Minnesota Vikings vs Detroit Lions: 5 keys to victory in week 9
By Adam Carlson
Don’t get locked in
There was a time when if you could take away Calvin Johnson, that the Detroit Lions offense would completely crumble. Now, with Megatron retired, quarterback Matt Stafford is doing things he hasn’t in the past.
Stafford is spreading the ball around like never before. According to TeamRankings.com, Golden Tate has been thrown to 62 times, Marvin Jones 59 times, Anquan Boldin 44 times, and Theo Riddick 43 times. With four different pass catchers having over 40 targets and Eric Ebron almost there at 35, the passing attack of the Lions can look anywhere for yards.
That means the defense can’t get locked in when in coverage. They have to respect each individual player running routes and account for the in an equal fashion. With Andrew Sendejo still limited in practice due to an ankle injury that caused him to miss last week’s game, the secondary will need to step up in a big way.
Thankfully, there is a great mixture of youth and experience among the defensive backs of the Minnesota Vikings, but they will have their hands full with this complicated Lions offense.