Minnesota (14-2) at Detroit (14-2)
Sunday, 8:20 p.m. EST, NBC
BetMGM NFL Odds: Lions by 3
Against the spread: Vikings 11-4-1; Lions 11-5
Series record: Vikings lead 80-44-2
Last meeting: Lions beat Vikings 31-29 on Oct. 20 in Minneapolis.
Last week: Vikings beat Packers 27-25; Lions beat 49ers 40-34.
Vikings offense: overall (12), rush (19), pass (5), scoring (9)
Vikings defense: overall (16), rush (2), pass (28), scoring (4)
Lions offense: overall (2), rush (6), pass (2), scoring (1)
Lions defense: overall (22), rush (3), pass (31), scoring (T-8)
Turnover differential: Vikings plus-10; Lions plus-11
Vikings player to watch
TE T.J. Hockenson. Detroit’s 2019 first-round draft pick was traded to the Vikings two years ago and missed the first matchup this season because he was completing his rehab from knee surgery. Hockenson tore his ACL and MCL in the Week 16 loss to the Lions last season when safety Kerby Joseph leveled him with a low hit. Hockenson has 39 catches for 446 yards in nine games this season.
Lions player to watch
QB Jared Goff. He has to play well to make up for a banged-up defense that gives up a lot of yards and points. Goff completed 77% of his passes last week and set a franchise record by throwing three TD passes for the fourth game in a row. Goff has connected on at least three-fourths of his passes in eight games, joining Tom Brady (2007) as the two players in league history to pull off the feat in a season.
Key matchup
Detroit’s running game against Minnesota’s defense. The Lions lean on their backfield to gain yards, score and set up play-action passes. Jahmyr Gibbs has averaged 20 carries for 113 yards and a TD in two games without the injured David Montgomery. The Vikings are giving up just 88.1 yards rushing per game.
Key injuries
The Vikings are remarkably healthy other than losing LT Christian Darrisaw for the season with a knee injury. Edge rusher Patrick Jones hurt his knee on a low block last week, but the injury wasn’t serious and he’ll have an opportunity to recover in time to play. … Lions LB Alex Anzalone returned to practice this week, making his way back from a broken forearm that has kept him out since Nov. 17. … Punt returner and WR Kalif Raymond may play for the first time since he had a foot injury on Nov. 24.
Series notes
Detroit beat the previously unbeaten Vikings in Week 7 when Jake Bates kicked a 44-yard FG with 15 seconds left. Gibbs ran for 116 yards and two of the Lions three TDs in the second quarter. Goff was 22 for 25 for 280 yards with two TDs and no turnovers for a third straight game with a 140-plus passer rating, joining Aaron Rodgers (2011), Kurt Warner (1999) and Roger Staubach (1971) as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to do that. Aaron Jones rushed for 93 yards and a TD and Justin Jefferson had 81 yards receiving and a score for the Vikings. … The Lions have won four straight against Minnesota, one win from matching their longest streak that started against the expansion Vikings in 1961 and ended in 1963.
Stats and stuff
The winner will earn the NFC North title, the top seed in the conference playoffs and a bye while the loser will drop to the fifth seed, starting the playoffs on the road next week as the first wild-card team with 14 wins. … The game features the first matchup of teams with 13-plus wins and a combined 28 victories in the regular season. … Minnesota has won nine straight since losing to Detroit and the Los Angeles Rams in consecutive weeks, its best stretch since a 10-game run in 1975. … The Vikings are a victory away from tying the franchise record set by the 1998 team that was 15-1 that went on to lose in the NFC championship game. … Minnesota has the best record against the spread, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, percentage points ahead of Detroit and two other teams. … Sam Darnold was 33 for 43 for a career-high 377 yards with three TDs and one INT last week against Green Bay and is the NFL’s first starting QB to win 14 wins in his first season with a franchise. …. WR Jalen Nailor set season highs with six catches for 69 yards against the Packers. … LB Blake Cashman had a team-high 11 tackles, including 1 1/2 sacks, last week and is two tackles from setting a career high. … OLB Andrew Van Ginkel, who had two sacks, three tackles for losses and forced a fumble against Detroit, has set career highs with 11 1/2 sacks and 17 tackles for losses. … Rookie Will Reichard missed field goals last week from 57 and 43 yards. … Detroit has won a franchise-record 14 games, including 12 of its past 13 games. … Detroit has a chance to win two straight division titles for the first time. The franchise finished first in the Eastern Conference three years in a row from 1952-54. … . The Lions and the 2000 St. Louis Rams are the two teams in league history to have at least 35 passing TDs and 25 rushing scores in a season. … Montgomery, Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams are the first pair of NFL RBs and WRs to have 1,000 yards from scrimmage each in a season. The quartet joins Edgerrin James, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Brandon Stokley of the 2004 Colts to have four players with 1,000 yards from scrimmage and seven TDs in a season. … The Lions have given up at least 31 points in three of their past four games. … Joseph leads the league with nine interceptions. … Former Vikings DE Za’Darius Smith has been held without a sack for three straight games after he had a total of 2 1/2 sacks in consecutive games against Green Bay and Chicago.
Fantasy tip
Jefferson has been dominant at Ford Field, making 34 catches for 597 yards and two TDs in his past three games in Detroit.
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