DETROIT — The big day is here, so get ready.
In Week 18, the Detroit Lions will take on the Minnesota Vikings in a winner-take-all game. The winner will earn the NFC North crown and the No. 1 seed, while the loser will enter as a wild-card No. 5 seed. round.
Below, we answer three burning questions before kickoff.
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Will the Lions be able to contain Vikings WR Justin Jefferson?
As mentioned earlier this week, they couldn’t do it from Ford Field. Justin Jefferson’s numbers against the Lions in nine career games are outrageous. But from Detroit? They are almost unbelievable.
In nine games with the Lions, Jefferson had 69 receptions on 91 targets for 1,154 yards and four touchdowns. But in four games from Ford Field. He has 43 catches for 730 yards and two touchdowns. Jefferson has averaged double-digit catches and over 180 receiving yards every time he has been in Detroit.
Miraculously, the Lions are 3-1 against the Vikings in these games. Despite Jefferson’s impressive performance, Detroit is 5-2 against the Vikings since Dan Campbell took over as head coach.
That’s always a difficult challenge. But without Carlton Davis III in the lineup, that weight falls on the shoulders of cornerbacks Terrion Arnold and Amik Robertson.
Rookie Arnold has recently been caught biting too many interceptions. Robertson has been moved out of the box in the last two games and has been a bright spot. Jefferson hit him for a touchdown in their first matchup.
One of the things we’ve been talking about all week is how we expect the Vikings to use picks and intersecting routes in their quest to try to cross those wires as much as possible for the rookie. is. At the same time, Robertson is a bright spot and a good fit in Detroit. The Vikings would be wise to try the 5-foot-9 cornerback again in single-coverage contested catch situations with Jefferson.
“He’s a special player,” Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said. “He’s my type of guy, and you can see the way he plays starting to trickle down to the other receivers. The reason I say that is because I was watching the game today and I think their Jackson I was watching the Bills game, and I saw (Vikings receiver Jordan) Addison cross the middle of the red zone. I mean, when he gets hit, Jefferson goes over there and says, ‘Stand up. , and pick him up like, “Let’s get back to the huddle.” If you’re hurt, have the huddle look at it, not the defense. ”
“I think he’s one of the toughest players to play that position. In my opinion, he’s an old-school player. It’s like he’s a defensive guy playing receiver. We We’re going to do everything we can to stop him. I thought we did a pretty good job of limiting what he could do in the first game. I know he made one play against Amik and we did that. I intend to continue to prevent this.”
How will Lions QB Jared Goff handle Minnesota’s relentless blitz?
The first matchup between these teams was so back-and-forth and bizarre that Jared Goff’s brilliance against Minnesota’s relentless defense was overshadowed. Brian Flores and his defense may not have as many flashy touches this season, but they’re still doing it more than anyone else.
Against the Week 7 Blitz? Goff completed 15 of 16 passes for 165 yards and one touchdown. On this day, Jonathan Greenard starred for the Vikings, who had 21 pressures. However, only one of those sacks was a blitz, and that’s notable in this important Week 18 showdown.
In three games against Flores and the Vikings, Goff has completed 77 percent of his passes for a 90.9 QBR, and his offense has scored over 30 points in each game. The Vikings are a 14-win team with a true identity that has helped them get here on both sides of the ball. But with the recent performance against Detroit’s offense, could they pose some different problems?
“Every week you try to find a weak spot in the armor and attack it, but this defense doesn’t do much for us,” Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said. “It’s been like that for two years now. This whole unit, they’ve been together, they’ve been playing with this plan, they’ve got the answers, how they’re going to react when something hits them. You can see that you know.
“He definitely has a breaking ball every week. As (Packers head coach) Matt LaFleur said last week, they weren’t expecting as many guys as they were early in the game, so they had to adjust. I think, as a coaching staff, we all need to make sure we’re on top of our P’s and Q’s and make sure we’re available if he throws something at them that they’re not necessarily prepared for. There is no question.”
What can we learn from our first meeting about this big game?
Use the last section to proceed to this section. If the Vikings play a ton of man coverage and blitzing, Jared Goff is in a good position to eat them up. Trust the offense that got you this far and rely on these past experiences to have confidence in the process.
Amon-Ra St. Brown feasted on Vikings. He scored the winning goal and began his rise to stardom as a rookie. Sun God had eight catches on eight targets for 112 yards and one touchdown in Week 7. In seven games against the Vikings, he had 56 catches for 654 yards and four touchdowns. Minnesota may need to adjust for this matchup.
There are a few other things the Lions can learn from their last matchup. That includes the return of TJ Hockenson, a tougher challenge for the linebackers, and making Jahmil Gibbs the focal point of this offense.
According to Pro Football Focus, Detroit’s main linebackers struggled last week, allowing 10 catches for 165 yards and one touchdown on 10 targets in coverage. They were also the weak link in the shootout loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Jack Campbell showed great ability against the rush and brought a physical presence to the middle of the field. However, the return of Alex Anzalone would bring this group back to near-full strength and give a big boost to on-field operations and pass coverage at the second level.
“So we’ve got different packages for him to make sure he’s excited (Hockenson) and we’re going to do everything we can to get closer to this quarterback so he doesn’t get caught.” The ball’s out, too,” Glenn said. “So there’s a lot of things we’re trying to do. But I’ll tell you, this is a good team and obviously we know what their offense is like. Masu…”
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