Vikings vs. Lions: Breaking Down Detroit's Game Plan

Two teams sporting two-game winning streaks will square off in Ford Field on Sunday when the Minnesota Vikings visit the Detroit Lions. 

What: Minnesota Vikings (6-7) at Detroit Lions (9-4)

When: Sunday, December 14, 4:25 p.m. ET

Watch: Fox, Chris Myers and Ronde Barber on the call

This is Detroit's first rematch game of the season, as the Lions topped the Vikings, 17-3, back in Week 6. That game was often an exercise in drudgery. Some of the lowlights:

• 298 combined passing yards
• 4-of-27 combined on third downs
• Two missed field goals, both by Matt Prater in his first game as a Lion
• 3.6 yards per play combined, a season low for Detroit games

One of the few things that worked offensively for Detroit in that first meeting was the screen pass. Lions fans are forgiven for not remembering that former offensive staple of seasons past, but in Minnesota, they ran a beauty on the opening drive to set up a touchdown.

This play truly was artfully designed, and Detroit painted the canvas with master strokes.

NFL Game Rewind

Theo Riddick sneaks inside the tackle box after nicely feigning a role in pass protection. Left tackle Riley Reiff manhandles the blitzing outside backer, while the interior linemen all delay the rush before springing out in front of and around Riddick.

NFL Game Rewind

Tight end Brandon Pettigrew runs a shallow cross after a count, removing the linebacker from the equation and also creating a natural rub on any backside pursuit. The wideout on the right side has cleared a giant hole as well with a strong outside cut.

When Riddick catches the ball, he's got a convoy through a sea of green.

NFL Game Rewind

One of the lead trucks is center Dominic Raiola, who rumbles far down the field and makes a block that will definitely be prominent on his personal highlight reel from his long Lions career. His outstanding effort paves the way for about 10 extra yards. 

NFL Game Rewind

The Lions have not been a good screen team this season, though, they did find some success last week. Matthew Stafford mentioned it to gathered reporters, as captured by Paula Pasche of the Oakland Press:

"

VIDEO: #Lions Matthew Stafford on his improvement and the screen game. http://t.co/id1bmGq0Fn

— Paula Pasche (@paulapasche) December 10, 2014"

The Vikings are solid defensively, but they have shown vulnerability to the screen and misdirections. Detroit must at least try to spring Joique Bell, Riddick or even Reggie Bush on an inside or tunnel screen to keep the pass rush honest and give the safeties more to think about.

One of the biggest keys to this game will be which team can strike with the vertical passing game. Minnesota has found recent success with rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater airing out the deep ball, no more so than in last week's overtime win over the New York Jets.

The young quarterback is showing excellent mechanics and better precision than when Detroit saw him earlier. He's been quite good the last two weeks:

"

Two weeks of completion percentages above 70 percent has Bridgewater at season-high 61.9 percent now, 22nd in NFL.

— Brian Hall (@MNBrianHall) December 10, 2014"

It's important to note those games were against Carolina and the Jets, who rank 23rd and 31st, respectively, in quarterback rating allowed, per Team Rankings. Still, as the video above shows, Bridgewater is proving quite accurate and confident when given room to step into his throws and time to survey the field. 

The first pass on that highlight clip—a 57-yard touchdown to Charles Johnson—bears deeper inspection, because it shows the need for responsible, smart play by the Detroit secondary. 

NFL Game Rewind

Minnesota sets this up nicely with route combinations on both sides that force the safeties to make quick decisions. Do we jump the inside routes, or do we stay over the top on the outside verticals? 

NFL Game Rewind

Bridgewater does a great job not tipping his hand, scanning the field with his eyes and neck movement that belies any intention. As soon as the safety bites on a fairly pedestrian double move by Johnson at the top of the picture, Bridgewater uncorks a perfect strike down to the streaking Johnson for an easy touchdown.

The Lions have been great all season at not surrendering the big play like this, though, the Buccaneers did find some success down the field last week working the sidelines. Bridgewater is making the tight, longer throws that can beat the safety help over the top, so it's vital for corners Rashean Mathis and Darius Slay to not give too much room. 

Of course, getting pressure on the rookie would be a great way to negate the downfield shots. Perhaps defensive coordinator Teryl Austin will be emboldened by DeAndre Levy's two sacks last week and unleash more exotic blitzes from more sources.

"

Yesterday was the first multi-sack game of Lions LB DeAndre Levy's career. He had 1.5 career sacks before 2 Sunday.

— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) December 8, 2014"

The Vikings offensive line is a decided weakness, ripe for the attack. Minnesota ranks 25th in sack percentage allowed, a number impacted by Detroit's eight sacks in the first meeting. 

Every active Vikings offensive lineman has a grade in the red from Pro Football Focus (subscription required), none lower than left tackle Matt Kalil's minus-19.8. The former first-round pick was a turnstile against Ezekiel Ansah in the first meeting. PFF had Ansah with four sacks, four QB hits and another hurry in that game. 

By blitzing linebackers, it keeps the Vikings from sliding help to Kalil. They could be shorthanded at guard too, as left guard Charlie Johnson did not practice on Wednesday. His status is in doubt for Sunday's game:

"

Mike Zimmer said Anthony Barr is feeling better but isn't sure about his availability or Charlie Johnson this week. Probably same w Blanton.

— VikingUpdate.com (@VikingUpdate) December 10, 2014"

If Johnson can't play, his replacement is Vlad Ducasse. The reserve actually was the starting right guard in the first meeting, and PFF didn't think too highly of his performance either. Austin would be wise to aggressively attack the vulnerable Vikings line.

Speaking of lines, Detroit is currently listed by Odds Shark as eight-point favorites at most of its affiliated sites. That is an indication Detroit is widely viewed as a superior team that should take care of business at home. Just as was the case last week, the Lions need to play like a team deserving of such respect. 

If they can take care of business, these Lions will find themselves with a one-game lead over the loser of the Philadelphia versus Dallas game for a wild-card berth. Should San Francisco knock off Seattle, that would leave Detroit as the only 10-win team in the NFC not leading a division...and that's presuming Green Bay wins in Buffalo, which is not a given either. 

The Lions need to be wary of an improving and dangerous Minnesota team, but if Detroit plays to its potential on both sides of the ball, the Lions should be in fantastic playoff shape by the end of Week 15.