Minnesota Vikings vs. Detroit Lions: 5 players to watch

1 of 6

September 14, 2015; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (5) runs with the football past San Francisco 49ers inside linebacker NaVorro Bowman (53) during the third quarter at Levi

“Embarrassing.” “Not like us.” “A reality check.” Vikings players and coaches have used plenty of different words to describe Monday night’s performance against San Francisco.

I’ll just go ahead and call it a massive stinkfest that made a lot of Viking fans wonder why they ever believed this team was legitimately a playoff sleeper.

But of course it’s way too early to just give up on the purple. One game is one game. Monday night may ultimately prove to have been a total anomaly.

Let’s hope it was an anomaly because if the team we saw Monday night is the real Vikings?

More from Minnesota Vikings News

Ugh.

If the Vikings are going to get their mojo back after being flattened in San Francisco, it goes without saying they will need to play much better against Detroit this weekend.

These are my five specific players to watch as the Vikings try to turn around their fortunes against a very familiar opponent.

Everyone on this list was a culprit in Monday night’s flop and everyone on this list should be 100% motivated to get things righted.

Next: A defensive end

Schedule