3 things the Vikings need to improve heading into Week 8

Ball Security

This was an issue for the Vikings in Week 6 and it happened again in Detroit. There was only one culprit this time and it is becoming a habit for him.

Stefon Diggs again caught a Kirk Cousins pass, took a few steps and then fumbled it against th Lions. Luckily for Diggs, Minnesota running back Alexander Mattison was close by when the ball popped loose and he jumped on it before the Lions were able to figure out what happened.

Now, Detroit lives for punching the ball out and they have had great success doing it this season, so it isn’t wasn’t too surprising. After the Vikings’ loss to the Chicago Bears in Week 4 and last week against the Philadelphia Eagles, one would think hanging onto the ball would be something that would be foremost on Diggs’ mind heading into and during the Lions game. It clearly wasn’t.

He did seem to learn his lesson though. Later in the matchup, Diggs caught the game-sealing bomb and as he was running down the field he secured the ball with both hands as a Detroit defender was closing in on him to make the tackle.

So it appears Diggs learned his lesson. Hopefully, he continues to protect the ball this week against the Redskins.

Not only has Diggs had issues holding onto the ball, but he’s also had problems catching it. It would’ve been a tough catch, but the Minnesota receiver had a chance to put the game away early in the fourth quarter on Sunday. Cousins threw a nice ball in the end zone and it just went through Diggs’ outstretched hands.

That is a catch he makes about 95 percent of the time, but for whatever reason Diggs’ hands just haven’t been as sticky this season as they usually are. So maybe he can also spend some time on the jugs machine after practice when he’s also working on his ball security this week.