The Detroit Lions will take on the Minnesota Vikings for first place in the NFC North this Sunday. The Lions dismantled the Dallas Cowboys last weekend 47-9 while the Vikings are coming off the bye, in their last game they beat the New York Jets 23-17 in London.
Detroit Lions 4-1 vs. Minnesota Vikings 5-0
Date: Sunday, October 20
Time: 1:00 p.m. EST
TV Channel: FOX
Location: U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN
Line: Vikings -2.5 / O/U: 49.5
2024 Regular Season Stats
Detroit:
2024 Offense (League Rank) —
Total Yards: 416.0 (3)
Passing Yards: 258.2 (4)
Rushing Yards: 157.8 (4)
2024 Defense (League Rank) —
Total Yards Allowed: 329.4 (13)
Passing Yards Allowed: 246.2 (27)
Rushing Yards Allowed: 83.2 (3)
2024 Cumulative Points Scored: 30.2 (1)
2024 Cumulative Points Allowed: 18.2 (8)
Minnesota:
2024 Offense (League Rank) —
Total Yards: 323.2 (17)
Passing Yards: 207.8 (19)
Rushing Yards: 115.4 (20)
2024 Defense (League Rank) —
Total Yards Allowed: 330.2 (14)
Passing Yards Allowed: 263.0 (30)
Rushing Yards Allowed: 67.2 (2)
2024 Cumulative Points Scored: 27.8 (6)
2024 Cumulative Points Allowed: 15.2 (3)
Series History/All-Time Records
All-time head-to-head record: Minnesota Leads 80-43-2
Current streak: Detroit have won three straight
Last Detroit win: 1/7/2024 (30-20)
Last Minnesota win: 9/25/2022 (28-24)
2024 Top Players
Detroit Lions
Passing: Jared Goff –106-149, 1330 yards, 8-4 (TD-INT)
Rushing: David Montgomery – 75 ATT, 351 YDS, 6 TD
Receiving: Jameson Williams – 16 REC, 365 YDS, 3 TD
Tackles: Jack Campbell – 31 (15-16)
Sacks: Aidan Hutchinson – 7.5
Interceptions: Kerby Joseph – 4
Minnesota Vikings
Passing: Sam Darnold – 87-137, 1111 YDS, 11-4 (TD-INT)
Rushing: Aaron Jones – 71 ATT, 350 YDS, 1 TD
Receiving: Justin Jefferson – 26 REC, 450 YDS, 4 TD
Tackles: Blake Cashman – 40 (20-20)
Sacks: Pat Jones II – 5.0
Interceptions: Camryn Bynum – 2
Lions Players To Watch:
Offense: Quarterback – Jared Goff
This game will be a game that the Lions need to stick with their run game but will win depending on the passing game. The Vikings rank 30th in football against the pass, and Goff in his last two games has been locked in averaging 303.5 yards and five touchdowns with zero interceptions, if Goff can play like that against this pass defense the Lions will come out on top.
Defense: Defensive Back – Brian Branch
Branch will need to be watched again this week, as the guy who helps lock down a team’s number-one receiver, last week he had CeeDee Lamb and he finished that game against Dallas with six total tackles, a forced fumble, two interceptions, and two pass deflections. Now he has the top receiver in Justin Jefferson, he will need to keep him locked down as much as he can for the Lions to come out on top.
Bottom Line: First Place in the NFC North on the line
Who would have thought entering this season this Vikings team would be as good as they have been? The defense has looked good and Sam Darnold is playing his best football. These two teams right now are very good at stopping the run and struggle against the pass but the Lions’ offense statistically is much better than Minnesota’s and they will need that to step up in the run game and the pass game if they want to take first place in the NFC North in their first divisional game of the season.
