5 things to know about the Vikings and Lions for Week 9

Minnesota has lost five straight games at home

This is not a typo.

There is some context, of course, that the Vikings haven’t had any fans in the stadium for the three of the contests. Yet, that hardly merits losing all three games at U.S. Bank Stadium in 2020. That’s exactly what Minnesota has done. They dropped the first game of the year to the Packers, Week 3 against the Tennessee Titans, and Week 6 versus the Atlanta Falcons. Before that, the Vikings lost a meaningless Week 17 matchup to the Chicago Bears in 2019 and a pivotal showdown with the Packers in Week 16 of the same season. The loss to the Packers was particularly embarrassing because Minnesota’s performance was wholly anemic.

From the moment U.S. Bank Stadium opened its doors until the start of 2020, the Vikings were the NFL’s fourth-best home team. That reputation has been all for nil during this season.

If there was ever a game to right the ship in this home-game parameter, a meeting with the Lions is a sight for sore eyes.