EAGAN, Minn. — The Minnesota Vikings offense looked like a well-oiled machine in Week 1. Then in Week 2, the group experienced engine problems and didn't run efficiently. Now, the Vikings are in need of a jumpstart in time to face their division rivals from the Motor City. After a dominant performance against Green Bay, Minnesota struggled to get the ball moving against Philadelphia on Monday night. The Vikings were outgained 486-264 in total yards against the Eagles. On Wednesday, Head Coach Kevin O'Connell, quarterback Kirk Cousins and running back Dalvin Cook addressed Twin Cities media members following the Vikings 24-7 loss. O'Connell said losses weigh more on him than wins do. He took time to reflect. "I always look inward first, and that was immediately following the game. You start that process, and you just know you can be better," O'Connell said. "You know you can be better in a lot of different ways of coaching this team, and our staff feels the same way. O'Connell added: "We left a lot of yards out there. We left a lot of plays out there to be made, whether it was catching a football or just the detail in what we did. Obviously the first time on the road, it was a heck of an atmosphere, and I thought we handled the noise well from the communication standpoint, but you've got to once again give that defense a lot of credit for how they defended us. I expect our group, that's coaching staff, that's players and myself included, to respond the right way. That's the expectation and how we're going about this week." The Vikings will have a quick turnaround, facing the Detroit Lions at home on Sunday at noon (CT). "Short week, divisional opponent, home game, that's really where our focus is," Cousins said. "I think the Lions have looked really good on tape, it's a defense that looks fast and physical and productive. Good scheme, and they execute it well. We've gotta have a great day today and start building toward Sunday." Cousins completed 27 of his 46 pass attempts for 221 yards and a touchdown, but he also threw three interceptions with the ball inside the Philadelphia 30-yard line. He said it's crucial to come away with points when the offense gets in those situations, especially when playing from behind. "There's so many times where you are behind but you just need to chip away and know that anything can happen, the game can turn on any play," Cousins said. "It could be a special teams play, it could be a defensive play, so you don't need to be overly aggressive or try to get it all back. You can just chip away and take what they give you." The Vikings were not very efficient on third downs, converting just 33 percent (4 of 12). Minnesota especially had trouble when Philadelphia dialed up the defensive pressure and blitzed Cousins. The Eagles hit Cousins seven times and sacked him twice. Cousins said he thinks Detroit will try to do the same. "I think [Detroit Defensive Coordinator] Aaron [Glenn] does a great job of mixing up his looks and adapting within a game, what he feels is working, so I'm sure he's able to be pretty flexible," Cousins said. "I'm sure he also knows that if you can pressure and try to make some plays, that can help. I think it is week-to-week and you have to just get a feel and really, play-to-play even, and just be ready for the whole gamut of what you could get." The Vikings are also looking to regain momentum in their ground game. After averaging 4.5 yards per attempt against the Packers, Minnesota averaged 5.6 against Philadelphia but finished with 62 rushing yards after running just 11 times Monday. Cook was held to six carries for 17 yards, and Alexander Mattison had two attempts for eight yards. Cook said it doesn't take much for him to get into a rhythm in the backfield, but he knows he's got to make the plays when they're presented to him. "Running the football is football. That's it," Cook said. "Just getting back in that rhythm of just imposing our will on people is just what we've got to get back to." O'Connell added that the Vikings can't get dissuaded from running the ball more and continue to find a balance with getting Cook and Mattison touches. "[Cook is] a very important player to our offense. I have all the confidence in the world in him, and I've gotta do a better job of making sure that I get him in a rhythm much like you try to get the quarterback or J.J. [Justin Jefferson] or Adam [Thielen] or K.J. [Osborn] or any of our guys in a rhythm early," O'Connell said. "Both Dalvin and Alexander can be a huge part – and will be a huge part – of our offense moving forward." Shifting gears to Detroit, O'Connell has a lot of respect for Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell after facing him last season when O'Connell was the Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator. VIKINGS.com
When is Louis Cine going start playing and Andrew Booth I thought they were going to help the Defensive Backfield
Harrison Smith has been ruled out vs the Lions and Booth is still nursing an injury. If I had to guess, Cine will play vs Detroit.
Final Thoughts: Vikings Trying to 'Respond in Right Kind of Way' Against Lions EAGAN, Minn. — There's a logjam in the NFL. After two weeks and one game, 17 teams currently sit at 1-1 on the season (Cleveland defeated Pittsburgh on Thursday to start Week 3), including all four teams in the NFC North. The Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions will look to gain an advantage in the early division race when the two teams square off at noon (CT) Sunday on FOX. The Vikings made a strong first impression with a 23-7 victory against Green Bay in Week 1, but followed up with a dismal outing on Monday Night Football at Philadelphia. The Lions narrowly lost to the Eagles in their season opener before defeating Washington in Week 2. "Obviously, a huge opportunity for us on a short week. Another divisional rival at home," Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell said. "Knowing our first three home games are division games, it helps coming off a performance that we would like to have, obviously, put on a better showing on Monday Night Football, but in a lot of ways the short week is a real plus to be able to get right back to work and coach these guys up. "We've got a great group in there, and I'm expecting our group to respond in the right kind of way, and [there's] no better place to do it than right back in front of our fans at U.S. Bank Stadium," O'Connell added. Offensively, the Lions have averaged 35.5 points per game, tied for second most in the NFL so far this season. O'Connell, who faced Detroit last year when he was the Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator, added he knows it's going to be another challenge. "It's a really good football team coming in. These guys are playing really well and have done some really great things early on this season," O'Connell said. "Having played those guys last year, it was a tough game. [Lions Head Coach] Dan [Campbell] and his staff did a phenomenal job against us last year. You just see the growth of the team. They're going to have a great scheme to take away a lot of the things that we like to do, and that's where we've really got to get all of our guys involved and really play a well-rounded game but stay true to who we want to be offensively." Here is what Sam Thiel, Lindsey Young and Craig Peters of Vikings.com will be watching in Sunday's game: Can the Offensive Line Tame the Lions Defensive Front? | By Sam Thiel The Vikings offensive line stood tall in Week 1 against the Packers. On Monday night, Minnesota struggled to contain the defensive pressure of the Eagles front. Philadelphia blitzed on 20.3 percent of the total snaps against the Vikings after only blitzing 11.5 percent throughout 2021. "That was a tough front that we played last week," Offensive Coordinator Wes Phillips said. "Those guys are a penetrating front, they really get off the ball, they're more of a tackle the run on the way to the quarterback type of front, not a lot of reading going on there. We ended up throwing the ball 46 times, and I thought for the most part those guys held up really well." This week, the Vikings will face another extremely difficult defensive front with the Lions. Detroit will be anchored by this year's second overall draft pick, defensive end Aidan Hutchinson. He registered 3.0 sacks against the Commanders in Week 2. Phillips added Hutchinson looks as good as advertised so far in his young career. "He's really a relentless player," Phillips said. "Whether it's run game, pass game, he's rolling off the football, he's [got] all-out effort, and he's got talent on top of it. That usually makes a pretty good player." The Lions are currently ranked 10th in pressure percentage, according to The Athletic, which also noted Detroit has blitzed 38.1 percent of the time, the fourth-highest mark in the NFL this season. "We have tools within our protections to recognize looks and get guys to the right people, and some of those are having answers when they [Cover 0] you, when they bring one more than you can block, regardless of how many guys you've got back there," Phillips said. "So those 0s, we obviously saw some last week, and teams are watching the tape, and they're going to see if you get it fixed, so I expect us to be tested at some point in this game." Balancing the run & pass | By Lindsey Young The Vikings understand the importance of balancing the run and pass game offensively. In Week 1, Minnesota recorded 269 passing yards and 126 yards on the ground in its defeat of Green Bay. On Monday Night Football against the Eagles, the Vikings had 202 passing yards and just 62 rushing – with quarterback Kirk Cousins being the team's top rusher. Phillips this week emphasized a focus on not being one-dimensional. VIKINGS.com
... continued "I don't know that we put a number on, 'Hey, it's gotta be 50-50,' but I think we're all feeling a lot better when we're rattling off four, five yards or more a carry," Phillips said. "It just puts you in better situations, shorter third-down situations or not facing third down at all, where a lot of teams – like [the Lions] – can get in some exotic-type pressures that really challenge you." At Philadelphia, Dalvin Cook averaged just 2.8 yards on six carries, finishing the evening with 17 rushing yards. While O'Connell said he wished he would have called more run plays, Cook isn't placing blame on the coaches. He did say that finding a groove early on can be key to a successful run game. "Getting in a rhythm, making plays early," Cook said. "We left a lot of plays on the field [Monday] that would've helped the play calling. We've got to be better on the field making those plays and just settling the game down. That's just about being hard on each other, holding each other accountable and just going back to work, man. Just digging deep into the details and just getting back to the basics." The Lions defense limited the Commanders to just 88 yards rushing in Week 2, but in the season opener, Detroit allowed Philadelphia to rack up 216 yards on the ground. There could be ground for the taking. Guarding "Lil Tron" | By Craig Peters Not sure if anyone else has thought of a nickname for Amon-Ra St. Brown, but he's venturing into "Lil Tron" status. Listed at 6-foot, 202 pounds, St. Brown has been putting up numbers similar to the ones "Megatron" Calvin Johnson did in the Pro Football Hall of Famer's first 20 career games, according to NFL Media Research. St. Brown will be playing his 20th NFL contest on Sunday, and he's already recorded 107 receptions for 1,092 yards and eight touchdowns on 143 targets. In Johnson's first 20 career games, the 6-foot-5, 237-pounder recorded 71 catches for 1,133 and seven scores on 138 targets. The Vikings allowed 17 catches for 151 yards and a touchdown on 20 targets in their first two games against the 2021 fourth-round pick. A week after allowing Jalen Hurts to throw for 333 yards, including 149 combined to receivers DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown, the Vikings will try to limit the impact of St. Brown, and the chemistry that has flourished with Jared Goff since late last season. St. Brown has done damage to other teams, as well. He's recorded at least eight catches in eight consecutive games, which is tied with Antonio Brown (2014) and Michael Thomas (2019). That tied him for sixth-most such games in a player's first two seasons (Super Bowl era). Justin Jefferson set the record with 11 from 2020-21. The other streak St. Brown has going is catching at least one touchdown in his past six games. If he gets another Sunday, he'd join Randy Moss as the only players to put together a run like that in seven games before turning 23. "You can clearly see that Jared's got unbelievable confidence in him to win in a lot of different ways – coverages, match coverage. He finds zones, he understands leverages, he really has all the makings of a truly impactful inside and out receiver, which is what he's done for them," O'Connell said. "He's really strong with the ball in his hands, he affects the run game with his ability to be physical. I've been really impressed watching him this week, and it's not a shock with the type of season he's had so far and, really, going on back into last year with the rhythm they kind of got into late in the year."
Bottom Line - run, baby run! The O-line must block and allow Cook to get it going... and Cousins needs to be smarter and stop the interception parade or the Lions high-flying offense will pull an upset. I like Minnesota to turn it around at home, but this is a new and improved Lions football team that is clicking on offense, scoring the 2nd highest PPG in the NFL after 2 weeks. Need a complete game from both sides of the ball, obviously, but the trenches will be key in success for both teams.
I read all of this the Vikings got a dogfight coming in, the Detroit Lions look to be no joke who is this St.Thomas guy looks like he will give the Vikings defensive backfield fits oh well GO VIKINGS
You mean, St, Brown? He's a second year WR for the Lions and he's the real deal. With eight receptions against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, Fox), St. Brown could set a new NFL mark with nine consecutive contests of eight or more catches. He also needs just one touchdown to set another franchise record of seven straight games with a touchdown catch. This after a season in which he set Lions rookie records for receptions (90) and receiving yards (912). To add to his mounting accomplishments, St. Brown was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week on Wednesday. But he says he still isn't satisfied. Must cover this guy like a blanket! __________ ________________________ Since 2021, when St. Brown entered the league, he has caught 74.3% of his targets, which is the seventh best among the 50 players with at least 100 targets in that span, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. On 144 targets in his career, he has just two drops (1.4%), which is the seventh-best rate in the NFL since 2021 with a minimum of 50 targets. And he has an average of 3.41 yards of separation from the closest defender in his career, which is the 10th best in the NFL among the 50 players with at least 100 targets in the past two seasons, according to NFL Next Gen stats.
Records are always being set against the Vikings looks this guy is going to be a pain in the azz to the Vikings but the whole NFL
Mike Hughes is a Lions now why is he still in the NFL the Vikings Defensive backfield ugh Lions like against the Eagles it's just pitch and catch
