Why Brooke chose the Vikings: Game 272 is for all NFC marbles. The winner will earn the district championship and the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, while the loser will travel to next week’s Wild Card Conference. The Lions defeated the Vikings in their first matchup in Week 7 and have continued to excel despite numerous injuries to key players. Jared Goff and Sam Darnold are playing the best football of their careers thanks to great play-calling from Ben Johnson and Kevin O’Connell, respectively, and great playmakers around them. These two offensive linemen are moving the ball at will, and it’s beautiful to watch. So the final outcome will come down to which defense makes the most plays Sunday night. Goff has excelled against man coverage all season, posting 19 TDs and zero interceptions, but Goff will struggle at times against a zone-heavy unit led by Brian Flores (17 passing TDs, 0 interceptions). INT10). . Despite playing zone coverage on 74.1 percent of their opponent’s dropbacks, Minnesota’s defense doesn’t let up on man plays, allowing a 69 percent passer rating (lowest in the NFL) and INTs, according to Next Generation Stats. It has the second highest number of 8. Conversely, Detroit’s defense is allowing the most yards per play (7.4) since Week 14 and struggles to get to the quarterback on a regular basis (yes, Aidan Hutchinson , who still leads the team in sacks despite not appearing in a game (last 11 games). The Lions rely on Darnold’s blitzing skills and must find a way to slow down Minnesota’s deep passing attack. The Vikings duo of Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison will look to take advantage of a defense that has allowed 389 yards on deep passes (over 20 air yards) since Week 14, according to Next Gen Stats.
Detroit is in desperate need of a week off due to injuries, but Minnesota is gaining serious momentum heading into the postseason. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see Detroit win in the final game of the season, but given the injuries and how each defenseman is currently playing, I’m going with Minnesota.
