In Week 7, the Minnesota Vikings will be facing their third NFC North opponent of the season, and second on the road when they face the Detroit Lions on Sunday afternoon.

The game is a battle between two of the best units in the NFL, with Brian Flores’ defense trending at a historic pace against a Lions offense that has consistently made things difficult on the Vikings. Jared Goff has been the key to that success, finding ways to attack Flores’ blitz heavy scheme.

Even with that success, it didn’t resonate last season, as the Vikings won both games. Will that trend continue? Our experts predicted the pivotal NFC North game.

Vikings 16, Lions 10

We can talk about how this matchup is one of the bigger ones across the league, especially this week with both teams with a winning record, but the one matchup that has me curious is Flores vs. Goff. We’ve seen a really interesting split with how much success Goff has had at quarterback against Flores.

• Goff with Ben Johnson: 4-0
• Goff without Johnson: 0-2
• Johnson without Goff: 1-2

Are we sure that the combination of Goff and Johnson was the secret sauce together and not just one of them? With how Flores has evolved the defense, the short routes over the middle of the field aren’t there the way they used to, and that will be the difference.

– Tyler Forness, A to Z Minnesota (2-2 record)

Vikings 20, Lions 14

The Minnesota Vikings have been winning games with a clear formula the last few weeks and that formula has been dominating teams on defense. Until a team actually finds a way to get the better of Brian Flores’ unit, I’m going to side with Minnesota. Detroit certainly has a lot of firepower on offense to score a ton of points, but Flores held this offense to 10 and 24 points in their last two matchups.

In those last two games, quarterback Jared Goff was sacked 5 times in each game. We all know that if you get pressure on Goff up the middle, he’s going to struggle. Minnesota has been pressuring the quarterback better than anyone this season. I see the Vikings scoring just enough points to secure a seventh straight win while Flores puts Goff in a blender yet again.

– Kole Noble, A to Z Chicago (0-4 record)

Lions 23, Vikings 17

This is a wild matchup because, by EPA/play, the Lions are third on offense and 32nd on defense, while the Vikings are first on defense and 30th on offense. So it’s a two-headed matchup with strength versus strength and weakness versus weakness. However, my inclination is to think the Lions have a slight advantage despite the challenges of facing a Brian Flores’ defense.

Since Flores took over as the Vikings defensive coordinator in 2023, the Lions have averaged 26 points a game versus Minnesota. Outside of the second game last year, when the Lions scored 10, it’s been consistently good. Jared Goff has been protected, the communication along the offensive line has been excellent, and that’s how you make Goff play at his highest level.

The Lions’ secondary is bad, but it certainly got better with Brian Branch getting back. And up front, it’s been mostly a viable performance. So, I’m going with Detroit in this one.

– Wendell Ferreira, A to Z Green Bay (1-3 record)

Lions 17, Vikings 14

Ultimately, it’s going to come down to who can score in this game, and while the Vikings’ defense is on the verge of being historically good, the Lions’ offense is arguably the best in the league right now, and they get this game at home.

It’s not going to be easy. It should be a back-and-forth affair all day long, and it should be an ugly one. But I have the Lions winning 17-14 and ending the Vikings’ undefeated streak.

– Mike Payton, A to Z Detroit (2-2 record)

Final Prediction for Vikings vs. Lions

It shouldn’t be much of a surprise that our staff is split down the middle here. Both teams are very good, and it’s primed to be a fantastic battle.