Team Grades: Lions' Defense Leads Them To Win Over Vikings
By Chris Morgan
The Detroit Lions have had some issues on offense, although a lot of it centered around kicking field goals, recently, and they had extra reason for concern heading into a road contest with the Minnesota Vikings. Calvin Johnson and Reggie Bush were both out with injuries, leaving the Lions shorthanded in terms of offensive weapons. Indeed, the offense would have a less than great day once again, being limited to 17 points. However, those points held up, because a tenacious Detroit defense hounded the Vikings all game, limiting them to three points. Here are the grades for the Lions after this victory.
Offense: It would make some sense to give the Lions a bit of leeway in terms of grading their offense, given the fact they were missing Megatron and Bush, two players with big play potential. Additionally, this was a road game, and the Vikings have at least a decent defense. However, even with all those caveats, this was a middling performance.
The point total may have been hindered by kicking, again, but the Lions also only had 255 yards of offense. Joique Bell did have a good game, rushing for 74 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, and adding 23 yards receiving, and Theo Riddick actually stepped in for Bush admirably before suffering an injury of his own. One more concern; the Lions gave up four sacks. A win is a win, but questions remain. Grade: B-
Quarterback: At the very least, you can't say that Matthew Staford was a problem this week. He only threw for 185 yards, but he went 19-for-33, and he did not have a turnover, which is an encouraging sign. It still seems like he can't do much without Johnson around, which is concerning as Johnson continues to deal with a high ankle sprain, but he was solid enough this week to help the Lions win. Grade: B
Special Teams: Well, the Lions are now three kickers deep this season, and there is still reason for alarm. Matt Prater did make a 52-yard field goal, showing a big leg in the process. Of course, Alex Henery also kicked a 50-yarder, and then proceeded to miss every other kick. Prater himself missed two other field goal attempts in this game. The Lions are undergoing a truly unprecedented run of field goal incompetence. At least Sam Martin is punting well. Grade: C
Defense: Here again, we turn to the strength of the Detroit Lions. The Lions defense completely shut down the Vikings in this game. Yes, they got a late field goal, but they also only gained 212 yards of total offense. Detroit picked off Teddy Bridgewater three times, and he's the better of Minnesota's two healthy quarterbacks. They caused a fumble that the Vikings recovered too.
The Lions were also in the Minnesota backfield all game. Detroit may have given up four sacks, but they picked up a whopping eight of their own. Ezekiel Ansah had 2.5 by himself, and Ndamukong Suh chipped in two. The team also had 10 tackles for loss, and 12 quarterback hits. It was not a good day to be on Minnesota's offense. Detroit may genuinely have the best defense in the NFL. Grade: A
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Chris Morgan has been a diehard Detroit Lions fan through the good (Barry Sanders) and the bad (Matt Millen) and that love has led him to take jobs writing about sports, including as a fantasy sports "expert." His work can be found on Examiner.com. .
