The Detroit Lions just never got going out of that gate in this one. Every problem they came out of the bye knowing they had to fix didn’t get fixed. On top of that, they created more problems for themselves, and that’s why they lost 27-24 to the Minnesota Vikings.

Goff Report

Jared Goff was under fire all day. The most mobile quarterback alive wasn’t getting past this Vikings defensive line. They came in with a goal, and they accomplished it. The other problem is that the Vikings did something that basically no team has done in the last couple of years: stop the run.

They forced the Lions to be one dimensional, and any time you do that to any team, it’s a problem for them. Goff finished the day going 25-37 for 284 yards and two touchdowns.

3rd-and-fail

Lions head coach Dan Campbell made it a point to talk about the Lions’ third-down woes this season after the bye. There was concern about the fact that the Lions have yet to convert on third-and-10 this year. The other problem he brought up was third-and-manageable. The third-and-4-6 area. The Lions struggle there as well.

That struggle continued in this game as they went 5-17 on third down. This has to be figured out. The Lions’ offense is a group that needs to stay on the field and let things unfold. When they’re ending drives early, it just kills their momentum.

Penalties at the worst time

The Lions’ defense hurt themselves multiple times in this game, but nothing hurts more than getting a back-breaking penalty that gives your opponent a free first down. The Lions did it multiple times on Sunday.

• Amik Robertson’s illegal contact wipes out third-and-13
• Aidan Hutchinson’s roughing the passer wiped out a second-and-15
• Jack Campbell’s roughing the passer ruined a second-and-9
• Alim McNeill’s offside wipes out a third-and-1 where the Lions forced a stop

This was a season high in penalties altogether for the Lions. They committed 10 of them. They’re always bad, but those four were the absolute worst.

Where is the Lions’ first-round pick?

Tyleik Williams practiced all week for the Lions and doesn’t appear to have any known injuries at this time. So where was he in this game? He played 11 snaps, and veteran tackle Tyler Lacy got the bulk of the work outside of the starters, Alim McNeill and DJ Reader.

We’ll have to see what Dan Campbell says about it postgame.

Brian Flores got his get back on Jared Goff

Goff and the Lions offense have been beating up on Brian Flores’ blitz-happy defense for a long time now. There’s a reason why they’ve beaten this Vikings team five times in a row.

On Sunday, that all went out the window. The Vikings brought the pressure from the get-go, and the Vikings got to Goff six times and put up 24 pressures. They won this battle this time.

Terrion Arnold played one heck of a game

There’s got to be some positive stuff to talk about here. Arnold played really well in this game. He was targeted five times and allowed just two catches for 32 yards. He also had a really nice pass breakup in the end zone.

Detroit Lions News

Aidan Hutchinson’s contract details have dropped, and they make the Lions look really, really smart and ready to get other big deals done in the coming months

On Wednesday, the Detroit Lions penned the biggest deal of the year when they signed Aidan Hutchinson for $180 million. The big question right after is how the Lions can make sure they get this deal done and still have money to get Jahmyr Gibbs, Jack Campbell, Sam LaPorta, and Brian Branch to big deals […]

Mike Payton