Lions vs. Vikings: What's the Game Plan for Minnesota?
Regardless of whether it was the game plan or execution, the Minnesota Vikings were completely embarrassed by the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football in Week 1. Fortunately, Minnesota has 15 games to redeem itself, and putting together a more diverse, less predictable Week 2 game plan against the Detroit Lions is a great place to start.
Similar to the 49ers, the Lions drew plenty of attention this offseason for the players no longer with the organization. The big (literally) departures of defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh (Miami Dolphins) and Nick Fairley (St. Louis Rams) make it easy to question Detroit's ability to maintain its defensive dominance and return to the playoffs this season.
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Losing Suh and Fairley hurts dearly, but Detroit still maintains plenty of playmakers on both sides of the ball. Mike Zimmer, Norv Turner and Co. must have their players prepared better this week if the Vikings hope to avoid opening the season with back-to-back losses.
Offensive Game Plan
Against the 49ers in Week 1, Adrian Peterson carried the ball just 10 times. Furthermore, many of these carries were spread out, making it difficult for the superstar running back to get into any sort of a rhythm.
With the Vikings set to take on a depleted Lions defense on Sunday, it should be expected to see No. 28 carry the ball far more often in Week 2.
According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, the Lions will be without linebacker DeAndre Levy for a second consecutive week:
"DeAndre Levy still hasn't talked about his injury, but he'll miss his 2nd straight game Sunday against the Vikings http://t.co/DgHO9n89JG
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) September 19, 2015"
Levy, playing in his seventh year with Detroit, has become one of the Lions' top run defenders over the past couple of seasons. He was responsible for 119 combined tackles in 2013 before setting a career high with 151 in 2014.
With Suh and Fairley already playing elsewhere, the loss of Levy is a devastating one for Detroit's run defense. Replacing the trio of Suh, Fairley and Levy on Detroit's depth chart are former Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, Tyrunn Walker and linebacker Josh Bynes.
Despite being one of this generation's best interior defensive linemen, Ngata, who is now 31 years old, is not nearly the same player he once was. Moreover, Walker and Bynes do not bring as much talent to the table as the departed Fairley and injured Levy.
Simply put, the strength of Detroit's defense has shifted from an imposing defensive front four to a dangerous, ball-hawking secondary, which makes Peterson a prime candidate for the Vikings to run their offense through on Sunday.
Free safety Glover Quin, who led the NFL with seven interceptions in 2014, cornerback Darius Slay and strong safety James Ihedigbo make an imposing threesome in the Lions' defensive secondary. Despite maintaining a weakness in veteran cornerback Rashean Mathis, Detroit has a strong group of defensive backs who have proven capable of changing the game through forcing turnovers.
Second-year quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who failed to meet expectations in Week 1, will have to be smarter with his decision-making and far more accurate with his intermediate pass attempts to be successful against this group.
In order to minimize mistakes and take pressure off of Bridgewater, handing the ball off to Peterson 18 to 25 times against the Lions appears to be the right call. Detroit is much more capable of defending a confidence-lacking Bridgewater through the air—regardless of Keenan Allen's 15-catch, 166 receiving yards performance in Week 1—than stopping an excessively motivated Peterson.
Expect Turner to run the ball with Peterson early and often while attempting to take advantage of Mathis in one-on-one man coverage situations.
Defensive Game Plan
Even in the unlikely event that wide receiver Golden Tate is forced to miss Sunday's game with an injury, the Lions still boast plenty of firepower on offense.
Following a weak performance in which he recorded just two catches on four targets against the Chargers, Calvin Johnson should be expected to see plenty of action for the Lions against the Vikings.
According to ESPN's Michael Rothstein, Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford is well aware of the fact that he needs to get his No. 1 offensive weapon more involved in the game.
“Yeah, sometimes I just feel darned, there’s no question,” Stafford said. “No, it’s true. You have a great player like that, you want to get him the ball as much as you can. There’s no question.
With Johnson expected to see plenty of targets, the Vikings will need a strong performance out of No. 1 cornerback Xavier Rhodes. Rhodes, who has faced Johnson twice in the past, may not be asked to shadow Megatron all afternoon, but he is Minnesota's best possible defense for the superstar wide receiver.
In addition to locking down Johnson, the Vikings will need to be wary of rookie running back Ameer Abdullah, who broke out in a big way for the Lions in limited action during Week 1.
According to head coach Jim Caldwell, Abdullah isn't expected to receive an increased role from the 11 touches he received in Week 1, but this doesn't make him any less of a threat, per Birkett:
"What he did (Sunday) is kind of what we see him doing. He's returning kicks, he's running the ball and he's catching the ball out of the backfield. I'm not certain there's anything more (he can do) than that. He had 199 yards or so of total offense. That's the kind of role that I think you'll see him play, for the most part.
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The Vikings sent a clear message to the rest of the NFL last week that stopping the run is a weakness of its defense, so the rushing combination of Joique Bell, Abdullah and rookie Minnesota native Zach Zenner should see plenty of looks this Sunday.
Between Johnson and Abdullah, Zimmer will have to determine a plan to defend against a talented, multidimensional Lions offense. He has the necessary pieces to do so in Rhodes, safety Harrison Smith, linebacker Anthony Barr, defensive tackle Linval Joseph and defensive end Everson Griffen. But the Vikings—as a collective group—will need to play much better as well.
Stafford doesn't have nearly the same level of mobility that Colin Kaepernick utilized a week ago, but he maintains an ability to get the job done with his legs if necessary—as proven by his 10 rushing touchdowns and nearly 300 rushing yards over the past three seasons.
Zimmer and defensive coordinator George Edwards will send pressure—especially to test rookie guard Laken Tomlinson—to attempt to slow down Detroit's offense. But in the end, it all hinges on stopping the run, something the Vikings have shown little capability of doing in Zimmer's first 17 games as head coach of the team.
Key Players
RB Adrian Peterson
The Vikings offense has been running through Peterson since he entered the league in 2007. Simply put, when he plays well, the team plays well—and coming off a disastrous Week 1 performance, Minnesota needs him to be a major factor.
It's hard to imagine the Vikings making the same mistake they made in Week 1 by not getting the ball to Peterson much, so the Minnesota running back should see plenty of action against the Lions. If he is able to string consistent attempts together and find the end zone, Minnesota will have a high chance of making it out of Week 2 as a .500 football team.
WR Calvin Johnson
Johnson's role in Detroit is the receiver equivalent of what Peterson's has been. Similar to Peterson, Johnson was drafted in 2007, and he immediately became a focal point of the Lions offense. Again, when he plays well, so do the Lions.
It's no coincidence that both Peterson and Johnson played poorly in Week 1, and both the Vikings and Lions lost their opening-week matchups. At his best, Megatron is almost unstoppable, making him one of the league's greatest offensive threats.
If the Vikings can't find a way to slow Johnson down, the team may be headed for a consecutive disappointing performance in Week 2.
CB Xavier Rhodes
In order to stop Megatron, a team needs an Optimus Prime—and the Vikings believe they have found him in third-year cornerback Rhodes. Zimmer has never been descriptive about how he plans to use his defensive pieces, but it should be assumed that Rhodes will be in charge of shutting down Johnson for the majority of the afternoon.
Rhodes has played well against Johnson in the past, allowing just six catches for 73 yards and zero touchdowns on eight targets in two head-to-head matchups—according to Pro Football Focus. While the Lions have proved they don't need Johnson to put up a high point total, keeping the generational receiver in check is a huge key to any victory over Detroit.
FS Glover Quin
Quin was a major thorn in the Vikings' side during the 2014 season. According to Pro Football Focus, Bridgewater targeted Quin three times in two games. The Detroit free safety responded to the then-rookie's challenge by intercepting two passes and helping his team to a sweep over Minnesota.
The numbers don't lie: Bridgewater has struggled to keep Quin from making a major impact on the game. After being named to his first Pro Bowl in 2014, the veteran safety has established himself as a lethal threat in Detroit's defensive secondary.
Bridgewater, who struggled with decision-making and accuracy against San Francisco, needs to be more careful with Quin this weekend, as turning the ball over is a great way to assure defeat.
Prediction: Vikings 17, Lions 16
After Minnesota's Week 1 performance, many analysts and fans have already jumped ship from the Vikings' bandwagon—and rightfully so. However, I'm going to stay the course (at least for another week), as this team is far too talented for a three-point outing to be anything more than an outlier.
The Vikings and Lions are evenly matched, with similar strengths on both offense and defense. This game may ultimately come down to an untimely turnover and whichever team is able to get its No. 1 playmaker—Peterson, Johnson—more involved in the offensive game plan.
Minnesota will ultimately come out on top in its home opener, with a revitalized Peterson leading the charge in a gritty team effort.
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