Category: 2022 Week 3 vs Detroit

Lions vs Vikings: Week 3 preview and predictions

Both the Vikings Wire and Lions Wire gave their preview and predictions for Sunday’s game

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, we previewed the game with the managing editor of The Lions Wire, Jeff Risdon.

Other 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
Broadcast map
How to watch

4 pivotal matchups to watch in Lions vs Vikings Week 3

These four matchups will be key in a Minnesota Vikings victory on Sunday

The Minnesota Vikings take on the Detroit Lions on Sunday in a game that provides some very even and intriguing matchups.

Not only do the Vikings need a win in order to go 2-1, but it would also put them at 2-0 in the division which would give them a huge advantage moving forward.

We highlighted earlier today 5 players that needed to have a good game to get a win on Sunday, and these four matchups are just as critical.

Vikings final injury report: Smith, Booth Jr out, Kendricks added

The Vikings had a last-second addition to the injury report

The Minnesota Vikings have only had two players on their injury report all week with neither having practiced at all.

That didn’t change at all on Friday as neither practiced. When the coaching staff spoke to the media in the afternoon, there was steam that they both would be out for Sunday’s game. Later on Friday afternoon, the injury report confirm that steam and the Vikings will be without both players on Sunday.

This will be the first game that Smith has missed due to injury since 2016. He did miss two games due to COVID-19 in 2020 but none in the past five seasons due to injury.

The surprise addition to the injury report is that of Eric Kendricks with a true injury. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem to be serious and he did practice in a limited capacity.

If Kendricks is unable to go, Brian Asamoah will likely start in his place.

The coaching staff earlier Friday didn’t make an announcement on if Lewis Cine or Josh Metellus would start in place of Smith. Based on snap counts from Monday night, Metellus would get the start as he out-snapped Cine 10 to one.

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Harrison Smith likely out for Sunday’s game vs Lions

Things are not looking good for one of the league’s top safeties

The Minnesota Vikings have been able to stay relatively injury free this season. Only Lewis Cine in week one and Andrew Booth Jr. in week two missed a game due to injury.

This week, the Vikings might have two miss week 3 against the Detroit Lions.

Booth Jr. and Harrison Smith were the only two players on the injury report each of the last two days and neither are practicing again today.

Smith is at practice but not participating having been seen with sweats on talking to others on the side. Considering he is still in the concussion protocol, this isn’t a good sign. Normally, when a player in the protocol doesn’t practice at all, they don’t end up playing that week.

Booth Jr. was also not seen on the sidelines which likely signals him being out for the game.

In place of Smith will be a combination of veteran Josh Metellus and rookie first-round pick Lewis Cine.

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5 players that need to play well for the Vikings to beat the Lions.

The Vikings need these five players to step up to secure a win on Sunday

The Minnesota Vikings are 1-1 this season but are also 1-0 in the division after a week 1 victory over the Green Bay Packers.

After getting lambasted by the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night, kumbaya time is over and overcoming adversity is the name of the game.

As they head into week three against the Detroit Lions, 5 players need to step up for the Vikings to take home the win.

Vikings Week 2 injury report sees no changes on Thursday

No changes for the Vikings on their injury report

The Minnesota Vikings have fully shifted their focus onto the Detroit Lions on Sunday afternoon.

With practice on Thursday, the injury report was updated but it saw no changes, as both Andrew Booth Jr. (quad) and Harrison Smith (concussion) were the only two players listed and they did not practice for the second-consecutive day.

Booth Jr. should be sidelined for the game as he is sixth on the depth chart and should be allowed to fully heal up before coming back.

As far as where Smith is, we don’t know for certain either way. Concussions are a pain to deal with. Things can change daily and we won’t know if he will play on Sunday potentially until Saturday afternoon. Thie interesting element with Smith missing the game is who would take his place.

Defensive coordinator Ed Donatell said that it would be a mix of rookie Lewis Cine and Josh Metellus who see action in place of Smith.

Considering Cine was your first-round pick, this is an odd decision. Tomorrow’s injury report will likely fill us in on Sunday’s game.

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Vikings Week 3 injury report: just Booth Jr. and Smith

The injury report is light in numbers but hard on the secondary

The Minnesota Vikings have had some good luck with injuries over the first two weeks of the season. They were missing one player in each of their first two games: Lewis Cine against the Green Bay Packers and Andrew Booth Jr. against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday.

After having both Jonathan Bullard and Cine on the injury report every day for the last two weeks, both of them came off of the report and it is down to just two players in Booth Jr. and safety Harrison Smith.

Booth Jr. missed Monday night’s game after sustaining the injury in week one against the Green Bay Packers. With him being sixth on the depth chart, it makes the most sense to keep him out until he’s fully healthy, especially since he didn’t practice on Wednesday.

Smith sustained a concussion on Monday night and while head coach Kevin O’Connell is optimistic that he will be ready to go on Sunday against the Detroit Lions, there is still time to determine if he will be able to clear concussion protocol.

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5 reasons for optimism ahead of Week 3 vs Lions

Despite the brutal loss on Monday, there is plenty of reason for optimism moving forward for the Vikings

After losing a brutal 24-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, there was still some good on the all-22.

The Vikings are still less than two weeks removed from a 23-7 domination of the rival Green Bay Packers, so there are still things that should give fans hope.

After the debacle on Monday night, I found five things that should give Vikings fans optimism moving forward.

Vikings open as 6.5 point favorites in Week 3 vs Lions

The Vikings are currently favorites over the division rival Lions

The Minnesota Vikings are coming off of an absolute dud against the Philadelphia Eagles by a score of 24-7. The week prior, they looked like Super Bowl contenders in beating the Green Bay Packers 23-7.

Right now, this Vikings team is exactly who I thought they were: a .500 team with a lot of variance. They haven’t shown anything as of yet that they are a different football team than in prior years. Consistency will be the key for the Vikings here as they try to change the narrative.

Going into week three, they have a matchup against their division rival Detroit Lions who they don’t matchup with very well. The strength of the Lions is in the trenches and the Vikings have shown that they can be beaten, especially up the middle.

Our friends at Tipico Sportsbook have the Vikings as 6.5-point favorites and the over/under is set at 53.5 points.

Over the first two weeks, the Vikings had been underdogs along with being 1-1 against the spread and the under is 2-0. Watching the line progress this week will be interesting, as the Lions currently look like good bets to cover the spread with it being under a touchdown.

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