Week 7 scouting report: Minnesota Vikings could be top threat in division

Taking a look at the Lions Week 7 opponent: The Minnesota Vikings are at the top of the NFC North mountain. Are they a legitimate threat?

The Detroit Lions have been on a mission these last few weeks. They have overcome two demons of their past, ending losing streaks to the Seattle Seahawks and the Dallas Cowboys, with a bye week of rest in-between. Now the attention must shift to a divisional game, the first one for them this season, and it’s on the road against the undefeated Minnesota Vikings.

Yes, the Vikings are undefeated and the top team in not just the NFC North, but the NFC and you could argue the NFL overall. After getting swept by Detroit last year—and watching them celebrate the division title on their home field—Minnesota is going to come into this matchup pissed off. It doesn’t help Detroit that the Vikings have been playing some of the best football around the league, making this matchup a lot tougher than originally expected before the season began.

Let’s take a look deeper into the Vikings in our Week 7 scouting report for the 2024 season.

Minnesota Vikings

2024 season thus far (5-0)

Week 1: Defeated New York Giants 28-6
Week 2: Defeated San Francisco 49ers 23-17
Week 3: Defeated Houston Texans 34-7
Week 4: Defeated Green Bay Packers 31-29
Week 5: Defeated New York Jets 23-17
Week 6: BYE

Stats:

• 6th in points scored, 3rd in points allowed
• 1st in DVOA
• 18th in offensive DVOA (7th in pass DVOA, 20th in run DVOA)
• 1st in defensive DVOA (1st pass DVOA, 1st in run DVOA)
• 9th in special teams DVOA

The Vikings are proving a lot of people wrong this season so far. The offense has been moving the chains and putting up points, but the defense has been the main takeaway when talking about the Vikings team as a whole. They have the best defense according to DVOA, and to have both the best pass and rushing defense isn’t an easy thing to do.

Before I jump into the defense though, the other major factor in the team’s success this season so far has been the play at quarterback with Sam Darnold. This season, Darnold is 87-for-137 for 1,111 yards with 11 touchdowns and four interceptions. He is on pace to have the best season of his career so far, and if so, it could lead the Vikings to make a difficult decision after this season when rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy is healthy and is able to play.

What I believe has helped Darnold play at his very best is head coach Kevin O’Connell. He has put him in a position to excel and make his job easier. It also helps when you have the best wide receiver in the NFL in Justin Jefferson to throw the ball to. Jefferson is sixth in the NFL in receiving yards with 450 on just 26 catches, and he leads the Vikings’ receiving room in touchdowns with four.

Jefferson isn’t alone though in the passing game, as Darnold also has wide receivers Jordan Addison and Jalen Nailor. Nailor has been the biggest surprise, tallying three touchdowns this season and has come on to be a sneaky good WR3 option for the Vikings. Running back Aaron Jones has been doing fine on the ground, but he also has the second most receiving yards on the team with 167 yards and a touchdown on 17 catches.

Moving onto the defense, there has been a good amount of pressure brought on with their linebackers. Their sack leaders are all linebackers. Patrick Jones II, Jonathan Greenard, and Andrew Van Ginkel have 12 sacks between the three of them. Van Ginkel also is a good coverage linebacker. He has two pick-sixes this season, as well as three pass deflections. The Vikings overall will bring the most pressure the Lions offense has seen (more on that soon), and they will be the biggest test the Lions have seen this season.

One weakness the Vikings do have though is the ability to close out games. While they put the Giants and Texans away with ease, they let the 49ers hang around the entire game. It’s not easy to put away a good team, but when you have a 28-0 lead against anybody, that shouldn’t turn into a 31-29 win like it did against the Packers. Even against the Jets, up 17-0, the Vikings needed an interception on the final drive to seal the deal.

This team is good, but they keep on leaving the door open for teams to come back into games. While it hasn’t hurt them yet, it very well could this week as the Lions are one of the best teams in the NFL. This is both teams’ biggest challenge to day, and they are going to have to play their best football to win this game.

Injury notes

Key players ruled out: QB J.J. McCarthy (IR/knee), CB Mekhi Blackmon (IR/ACL)

Key players to monitor: RB Aaron Jones (hip), G Dalton Risner (IR/back), TE T.J. Hockenson (ACL), LB Blake Cashman (leg)

Coming off a bye week, the Vikings are looking pretty healthy overall. The injuries to McCarthy and cornerback Mekhi Blackmon happened before the season started, so the team has already been playing without them. Guard Dalton Risner hasn’t played or practiced this season, but he is eligible to return off of IR and would be a boost for the team’s offensive line. With him not practicing yet though, I would lean towards him not playing in this game either, as I don’t think one week of practice would be enough to throw him out there, if he practices this week.

Tight end T.J. Hockenson is still technically on the Physically Unable to Perform list, but he returned to practice in limited fashion on Friday in Week 5. With the week off, Hockenson could be ready to be activated and play against Detroit this week. You know he has some extra motivation to not only play his former team, but also against the team he suffered the injury again. Hockenson returning or not this week would be big for the offense and give Darnold another weapon to throw to.

The availability of Aaron Jones is also into question. In the game prior to his bye week, Jones left the game early with a hip injury and was called “week to week.” The Vikings had a light practice this Monday and Jones was out there, but per ESPN’s Kevin Seifert it’s still not a lock he’ll play.

Cashman did not practice on Monday for Minnesota and was spotted with a wrap on his leg. He currently leads the team in tackles, so it would be a significant loss if he can’t go.

Biggest strength: Defense

Now when talking about the defense, the two things you need to know about them is how many turnovers they have created, and how much pressure they bring to the table. According to Pro Football Reference, the Vikings lead the NFL in blitzes with 106, the next team that is close is the Denver Broncos with 75. Minnesota blitzes on 41.1 percent of dropbacks, and are tied for the second-highest hurry percentage at 13.2 percent. What also is impressive is how they are able to finish those blitzes with sacks and pressures.

The Vikings are tied with the Kansas City Chiefs with the highest pressure percentage in the NFL with 32.6 percent, and have the third-most sacks with 20 despite already having their bye. This team comes at you fast and on a mission. What helps the defense when you effectively put pressure on opposing quarterbacks? It creates turnovers!

The Vikings lead the NFL in interceptions with 11, and they have three forced fumbles as well. So with Minnesota getting home on blitzes, that either turns into a sack or it increases their chance of an incompletion or an interception. The only downside of the blitz heavy defense is that if it fails it could turn into a bad time for the secondary, and the Vikings have allowed the third-most passing yards per game (263.0).

But it’s not just their pass defense that has been doing well. Their run defense has been outstanding They are allowing just 67.2 yards per game (second best), and only one rushing touchdown (first). They are also tied for second with the least amount of yards per carry with 3.6. Overall, this defense is legit and will have the biggest impact on this game.

Biggest weakness: Ground attack

If you are going to beat Minnesota, this is one way to do it. Continuing to target the weak running game and make them one-dimensional. Jones is a good player, but hasn’t had an impact like the team expected coming into this season. While he has 71 carries for 350 yards (4.9 YPC), he only has one rushing touchdown this season. The Vikings, overall,rank 20th in yards per game, and, as a team, average 4.1 yards per carry (23rd).

Even with the second best run blocking grade in the NFL according to PFF, the Vikings just can’t seem to consistently move the ball on the ground. Now, they play a team that has allowed the third fewest rushing yards per game. Detroit has a chance here to dampen the Vikings ground game even further, and if they can force Minnesota to be one-dimensional, it can help the Lions defense greatly.

Key matchup: Lions offense vs. Vikings defense

This is going to be a strength of strength battle, as the blitz-heavy Vikings play against the best offensive line they have seen yet in the Lions. What also will be important is just how many weapons the Lions have with wide receivers Amon Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and Tim Patrick. Then you have tight end Sam LaPorta taking on Van Ginkel in a fun matchup. Finally, the Lions running attack vs. the Vikings run defense is the biggest thing of them all in the matchup.

Can the Lions offensive line hold up against the Vikings blitz packages? Will the Lions take advantage of the blitz and come up with quick passing schemes to force Minnesota to take a step back on their defensive gameplan? The most important question, though, is: Will Detroit be able to run the football on this Vikings defense?

Both of these teams are great at stopping the run, and this game I think will show who really is the best of the bunch, because while Jones is good, running back Ty Chandler is a big step back for the running game in Minnesota. If Jones can’t go this week, it’s a huge loss for the Vikes.

The Lions have David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs who only have three yards separating them from each other, and Montgomery has three more touchdowns. It’s a certified running back duo that no team can match around the NFL. If the Lions offense can move the ball on the ground, Minnesota might be in for a surprise.

Vegas line for Sunday: Vikings favored by 2.5