HEADLINE

Vikings look to bounce back from Monday vs. Lions

Field Level Media

December 05, 2019 at 9:42 am.

The Minnesota Vikings have a short week to prepare for their next game, but they’ll be facing the NFC North’s last place team and a third-string quarterback.

Minnesota (8-4) dropped a game behind Green Bay in the division with a 37-30 loss at Seattle on Monday night. The Vikings will now host the Detroit Lions on Sunday afternoon.

The Vikings’ defense allowed 444 total yards to the Seahawks, including 218 on the ground. Minnesota has been ordinary on the road, going 3-4, but is unbeaten at home. It ventures out of Minnesota just once more, a West Coast trip to Los Angeles to face the Chargers next week, before returning for division showdowns against the Packers and Chicago.

A division championship is still very much in play, but on the flip side, the Vikings hold just a one-game advantage over the Los Angeles Rams for the second NFC wild-card spot.

“We just need to win,” Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer told reporters of his team’s postseason outlook this week. “Win games and it will all take care of itself.”

The Vikings received good news on the injury front. Star running back Dalvin Cook departed the Seattle game in the third quarter with a chest injury, but he doesn’t anticipate missing any games.

“I feel good. Actually, better than I expected,” he told the team’s website. “I’ll be out there on Sunday and ready to get a W.”

Such injuries can be easily aggravated, but Cook is optimistic he won’t have to leave early again.

“I don’t feel like it’s going to hold me back from playing in any game,” he said. “It’s more of just, lay off the contact during the week and get ready for Sunday. That’s just going to be my plan in preparing for these next couple of games.”

If Cook can’t go, Alexander Mattison is a capable fill-in. He had four receptions and 73 total yards on Monday. The Vikings could also get star receiver Adam Thielen back from a hamstring injury that he initially sustained making a touchdown catch against the Lions on Oct. 20. Minnesota won that first meeting 42-30.

Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins passed for 337 yards and four touchdowns that afternoon, while Cook ran wild, piling up 142 yards on 25 carries and scoring two touchdowns.

Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford passed for 364 yards and four touchdowns in the first meeting, but he’s out with a back injury. His backup, Jeff Driskel, was placed on injured reserve this week after sustaining a hamstring injury in his latest start.

Rookie David Blough made his NFL debut during the Lions’ annual Thanksgiving Day game and played surprisingly well against the Bears. He passed for 280 yards and two touchdowns, though he also threw an interception that clinched Chicago’s 24-20 win.

The Lions haven’t ruled out Stafford returning before the end of the season.

“Out of respect for Matthew and his competitiveness and what he means to this team and what he brings every single week, we’re just going to kind of take it week by week and see what happens from that standpoint,” coach Matt Patricia said.

Detroit (3-8-1) has lost five straight, leading to heavy speculation about Patricia’s job security.

One of the few bright spots during the slide has been the play of defensive lineman Trey Flowers, who has five sacks in the past five games.

“It has been frustrating to come in, work hard, work hard on the game plan, a lot of guys are working hard in the locker room, and to come up short on the weekends is definitely frustrating,” Flowers said. “That’s part of this game, you’ve got to find ways to out-execute and out-compete.”