Sam Ekstrom gives his first take on the Vikings’ 20-7 victory over the Detroit Lions.
BIG PICTURE
With a huge game dropped to Seattle last Monday and a huge game looming versus Green Bay in two weeks, the Vikings simply needed to hold serve in the next two games against inferior competition. They wore down a battered, low-effort Detroit squad Sunday afternoon with a methodical offensive approach, held onto an early lead and didn’t give in to a backup quarterback as they’d done a handful of times this year.
PLAY-ACTION WORKS AGAIN
Kirk Cousins used play-action liberally and effectively en route to another productive day: 242 yards and a touchdown. In the first half alone Cousins hit on all 12 of his play-action passes, including the game-opening touchdown to Bisi Johnson. There’s something about running play-action against the Lions: In Week 7 the Vikings ran 18 play-action passes at Ford Field, the second most in the NFL. Sunday they backed off while playing with a huge lead in the second half but made the most of it in the opening 30 minutes.
Go up and go get it, @BisiJohnson1! #Skol pic.twitter.com/iwtXyGUhAv
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) December 8, 2019
Minnesota was selective with its aggressive throws, choosing instead to churn the clock and return to ball control football after watching the Seahawks hold the ball for nearly 40 minutes on Monday. But with just over a minute on the clock before halftime, Cousins hit Stefon Diggs down the sideline for a 44-yard deep shot, which set up a touchdown. Earlier in the half Diggs hauled in a toe-tap sideline catch and a leaping grab on the opposite sideline, more than making up for a handful of drops against the Seahawks.
Dalvin Cook played through the chest injury that took him out of the second half against Seattle and rotated with Alexander Mattison. The rookie backup got most of the action after halftime and was used in a similar fashion with screen passes and wide zone runs. He also flashed his hurdling chops again on a long run in the second quarter. Cook finished with 20 touches, Mattison got 16.
Altogether, the Vikings spread the ball around as Cousins connected with 10 different receivers in the first half. He targeted Alexander Hollins but overthrew him in the third quarter, then accidentally targeted Garrett Bradbury on a tipped pass later in the third to give him No. 11. Diggs led the way with six catches for 92 yards, leaving him three yards shy of 1,000 yards for the year.
DANIELLE’S BIG DAY
Danielle Hunter had an incredible game, hitting another milestone in his incredible young career. Hunter notched three first-half sacks against rookie quarterback David Blough — all on third down — vaulting him up to 52.5 career sacks, becoming the fifth NFL player in recorded history to notch 50 sacks by age 25. In the Lions’ last appearance at U.S. Bank Stadium, he sacked Matthew Stafford 3.5 times.
.@DHunt94_TX‘s 2nd sack and we’re still in the 1st quarter 👀👀#ProBowlVote pic.twitter.com/QsdBBsIc6Q
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) December 8, 2019
Hunter, and the rest of his defensive teammates, looked like their old selves against the struggling Lions. It was a tonic, of sorts, for the ailing group that allowed 37 points six days prior and faced skepticism from the fan base. They made Blough look every bit like the undrafted rookie he was, swatting his first two passes of the day and sacking him on third down. Blough started fast in his first career start on Thanksgiving but exited Sunday’s first half with only 59 yards through the air.
Minnesota started with a rotation at cornerback, cycling between Xavier Rhodes, Mike Hughes and Trae Waynes after Rhodes’ season-long struggles continued in Week 14. But Rhodes was injured in the third quarter after colliding with Harrison Smith on Smith’s leaping interception, and Mike Hughes was later taken out with an oblique injury. Their statuses will be something to monitor heading into Week 15’s game at the Los Angeles Chargers.
For the group as a whole, though, Sunday’s positive result could be a confidence builder with three games to go.
TURNING POINT
Special teams led to a huge swing late in the first half as Matt Prater, typically one of the game’s most consistent field goal kickers, sliced a 45-yarder wide of the right upright to keep the Vikings up 10-0. Minnesota took the ball and drove 65 yards in six plays and 46 seconds to open up a 17-0 lead on Dalvin Cook’s 3-yard touchdown run, virtually putting the game away.
