With the Minnesota Vikings set to take on the Detroit Lions in Week 7, let’s take a look at last season when the two teams faced off in Michigan.
The Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions are set to face off in a big NFC North contest on Sunday in the Motor City. The Vikings are on a two-game winning streak, while the Lions are coming off a disappointing and controversial loss on the road to the Green Bay Packers.
The Vikings have lost their first two divisional games and falling 0-3 could be very costly down the road in the tough NFC North. In some ways, you can say this is close to a must-win game.
Minnesota leads the all-time series 74-39-2, including wins in the past three meetings. The last time these two teams met came in Week 16 at Detroit last season when the Vikings won 27-9 to improve to 8-6-1 on the year.
In the game, quarterback Kirk Cousins went 21 for 28, throwing for 253 yards and three touchdowns, running back Dalvin Cook rushed for 73 yards on 16 carries, and tight end Kyle Rudolph had nine receptions for 122 yards and two touchdowns (one on a 44-yard hail mary to close out the first half). Minnesota wide receiver Adam Thielen also added five receptions for 80 yards and linebacker Eric Wilson had a game-high nine tackles to go along with a sack.
The Vikings’ defense held the Lions to just 223 total yards. Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford went 18 for 32 for only 116 yards and Kenny Golladay had six receptions for 58 yards.
Throughout their history, Minnesota has done very well against the Lions, but winning in Week 7 will not come easy. The Vikings do have a good shot on Sunday, but Detroit has a decent team this year.
Their two losses this season only came by a combined five points against the Kansas City Chiefs and Packers. Simply put, these are not the same Lions that have been mostly pushovers since 1996.