Minnesota Vikings Matchup Nightmare: Week 9 vs Kenny Golladay

The emerging wide receiver for the Detroit Lions will be a handful for the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

In the history of the Minnesota Vikings, the team has usually had its share of success against the Detroit Lions. With an all-time record of 72-39-2 against Detroit, it’s usually a good thing to see the Lions on the schedule — especially when the Vikings are in a period of flux as of now.

Despite all of the good vibes the Vikings have received from the Lions over the years, there was one wide receiver that gave Minnesota (and plenty of other defenses) fits. His name? Calvin Johnson.

“Megatron” was a Viking killer during his career, torching the Vikings for 81 receptions, 1,095 yards and nine touchdowns in 15 career games. Although the Lions went just 5-10 in those games, Johnson’s shadow is one that almost every Detroit receiver must overcome to have a productive career. Fortunately for them, they may have a guy doing just that in Kenny Golladay.

Golladay came into the league at the advanced age of 24 out of Northern Illinois. Despite not being associated with a football powerhouse, the Lions took him in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft thanks to his size (6-foot-4, 213 pounds) and speed (4.5-second 40-yard dash) which has earned him the nickname of “Babytron.”

In his second season in the league, Golladay has begun to live up to his lofty alias. Despite starting the season slow with just one catch for 12 yards against the Jets in Week 1, his involvement in the Detroit passing game has grown each week. Last week, he set a new career-high in receptions and receiving yards, hauling in seven passes for 114 yards in a 28-14 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

While those aren’t quite Calvin Johnson stats, they were good enough for the Lions to pull the trigger on sending Golden Tate to Seattle for a third-round pick earlier this week. The departure of Tate should open up targets for Golladay (and fellow beneficiary Marvin Jones) in the Lions offense moving forward.

That poses a problem for a Minnesota secondary that is banged up at the moment. Top corner Xavier Rhodes missed last week’s game against the New Orleans Saints with an ankle injury, but is on the right track to play after getting limited practices in on Wednesday and Thursday. Even if he does play, however, he’s shadowed Jones in the past and will likely be tasked with shutting him down.

That leaves Golladay to Trae Waynes, who must find a way to contain him. Against the Saints, Waynes did a decent job helping limit Drew Brees to 120 yards passing last week while guarding a combination of Tre’Quan Smith and Cameron Meredith.

If the Minnesota Vikings can contain Golladay (and Jones on the other side), it will force the Lions to lean on a rushing offense that currently ranks 20th in the league and an offensive line that has also had its issues this season. That makes containing the Lions’ biggest weapon a top priority in a must-win game.