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Check out the studs and duds from Sunday’s game against the Lions
The Minnesota Vikings figured out how to win a game in which they didn’t play very well. The final score was 28-24 over the Detroit Lions and coming out of the game, it feels like the Vikings stole it from the Lions.
Throughout the game, there were players on both sides that played both well and poorly. Take a look at our studs and duds from Sunday’s clash with the Lions
The Vikings pulled out a clunker of a game by taking advantage of the Lions’ endgame mistakes
The Minnesota Vikings beat the Detroit Lions by a score of 28-24 in a crazy game that felt like the Vikings were trying to blow it.
The game started out with both teams missing field goals on their opening drive and the Lions jumped out to a 14-0 lead.
Amon-Ra St. Brown and D.J. Chark were getting open early and often helping the Lions convert three fourth downs in the first half. They ended up going 4-6 on fourth downs in the game.
The much-maligned quarterback Jared Goff was the better signal-caller on the day looking confident and accurate in the pocket and making plays on the move. He finished the game 25-for-41 for 277 yards, a touchdown and the game-ending interception on a hail mary-type play
On the other side, Kirk Cousins had a very up-and-down game. In small spurts, he was making proper reads down the field and finding open receivers. For most of the game, Cousins struggled in the pocket in reading the defense and staying confident. He finished 24-for-41 for 260 yards and two touchdowns. The line is a little more generous than how he played. He also threw off his back foot too often.
The Vikings weapons didn’t have a great day either. Irv Smith Jr. had another key drop, Justin Jefferson dropped three passes with only three receptions for 14 yards and Dalvin Cook injured his shoulder again and was ruled out for the game towards the end of the third quarter.
This was the renaissance of Adam Thielen. After catching just seven passes for 88 yards while getting consistently open, the Vikings made it a point of emphasis to get Thielen the football with 6 catches for 61 yards. K.J. Osborn also got in on the action more than before with five catches for 73 yards and a touchdown.
The defense for the Vikings was up and down. They held the Lions to their lowest point total of the season at 24 but allowed way too many drives to continue when they had the Lions stopped.
The endgame strategy for the Lions was interesting. Up three, head coach Dan Campbell elected to go for the field goal instead of trying to win the game on fourth down by getting a first down. That call ended up biting him in the end and likely would have anyway. Going up six points at the end of the game still allows your opponent to win with a touchdown and an extra point.
After Rich Seubert missed a field goal that would have put the Lions by 6, Cousins led a three-play-56-yard drive that ended in a 28-yard touchdown pass to K.J. Osborn who beat former Vikings cornerback Mike Hughes.
Unfortunate for Campbell to see the Lions lose the game like that, but the Vikings took advantage when it counted and improve to 2-1 on the year with both wins over NFC North opponents. They face the New Orleans Saints next Sunday morning at 8:30 am central.
The star running back has been ruled out with a shoulder injury
The Minnesota Vikings were driving down 24-14 to the Detroit Lions when they gave the ball to Dalvin Cook on a zone run. Unfortunately, that run ended poorly as Cook ran into left guard Ezra Cleveland and he fumbled the ball to the Lions.
Dalvin Cook runs into Ezra Cleveland and fumbles pic.twitter.com/Swnzba2ol3
— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) September 25, 2022
This halted the Vikings offensive momentum as they were into Lions territory trying to cut the game to a one score game. When Cook injured his shoulder, he fumbled the ball which has been commonplace when Cook gets injured.
Upon coming off the field, Cook was ushered immediately into the blue medical tent to look at the injured shoulder and he was ruled out within minutes.
Dalvin Cook (shoulder) has been ruled out.
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 25, 2022
This is the same shoulder that has given Cook a lot of issues throughout his time with the Vikings and even dates back to his time with Florida State in his college days.
With Cook out, that leaves the Vikings with Alexander Mattison and Kene Nwangwu as the only healthy tailbacks on the active roster.
Things aren’t all sunshine and rainbows for the Vikings at halftime
After the first half of week 3 against the Detroit Lions, the Minnesota Vikings are tied with the Lions at 14 a piece.
The game didn’t start off really hot, as both teams missed field goals on their first possessions. After that, both teams settled in and started executing their game plan.
It felt like two separate games as the Lions dominated the first quarter and the Vikings played much better in the second.
Here are the 3 main takeaways from the first half.
The Vikings picked the former sixth-round pick over the rookie first-round pick Lewis Cine
The Minnesota Vikings deferred the coin toss to the Detroit Lions, meaning that the purple and gold choe to start the game on defense.
In doing so, we got an answer to the biggest question over the last 48 hours since we knew Harrison Smith was going to be missing the game due to a concussion.
When he got hurt during Monday night’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles, third-year player Josh Metellus got into the game over rookie first-round pick Lewis Cine.
On the first play of the game, it was Metellus that got the start over Cine. It shouldn’t be a cause for concern for Cine as we noted in an article from Saturday afternoon.
It should be noted that defensive coordinator Ed Donatell mentioned that they had situations that they wanted to use both players during Sunday’s game. Time will tell if that ends up being the case.
These cleats are an excellent tribute to the original 3 Deep
The Minnesota Vikings are ready to take on the Detroit Lions on Sunday afternoon and nobody is more ready than wide receiver Adam Thielen.
Before each game, players can choose to wear whatever they want while they go through pregame warm-ups. One of the ways that players choose to express themselves is by wearing custom cleats.
Thielen has been known to have some creative cleats. Last week against the Eagles, he wore custom Italian Stallion Rocky Balboa cleats and he took it one step further this week with a picture of the original 3-deep.
3️⃣ DEEP pic.twitter.com/eqbPDKml6W
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 25, 2022
Originally consisting of Cris Carter, Jake Reed and a rookie Randy Moss, 3-Deep was a dominant force that helped the Vikings set the NFL record for most points in a season.
The current Vikings receivers aren’t too far off from the original trio in the 1998 season. A really cool homage to the legendary group from Thielen.
The Vikings release their inactives for Sunday’s game vs the Lions
The Minnesota Vikings are set to take on the Detroit Lions on Sunday afternoon at noon central time.
Going into Sunday afternoon, there was some concern that starting inside linebacker Eric Kendricks would miss the game with a toe injury after being limited at practice on Friday.
When the inactive list came out, there wasn’t a single surprise when the inactive list came out with it being headlined by Harrison Smith and Andrew Booth Jr.
#DETvsMIN inactives pic.twitter.com/0eiURRx2vc
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 25, 2022
After the two defensive backs, there wasn’t one surprise. All five have been inactive in each of the first two weeks. This is now a trend and should be something to look at moving forward.
On the Lions side, there isn’t anyone out that is worth noting. Aidan Hutchinson and D’Andre Swift are active.
#DETvsMIN inactives presented by Henry Ford Health pic.twitter.com/7SmyZ95wiJ
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) September 25, 2022
Get excited Vikings fans, the game kicks off at noon central.
The Vikings elevated two from the practice squad to cover for Harrison Smith and Andrew Booth Jr.
Heading into Sunday’s game, the Minnesota Vikings didn’t have an expansive injury report. Both Harrison Smith and Andrew Booth Jr. were ruled out on Friday with Eric Kendricks being limited in practice with a toe injury. He is listed as questionable for Sunday but should play.
Going into Sunday, there was questions on who would start at safety for Smith. Would it be first-round pick Lewis Cine or third-year player Josh Metellus? Because of the investment in Cine, you would think that he would get the start but Metellus was the one who came in for Smith and outsnapped Cine 10-1.
Ahead of Sunday’s game, the Vikings elevated cornerback Duke Shelley and safety Myles Dorn.
This isn’t new for the Vikings, as they called up Shelley ahead of the Eagles game on Monday and Dorn ahead of the week one contest against the Green Bay Packers.
Both will play on Sunday against the Lions in a reserve role.
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If you live in the midwest, there is a high probability you get the Lions-Vikings game
The Minnesota Vikings are about to enter the third week of the Kevin O’Connell era as they take on the Detroit Lions on Sunday afternoon.
The game will feature two NFC North divisional foes who enter the game with 1-1 records. Both teams got a win at home and lost to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins might be the biggest storyline entering the game. He saw his record shrink to 2-10 on Monday Night Football and put on an absolute clunker of a performance in Philadelphia.
Will the Vikings be airing live on FOX in your area?
If you live in the yellow area of the map, the Lions-Vikings game will be airing live in your area at 12pm central on FOX (via 506sports.com).
This is a true regional broadcast map as there are only a few markets with the “national” game in Baltimore vs New England (red). Other games on the early slate on FOX are Philadelphia-Washington (blue), Las Vegas-Tennessee (green), Detroit-Minnesota (yellow) and New Orleans-Carolina (orange).
Brandin Gaudin and Brady Quill will be on the call for Lions-Vikings.
The game kicks off at 12pm central only on FOX.
Here’s how you can catch the Vikings week 3 matchup against the Detroit Lions
The Minnesota Vikings take on the Detroit Lions on Sunday afternoon. Last season, the Vikings and Lions had both games decided on the final play of the game with the home team getting the win in both games.
Both teams enter the game at 1-1 and their loss is to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Lions got down by 17 but made a game of it while the Vikings never could close the gap.
Heading into Sunday’s game, here’s how you can watch the game
Preview pieces:
Matchups to watch
Players that need to play well
Reasons for optimism
Final injury report
Zulgad: Offense a work in progress
Zulgad: O’Connell to be tested
Updated 53-man roster
Week 3 predictions with The Lions Wire
Broadcast map
