Not to be overly dramatic, but the Minnesota Vikings’ season is on the line this Sunday against the Detroit Lions. Already sitting at the bottom of the division, a loss drops them even further down the food chain and makes the playoffs nearly impossible. Kevin O’Connell has just one win against Detroit over three seasons, and now they’ll need to try to keep their chances alive against a player who has been a Viking Killer lately.
In the two matchups last season against the Lions, Jahmyr Gibbs dismantled Minnesota’s defense. The versatile running back had 330 total yards on his way to punching in six total touchdowns over the two Lion wins. Those games were the two largest rushing outputs the Vikings allowed by far in 2024. Gibbs also had seven — yes, seven — explosive plays against Minnesota in 2024. The Vikings simply had no answers for the talented runner despite an otherwise successful season.
Now the Vikings defense faces a similar challenge but with higher stakes. Gibbs comes into the game averaging 5.1 yards per carry and a league-leading 3.7 yards before contact – more than the Seattle Seahawks or San Francisco 49ers average in total. On the other hand, the Vikings are giving up 130 yards per game on the ground and have struggled to get opposing offenses off the field. But with serious playoff implications already on the line, they’ll need to find either the scheme or the personnel to suppress Detroit’s offensive fireworks.
Minnesota has already fallen victim to superstar players like Kenneth Gainwell and Kimani Vidal, who combined for 216 rushing yards. They also did little to stop Bijan Robinson or Quinshon Judkins. Teams have largely already figured out that heavy packages against the Vikings work like a charm, and Brian Flores and Co. haven’t been able to adjust. Now Gibbs comes to town, fresh off a 136-yard, two-touchdown rushing performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After boasting the NFL’s second-best rush defense in 2024, Minnesota has had no answers this season.
Despite a huge investment into the defensive line, Minnesota’s rush defense ranks just 24th in 2025. The Vikings brought in Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen on big free-agent deals worth over $80 million combined. However, their production has yet to meet the expectations that accompany those contracts. The duo has just five tackles for loss on the season, and neither has a PFF grade over 56. The team as a whole has allowed three 100-yard rushers already this season, which essentially becomes four with Gainwell’s 99-yard performance. Last year, when the sun was brighter and colors more vivid, the Vikings allowed three all season: two to Gibbs, and one to some guy named Jordan Mason.
While Jalen Redmond has provided some spark up front, the absence of Andrew Van Ginkel and Blake Cashman has loomed large. While Dallas Turner is still young, he hasn’t lived up to his first-round pedigree just yet, and Ivan Pace Jr. has played himself into what seems like a permanent benching. Injuries have been a huge talking point surrounding Minnesota’s struggles this year, and the defense has taken a step back despite the injection of new talent. But with both linebackers healthy, maybe this game will be a different story from the start of the season.
Gibbs, and the Lions in general, have had Minnesota’s number the last few seasons, and the Vikings’ defense has done little to show things will change on Sunday. The Lions have averaged 30.5 points per game against the Vikings since Gibbs was drafted and have emerged unscathed at 4-0.
Still, with the season on the line, maybe Flores can scrape up a vintage performance and clamp down on Detroit’s offensive attack. During Gibbs’s rookie season in 2023, he was limited to just 110 total rushing yards in his two matchups against the Vikings.
At 3-4, the Vikings find themselves in a compromising spot. A loss drops them to 3-5 with the Baltimore Ravens on deck, so it’s easy to see how things can spiral out of control pretty quickly. While Detroit and Gibbs don’t necessarily present an ideal matchup, a healthy Van Ginkel might be enough to turn the tables. Still, the defensive front, thought to be the strength of the team heading into the season, has a lot to prove this week.
Stopping Gibbs has been a problem lately for the Vikings, and yet they’ll have no choice but to figure it out on Sunday. With a loss, Minnesota’s chances for a playoff spot drop to just 3%. While all eyes will likely be on J.J. McCarthy‘s development, the Vikings’ hopes may instead rest on their ability to tame the Lions’ running backs.
