Minnesota Vikings’ continuity could save them vs. Detroit Lions, but their coordinators have shown substantial growth

Little things could be a huge factor for the Vikings on Sunday.

Mike Payton, Tyler Forness
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Oct 5, 2025; Tottenham, United Kingdom; Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell reacts after a play against the Cleveland Browns during the second quarter of an NFL International Series game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

If you haven’t watched much of the Detroit Lions this season, it’s been quite a journey for them.

This offseason, they didn’t just lose multiple assistant coaches, they lost both coordinators to head coaching jobs, as Ben Johnson (Chicago Bears) and Aaron Glenn (New York Jets) left for greener pastures.

The first game against the Green Bay Packers opened a lot of eyes about what the Lions were going to be this season, and it gave some extra hope to Minnesota Vikings fans that the division could be easier to attain.

Detroit Lions have seen significant growth with play callers

With John Morton and Kelvin Sheppard taking over, it was a rough start, but they cleaned things up quickly and got things on the right track. I spoke to A to Z Detroit’s Mike Payton about what fueled their growth and how things have changed, and it was really simple.

“The change was really basic. Actually, that’s the keyword to the whole thing. The Lions came out of that game saying they wanted to get back to basics and not try to overload their young offensive line right off the bat. They’ve got less exotic and began to work their way into some of the more advanced stuff on a week-to-week basis. It made a lot of difference. 

“The other thing was just cleaning up small stuff, like communication, and working on missed assignments. When you look back at that game, you see that it may not have been as bad as it looked. It certainly wasn’t good, but you can see some instances where maybe if they cleaned up some stuff, it could have been closer or maybe a late-game win. The second half of that game tells a pretty different story, but the damage was already done.”

The little things matter a lot for any team, but they arguably matter more for a team with a new play caller. There is a smaller margin for error with new play callers until they get their bearings underneath them. It didn’t take very long for that to happen, as the Lions put up 52 points on the Chicago Bears in Week 2.

The Vikings have quite the challenge on their hands with these two units. Both the offense and defense for the Lions have been clicking as of late, and a 5-2 record emphasizes that. The one thing the Vikings have is continuity with both the offensive and defensive schemes and play callers. Kevin O’Connell and Brian Flores have been far from perfect in their roles, but continuity is a big deal.

Will that be enough to confuse the Lions and get the win? Probably not, but it could be a contributing factor toward certain elements of the game where the Vikings can find an advantage.

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