Fresh off a bye, the Detroit Lions are back in action this Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.
The boys in Honolulu Blue return to Ford Field for an NFC North showdown at 1 p.m ET.
At Pride of Detroit, we’ve got Vikings’ offensive and defensive scheme breakdowns from Erik Schlitt, a scouting report from Brandon Knapp, and a look at Brian Branch’s mindset coming off his suspension from Jeremy Reisman.
Once you’re done with that assigned reading, I put together some picks, score predictions, and commentary from other NFL analysts on who they think will come out on top in Cincinnati.
CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco: Lions 31, Vikings 20
“The Vikings are playing with 10 days rest, while the Lions are coming off a much-needed bye. The Lions will be getting some injured players back healthy, while the Vikings will get J.J. McCarthy back at quarterback. He will face a tough challenge trying to keep up with the Lions offense. Look for a big day from Jared Goff as the Lions win it.”
Sporting News’ Bill Bender: Lions 36, Vikings 22
“How will Minnesota slow down a Detroit offense that ranks third in the NFL with 30.7 points per game? The Lions have won the last three home meetings by 10 points or more and average 36.7 points at Ford Field.”
Four writers at “For The Win” went with the Lions, while one did not.
“The Vikings know they’re basically throwing J.J. McCarthy into an, er … Lions den, right? Right?” — Robert Zeglinski, Lions win
“Look, I don’t like the JJ McCarthy of it all either. But that’s a lot of points for a divisional game and a Minnesota defense that has fallen a bit but is still playing like a top 10 unit.” — Christian D’Andrea, Vikings win
Four analysts on USA Today’s sports staff are betting on the Lions, while one thinks Minnesota can get it done.
“Divisional game and the potential return of J.J. McCarthy makes me think the Lions could get caught a bit off guard. They should win, but 8.5 points is too much.” — Jon Hoefling, Vikings win
“J.J. McCarthy should get a nice welcome from all the Michigan fans in the building. Then the Lions are going to relentlessly bite his kneecaps.” — Blake Schuster, Lions win
Finally, the entire Monday Morning Quarterback staff of seven analysts picked the Lions, and all eight NFL experts who were polled at ESPN did too.
And onto the rest of your notes.
- Heads up: the first 25,000 fans at Ford Field will get a neat Amon-Ra St. Brown bobblehead.
- A young Lions fan showed off his Thriller-inspired touchdown celly to Jameson Williams and Kerby Joseph at Jamo’s trunk-or-treating event. I would bet my life savings that at least one Lion does it in his honor on Sunday.
- Jared Goff joined Hot Mics with Billy Bush for an episode of “Conversations with Quarterbacks” as they talk everything from whether he’s currently in his prime as an NFL QB to recently becoming a girl dad.
- I posted on social media asking folks for pictures of Lions-inspired pumpkins they made and holy moly look at this one!
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