- The Detroit Lions earned their spot as the favorites over the Minnesota Vikings with a 34 to 23 massive win on Sunday.
This team continues to look better and better every single week. The Vikings, 10-2 coming into this game, just couldn’t stop Jared Goff and the Detroit offense.
The Lions were out for revenge today, as the first time these two teams met this year, was a game many won’t forget. Head Coach Dan Campbell said earlier this week that it was one of those games that will stick with him forever.
“Yeah, I’m not going – I just said I’m not going to wallow in it. No, look there’s the little things that’ll always – that’s just – that’s the way I am. And they’re not going to pull me down, but there’s things that I’ll never forget because that to me – I let my players down. And it’s hard enough to have success and to win in this League without your coach doing something that pulls you back and I felt like that was one of those.”
Revenge is what they got. The Lions came out and put the Vikings in their place with a full stadium of fans behind them.
Here are my takeaways from today’s game:
The Offense Continues to Impress
The offense played tremendously. It’s hard to beat last week’s scoring on every drive, they did a great job attacking the field. They scored on six of 10 drives today. The most impressive part of the offense today was their execution.
The @Lions have scored 25+ points in 5-straight games for the first time since 1954.
This ties for the single-season franchise record.#OnePride pic.twitter.com/SUh0pqkBzi
— Detroit Lions PR (@LionsPR) December 11, 2022
The two touchdowns in the first half were both scored in under a minute, in just one and two plays. This was a goal of Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson who continues to impress week after week. He spoke earlier in the week about trying to score in fewer plays.
“It’s like after every drive we’ve got one of our young coaches he’ll say, ‘Hey, that was a 15-play drive or 12-play drive.’ And I’m like, ‘You know what’s better than that? A three-play drive, a two-play drive that ends up in the endzone.’”
Jared Goff finally let his cannon shine as two of his touchdown passes were 41 and 48-yarders. He went 27 for 39 for 330 yards and 3 touchdowns. He has now thrown a touchdown in 12-straight home games, tying for the fourth-longest streak in team history.
.@Lions QB @JaredGoff16 has totaled 300+ yards & 2+ TDs in consecutive weeks.
He now has 30-career 300-yard games through 7 @NFL seasons, tied with Kurt Warner, Peyton Manning, Matthew Stafford & Matt Ryan for the 4th-most 300-yard games thru 7 seasons.#ProBowlVote #OnePride pic.twitter.com/PNf6GYy9VR
— Detroit Lions PR (@LionsPR) December 11, 2022
Goff let Jameson Williams and DJ Chark show off their length and speed down the field. Williams would record the first touchdown of his career in a wide-open pass from Goff in the second drive of the game.
Chark had a game for himself recording six catches for 94 yards and a touchdown. The connection he and Goff have shined out in today’s game.
Amon-Ra St. Brown broke NFL records today, becoming the first wide receiver in NFL history to record 150 receptions and 150 rushing yards in the first 30 games of a player’s career. He tallied six catches for 68 yards in today’s game.
Defense Comes Up Strong
The Lions defense did not disappoint in Sunday’s game. They were able to stop the Vikings on seven-of-11 drives, not including the two-point conversion they denied in the second half.
Aidan Hutchinson, James Houston, Isaiah Buggs, and Jerry Jacobs all picked up sacks on Kirk Cousins. That would be Jacobs’ first career sack. Buggs was able to force a huge fumble in the first half that would be recovered by Kerby Joseph and ultimately lead to the Lions second touchdown in today’s game.
One drive was riddled with penalties on Jeff Okudah and Kerby Joseph that killed the Lions defense. That was the only drive in the first half that the Vikings were able to score on.
The defense absolutely shut down the Viking’s run game. In the first half, they held Dalvin Cook to 14 carries for just six yards.
Where Was Jamaal Williams?
It was clear the Vikings did their homework on Jamaal Williams. Every time he touched the ball they were ready for him. He would only have four carries for 11 yards in the first half, ending the game with just 16 carries for 37 yards. Williams has been an absolute stud for the Lions recording 14 touchdowns on the year. Including today’s game, he has scored in all but five games this season. Today, the Lions were forced to use the other tools in their offensive tool belt to get it done.
The “Samoan Special”
To keep the drive alive late in the fourth, Lions offensive tackle Penei Sewell caught a nine-yard pass from Goff for a first down. A creative and effective play call to effectively seal the game.
Goff to Penei Sewell for a #Lions first down. Yes, you read that right.
— Maddy Miller (@madelynvmillerr) December 11, 2022
Up Next for the Lions
The Detroit Lions will now hit the road for their Week 15 matchup against the New York Jets on Sunday.
Maddy Miller – Detroit Lions Beat Reporter
On Twitter: @madelynvmillerr
(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
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