Minnesota suffers its first defeat: 3 points to remember from the Lions’ victory against the Vikings

The 1972 Dolphins can party again. The NFL’s last undefeated team fell to the Vikings in Detroit in what was mostly a low-scoring task until the fourth quarter.

The 19-15 victory was somewhat overshadowed by a scary injury to linebacker Jack Campbell, who was carried off the field after colliding with a teammate. He was one of several defensive starters to leave the game for the Lions.

But that didn’t seem to matter. The Vikings’ offense, and Kyler Murray in particular, continued to struggle, and the defense, which had carried the team all season, finally gave in in the second half, allowing Jahmyr Gibbs to run wild.

Here are my takeaways:

It’s hard to overstate the importance of this game for Detroit, which was in danger of falling three games behind the Vikings. Instead, the Lions are behind and hold the tiebreaker against Minnesota. But the Lions can’t feel good after seeing four defensive starters leave the game with injuries, including a terrifying collision that resulted in Jack Campbell being carted off the field.

Campbell’s injury silenced what had been a raucous Detroit crowd, but the offense made it roar again, thanks to a handful of explosive runs from Jahmyr Gibbs and Sione Vaki. Those two forced five missed tackles in the fourth quarter alone.

Overall, Minnesota’s run defense had a season-high 16 tackles and allowed the Lions to rush for 164 yards in the second half. Without much of a passing game and without the defense running out of healthy players, the running game salvaged what could have been a completely miserable day in Detroit.

Still, defensive injuries were the story. The Lions lost their defensive signal caller, Campbell, their best defensive back, Brian Branch, and the only consistent source of sacks outside of Aidan Hutchinson, DJ Wonnum. Cornerback DJ Reed also left the game late.

The defense, which entered the game ranked 26th in points allowed and last place in expected points added, was already in a vulnerable state. Even with one of the best offenses in the league, it was difficult to consider Detroit a serious contender due to these defensive struggles. If the unit has to move forward without three of its best players, it’s even more difficult.

As long as the offense keeps going — and there’s no reason to think it won’t — Detroit can play with anyone. You might have to score 30+ points per game to get there now.

Kyler Murray may have done it just enough in the fourth quarter to avoid questions about his job security, but the Vikings still have some potentially tricky questions to ask about their quarterback before the NFL trade deadline on Nov. 10.

Clearly, finding a competent quarterback midseason could end up saving Murray’s job. A reunion with Kirk Cousins ​​could have been in the cards if the Raiders had lost to the Jets, but Las Vegas is just one game out of the AFC’s final playoff spot. Considering the losses this organization has suffered over the past three decades, they will want to challenge for that playoff spot. Swapping cousins ​​wouldn’t make much sense.

But if Murray’s struggles continue, head coach Kevin O’Connell will have to consider benching him. He simply hasn’t been accurate enough to support Minnesota’s deep passing game and hasn’t developed any chemistry with Justin Jefferson. These two connected for a touchdown, but it required a stunning effort from the receiver.

Murray cost Jefferson another touchdown with an overthrow. Jefferson is starting to show signs of frustration with the quarterback situation. Cameras caught him complaining to coaches and teammates after Murray targeted Jordan Addison on a key third down late in the game. It’s hard to criticize the star receiver. He gets open, but doesn’t receive adequate service from his quarterback.

It’s probably too early for O’Connell to make the switch — and Carson Wentz isn’t the most attractive option — but if Murray starts throwing interceptions, that could change. He mostly avoided those costly mistakes, but threw a bad pick late in the first half that led to Detroit points. This error, as well as a rare failure by kicker Will Reichard, made the difference on the scoreboard.

Brian Flores’ defense made another valiant shift, but it couldn’t hold off a potent Detroit attack for 60 minutes. That’s understandable, and despite the poor effort in the fourth quarter, holding the Lions to just 19 points is still impressive.

But this game showed that an elite defense alone cannot win games against good competition. The offense has to do its part, even if it just stays on the field to give the defense time to catch its breath. Detroit won the time of possession battle by more than 11 minutes on Sunday, and it showed in the fourth quarter with all those broken tackles.

Before that last frame, it looked like we were headed for another defensive masterclass from Flores. Jared Goff never really felt comfortable thanks to another comically high blitz rate from Minnesota’s defensive coordinator. Flores threw an extra pass on nearly 90% of Goff’s dropbacks. At one point, the Lions gave up on pushing the ball downfield and opted for quick screen passes. It didn’t result in much production, but Goff didn’t take a single sack in the first half after going down four times in the first two quarters.

If the Vikings’ offense had been more combative, this would not have been a viable strategy. Detroit didn’t need to put the ball in the air, negating what this Minnesota defense does best. As long as this continues, we could see more game plans like the one the Lions used in the second half.

The Lions are officially back in the NFC North race, just one game behind the Dolphins. If they take care of business in Miami, they could be in first place next Sunday night. Outside of the remaining divisional games and a Week 10 matchup with the Patriots, Detroit’s schedule is awfully lenient. This could help the defense navigate the coming weeks if they have to play shorthanded.

The opposite is true for the Vikings. This was just the first game of a four-week challenge. The Bills come to Minnesota next week, followed by games against the Packers and 49ers. It will be difficult to get through this period without a more competent offense. The defense will have its hands full against three quarterbacks in the MVP discussion.