL’s last undefeated team went down with the Vikings going down in Detroit in what was mostly a low-scoring slog until the fourth quarter. The 19-15 win was somewhat overshadowed by a scary injury to linebacker Jack Campbell, who was carted off the field after colliding with a teammate. He was one of several defensive starters who left the game for the Lions. It didn’t seem to matter, though. The Vikings offense, and Kyler Murray in particular, continued to struggle, and the defense, which has been carrying the team all season, finally buckled in the second half, allowing Jahmyr Gibbs to run wild. Here are my takeaways: It’s hard to overstate how important a game this was for Detroit, which was in danger of falling three games back of the Vikings. Instead, the Lions are a game back and hold the tie-breaker over Minnesota. But the Lions can’t feel good after seeing four defensive starters leave the game with injuries, including a terrifying collision that resulted in Jack Campbell getting carted off the field. The Campbell injury silenced what had been a raucous Detroit crowd, but the offense got it roaring again, thanks to a handful of explosive runs by Jahmyr Gibbs and Sione Vaki. Those two forced five missed tackles in the fourth quarter alone. Overall, Minnesota’s run defense whiffed on a season-high 16 tackles and allowed the Lions to rush for 164 yards in the second half. Without much of a passing game and the defense running out of healthy players, the run game salvaged what could have been a completely miserable day in Detroit. Still, the defensive injuries were the story. The Lions lost their defensive signal caller, Campbell, their best defensive back, Brian Branch, and the only consistent source of sacks outside of Aidan Hutchinson, D.J. Wonnum. Cornerback D.J. Reed also left the game late. The defense, which came into the game ranked 26th in points allowed and dead last in expected points added, was already in a vulnerable state. Even with one of the league’s best offenses, it was hard to view Detroit as serious contenders because of those defensive struggles. If the unit has to move forward without three of its best players, it’s an even bigger stretch. As long as the offense keeps up its end — and there’s no reason to think it won’t — Detroit can play with anyone. It may have to score over 30 points a game to do it now. Kyler Murray may have done just enough in the fourth quarter to stave off questions about his job security, but the Vikings still have some potentially awkward questions to ask about their quarterback ahead of the NFL’s trade deadline on Nov. 10. Obviously, finding a competent quarterback midseason may end up saving Murray’s job. A reunion with Kirk Cousins might’ve been on the table if the Raiders had lost to the Jets, but Las Vegas is only a game back from the final playoff spot in the AFC. Given how much losing that organization has done over the past three decades, it will want to fight for that postseason berth. Trading Cousins wouldn’t make much sense. But if Murray’s struggles continue, head coach Kevin O’Connell will have to consider benching him. He just hasn’t been accurate enough to sustain Minnesota’s deep passing game and hasn’t developed any chemistry with Justin Jefferson. Those two did connect for a touchdown, but it required a jaw-dropping effort from the receiver. Murray cost Jefferson another touchdown with an overthrow. Jefferson’s starting to show signs of frustration with the quarterback situation. Cameras caught him complaining to coaches and teammates after Murray targeted Jordan Addison on a key third down late in the game. It’s hard to fault the star receiver. He’s getting open, but isn’t getting proper service from his quarterback. It’s probably too early for O’Connell to make the switch — and Carson Wentz isn’t the most attractive option — but if Murray starts throwing interceptions, that could change. He’s mostly avoided those costly mistakes but did throw a bad pick at the end of the first half, which led to Detroit points. That blunder, along with a rare miss by kicker Will Reichard, made the difference on the scoreboard. Brian Flores’ defense put in another valiant shift, but it couldn’t hold down a powerful Detroit offense for 60 minutes. That’s understandable, and despite the poor fourth-quarter effort, holding the Lions to just 19 points is still impressive. But this game showed that an elite defense can’t win games against good competition on its own. The offense has to do its part, even if it’s just staying on the field to provide the defense some time to catch its breath. Detroit won the time-of-possession battle by over 11 minutes on Sunday, and it showed in the fourth quarter with all of those broken tackles. Before that final frame, it appeared we were headed for another defensive masterclass by Flores. Jared Goff never really got comfortable thanks to another comically high blitz rate from the Minnesota defensive coordinator. Flores sent an extra pass rusher on nearly 90% of Goff’s dropbacks. At one point, the Lions gave up on pushing the ball downfield and opted for quick screen passes. It didn’t lead to much production, but Goff didn’t take a single sack in the first half after going down four times in the first two quarters. Had the Vikings’ offense put up more of a fight, that wouldn’t have been a viable strategy. Detroit had no need to put the ball in the air, which negated what this Minnesota defense does best. As long as that continues, we may see more game plans like the one the Lions used in the second half. The Lions are officially back in the NFC North race, sitting just a game back with the Dolphins next up on the schedule. If they take care of business in Miami, they could be in first place by next Sunday night. Outside of the remaining divisional games and a Week 10 matchup with the Patriots, Detroit’s schedule is awfully forgiving. That may help the defense navigate the next few weeks if it has to play short-handed. The opposite is true for the Vikings. This was just the first game of a four-week gauntlet. The Bills come to Minnesota next week, followed by games against the Packers and 49ers. It’ll be difficult to get through that stretch without a more competent offense. The defense will have its hands full against three quarterbacks in the MVP discussion.