When it comes to looking for their first win of the season, the Detroit Lions aren’t exactly trending in the right direction.
A disheartening loss in Chicago against a bad Bears team doesn’t exactly inspire confidence for this week’s road game against the Minneapolis Vikings, who took an early lead on the 3-1 Cleveland Browns but eventually fell, 14-7.
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I’m not giving the Lions much of a chance to win this week. But here are three things they can do to hold Minnesota in check and keep Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” from playing too often in U.S. Bank Stadium.
Don’t pass up points
I can’t emphasize this point enough. Score. Points. Whenever. You. Can. Especially in the first half. I don’t care if the Lions are down, 21-0, in the first quarter. Kick that field goal.
Why? Because you never know what’s going to happen. You get three points after a long drive and then maybe you get a turnover and score. Suddenly the deficit isn’t that big.
But if the Lions pass up points because they want to stay “aggressive” — ugh — yet they fail to score, it’s only going to make them more desperate and likely to take chances as the game goes on. That’s exactly what plays into the hands of a defensive mastermind like Mike Zimmer.
Like the Bears, the Vikings are not an offensive juggernaut that requires the Lions to keep pace on offense. Down the road, when they’re playing the Arizona Cardinals or the Los Angeles Rams, their scoring strategy might require an adjustment. But for now, just take the dang points.
Prioritize the run game
Offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn fielded a question this week about how to get the wide receivers more involved in order to open up the offense. Here’s what he said: “We’ve always tried to get our wide receivers involved, but at the same time we’ve got to get those running backs going and that’s what we wanted to do last week until we got behind late.”
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Lynn knows the strength of the offense is the run game. That’s why he pivoted so quickly in his answer.
I’ve been impressed with how hard D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams have been running, especially behind a banged-up offensive line. But here’s what the Lions have produced in rushing yardage, respectively, in the first four games: 116 yards, 108 yards, 93 yards, 90 yards.
I’m no math wiz, but that doesn’t look like a good trend.
The run game is still producing a respectable 4.28 yards per play, which ranks 13th in the league. Williams averages 4.5 yards per carry and Swift averages 3.4 yards but he leads the Lions in receptions. This tandem is a vital weapon that Lynn needs to utilize more often and with better results. This could be the week to do so, since the Vikings’ defense only ranks 25th against the run — by far the worst of any of the opponents the Lions have faced so far.
Shut down Kirk Cousins
Trigger warning for Michigan State and Holland Christian fans: Kirk Cousins isn’t that good. Statistically, Cousins is having a good year. He’s thrown nine touchdowns and one interception, he’s on pace for about 4,700 yards and he has a 105.6 passer rating.
But Cousins’ arm doesn’t scare anyone. His average pass length of 6.43 yards is second worst in the NFL. Dalvin Cook and the run game is the shot in the arm Cousins needs to make the Vikings’ offense work at its best, but Cook’s injured ankle should hamper the quarterback’s overall efficiency.
The Lions’ pass defense gives up plenty of chunk plays and the secondary is still trying to find an answer for Jeff Okudah’s replacement. But overall the pass defense has limited the damage through the air and the Lions’ third-down defense is second in the NFL. It’s time for the secondary to step up and shut down Cousins.
Contact Carlos Monarrez at cmonarrez@freepress.com and follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez.