Vikings vs. Lions Preview
The Minnesota Vikings face a must-win home game against the Detroit Lions to avoid dropping to 0-3 on Sunday.
The Lions come into the game also at 0-2, but the mood around the Lions camp is much better than the one in Minnesota.
The Vikings have looked like a team in chaos in falling to 0-2. Brett Favre, who missed training camp this year, has very little trust in his receivers. He is missing his top target from last year, Sidney Rice, who is injured and won't return until week six
at the earliest.
Favre has thrown just one touchdown and four interceptions in two weeks and no Vikings wide receiver has had more than 32 yards receiving in a game. Favre's top target so far has been a familiar one, TE Visanthe Shiancoe, who has caught 10 passes for 162 yards
and a touchdown over two games.
The Vikings will likely look to put more of the load on running back Adrien Peterson's shoulders if Favre can't improve. Peterson has played well this season despite his team's struggles and coach Brad Childress should be putting the ball into his hands with
increasing regularity given Favre's struggles. Peterson is coming off a game where he rushed for 145 yards and touchdown. The Vikings lost that game, to the Dolphins, in part because of Favre's three interceptions.
In the Lions, the Vikings will be coming up against a team that looks much improved since 2009. The Lions are 0-2, but their losses were both close and against quality opposition. They followed up a five-point loss to the Bears, a game they would have won if
Calvin Johnson had known he had to hold onto the ball all the way through his last-minute catch in the end zone, with a come-from-behind effort that fell just short in losing to the Michael Vick-led Eagles by three points.
This is not the same Lions team that went win-less in 2008 and won only two games last season. The addition of rookie running back Jahvid Best has sparked an offence that already included receiver Calvin Johnson and quarterback Matthew Stafford. Stafford is
out of Sunday's game with a shoulder injury, but Shawn Hill showed that he is a capable replacement, throwing for 335 yards and two touchdowns while completing better than 50% of his passes against the Eagles.
Jahvid Best has been a revelation for the Lions so far, leading the NFL with five touchdowns. The rookie has combined for 268 total yards over two games with the Lions, exploding for 232 total yards and three touchdowns against the Eagles.
Despite all the positive vibes in Detroit, I can't see the Vikings losing this one at home. They still have an excellent defence, which should be able to contain Best and the rest of the Lions' offence.
Meanwhile, the Lions have struggled on defence despite the addition of Ndamukong Suh on the defensive line. They are ranked 30th in the NFL in total defence after two games. Expect a steady dose of AP, and an improved Brett Favre to lead the Vikings to a more-comfortable-than-expected
win on Sunday.
Prediction: Vikings 31 Lions 17
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