The Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings are not two of the happier teams in the NFL after the first week of play. The Lions blew a 21-3 lead in San Diego, eventually losing to the Chargers, 33-28, while the Vikings were run off the field by Carlos Hyde in Santa Clara. The San Francisco 49ers won, 20-3, in a game so dull that most fans turned to a brilliant live-blog of the game being written by an Australian whose only knowledge of football was that Aussie rugby star Jarryd Hayne was making his NFL debut.
Lions vs. Vikings 2015 live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch online
Calvin Johnson and Adrian Peterson are both looking to get on track.
That means Sunday’s meeting between the Lions and the Vikings has a sudden influx of urgency with neither team wanting to start 0-2. That’s especially true for Detroit, which plays its next two games on national TV against Denver and Seattle.
When the Lions have the ball, the biggest issue is going to be simple. Can the Vikings take Calvin Johnson out of the game as effectively as San Diego, or will the Lions make more of an effort to get the ball into the hands of their best player? Against the Chargers, Matthew Stafford hit Johnson for a 28-yard gain on his first pass, then only threw three more times in his direction, completing one for 11 yards.
Since Sunday, Lions coach Jim Caldwell, Stafford and Johnson have all patiently explained that the Chargers kept a cornerback inside against Johnson, with safety help over the top on every play. That is certainly an effective defense, but it is also the same thing that every defensive coordinator has done to him since about five minutes into his NFL debut. He’s rewritten the record books despite facing similar defenses, and Lions fans would like to know why, with the offense barely able to move the ball for almost three quarters, no one thought to try to let him make a play.
Detroit rookie Ameer Abdullah might be a crucial weapon against the Vikings. Abdullah became the first Lions running back to score on his first carry of his NFL debut since 1953, and, at the end of his first preseason game, New York Jets coach Todd Bowles said that he's as quick as Barry Sanders. He's not as likely to drag runners down the field as Hyde, but the Vikings can't give Abdullah the same kind of holes they provided to his old Big Ten rival.
For the Vikings, the biggest offensive question is Adrian Peterson. In his first game action since the 2014 opener, Peterson carried the ball 10 times for 31 yards and never looked like the running back who dominated the NFL before his domestic violence suspension. It wasn't surprising that Peterson looked rusty, especially after the coaching staff chose to sit him out of all four preseason games, but he didn't look comfortable in the shotgun-heavy offense that Minnesota has built for Teddy Bridgewater.
A year ago, the Lions would have been the worst team in football to face with a struggling running game, but that's not the case with Ndamukong Suh in Miami and DeAndre Levy still a question mark with a hip injury that caused him to miss Week 1. Without their two best defensive players, the Lions weren't close to the defensive powerhouse that carried them to last year's postseason.
This is a game that should come down to one simple factor -- which offensive star will get things going this week: Johnson or Peterson? The team that answers that question correctly will probably be the one that gets a crucial NFC North victory.
How to Watch
When: 1 p.m. ET
Where: TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minn.
TV: FOX
Announcers: Sam Rosen, Kirk Morrison, Peter Schrager
Online: NFL Game Pass
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