Composure and patience are two words Lions coach Dan Campbell is preaching heading into the Lions’ first divisional game of the season at Minnesota. The undefeated Vikings have a head start in the NFC North, with a 1-0 record after beating the Packers at Green Bay.
“They’re playing really well, so are we. We’re on the road, they’ve already got a division win on the road at Green Bay, this is big, this is a real big game,’’ Campbell said. “That’s the way you have to approach it.”
Campbell found a common denominator between all five teams that they beat.
“They lose their composure and communication is not there and things start going sour and it snowballs and it gets worse. Nobody has taken them down to the wire really, I know the Jets game there was an opportunity there,’’ Campbell said. “But that’s what we have to do we have to take this thing to the fourth quarter and make it a game. If we don’t do that it’s going to be hard, you’re going to be running uphill. That’s the focus here – keep your composure, communicate and then you’ve got to battle.
While the Lions beat the Vikings twice last year, traditionally road games in Minneapolis have spelled trouble for Detroit.
“It’s a loud environment, as you know they play pretty good at home as most teams do, it just goes back to everything else,’’ Campbell said. “We’ve got a pretty veteran team particularly offensively. That’s where you’re put under fire. Our defense isn’t getting all of that. I feel like we’ll be able to keep our composure, keep our head about us and then it’s about being patient, we’ve got to be patient on offense, it’s hard to say but that’s what you’ve got to do.’’
Five things to watch:
ONE: The Vikings’ blitzing defense has improved in the second year under coordinator Brian Flores. The Lions can’t count on their success from last year over the Vikings.
“They don’t make it easy and that’s part of this defense. They’re trying to stress you out, they’re trying to strain you, the clock’s running, this game we’ll be on the road, and they’ve – it’s worked. They’ve gotten on some people,’’ Campbell said. “They’ve gotten on all these offenses and they’ve been able to play their game. Offense, defense, and really because of the defense because they’ve gotten up. These multiple score games, they’re up two scores, they’re up three scores early, and you are out of your offense so fast that you can’t – now you’re totally playing into their hands.”
TWO: Campbell said the Vikings’ 13 takeaways are fueling the team right now. It isn’t lost on the Lions who had five takeaways (3 interceptions, 2 fumble recovered) in the 47-9 win at Dallas. Jared Goff is keenly aware. “That’s typically going to be the difference in a game and those guys have been thriving off of it. So yeah, we’ve got to do a good job taking care of it and, like I said, they are extremely ball-aware, they’re trying to take it away, you can tell, and we’ve got to be even more aware this week,’’ Goff said. The Lions have a 4/10 ratio of giveaway/takeaways.
THREE: No one player can step in and fill the shoes of edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson who broke his leg on Sunday. Aaron Glenn, defensive coordinator, said he puts together a plan each week that is about the players not just the scheme. “I say this every week, we do everything we can to put the players in the best position that we can to where it shows their strengths, and it limits their weaknesses. So, that’s what we plan to do and that’s my job. Even when we had Aidan. We moved Aidan around to put him in position so he can be successful too,’’ Glenn said.
“So, that’s my job and that’s the fun part about being a coordinator is being able to do that week in and week out. It’s also a tough job because you also have guys on the other side of the ball that you have to make sure you take care of. But I’m excited about the guys that we have. Those guys are going to go out there and play well,’’ Glenn added. The Lions added Isaiah Thomas from the Bengals’ practice squad this week but won’t make a big trade unless it’s the perfect deal for them.
FOUR: Ben Johnson’s trick-play bag is not empty even though he went to it often against the Cowboys. The offensive coordinator won’t be afraid to go there against the Vikings. “We’re not just calling plays to call plays because we think they look cool. It’s really by design and intent and then our guys carry it the rest of the way,’’ Johnson said. Along with the skill on the offense, Johnson’s creativity is another reason they are so successful at scoring. “This game’s been around for a long time and our challenge as a coaching staff, and I say it to the offensive staff quite a bit, is we can run a million different types of plays and because of that, I don’t like to run the same one twice. I don’t like to do it within a game, I don’t like to do it within a season,’’ Johnson said. “We certainly do have some staples that I will repeat at times, but we’re charged with let’s have a little creativity.’’
FIVE: Running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs now want to be known as Sonic & Knuckles (like the video game). Hey, call them what they want. Between them they’ve scored 10 touchdowns in the first five games. Six rushing for Montgomery and three rushing and one passing for Gibbs. Montgomery’s eight consecutive games with a rushing TD is a Lions franchise record and he’s tied for most consecutive games with rushing TD active NFL streaks with Rams’ Kyren Williams. Only Baltimore’s Derrick Henry has more rushing TDs this season with 8. With 13 touchdowns in 20 career games, Gibbs ranks third in franchise history behind Barry Sanders and Sims who each had 18.
LIONS INJURY UPDATE: G Christian Mahogany (illness) is out; CB Carlton Davis III (quad) and G Kevin Zeitler (groin) are questionable.
VIKINGS INJURY UPDATE: TE T.J. Hockenson (knee) LB Blake Cashman (toe) and CB Akayleb Evans (hip) are out; OLB Pat Jones II (shoulder), RB Aaron Jones (hamstring), G Dalton Risner (back) and DL Harrison Phillips (shoulder) are questionable.
PREDICTION: Lions 31, Vikings 28
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