DETROIT (1-1) at MINNESOTA (1-1)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT, Fox
OPENING LINE: Vikings by 5½, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Detroit 2-0; Minnesota 1-1.
SERIES RECORD: Vikings lead 79-40-2.
LAST MEETING: Lions beat Vikings 29-27 on Dec. 5, 2021, in Detroit.
LAST WEEK: Lions beat Commanders 36-27; Vikings lost to Eagles 24-7.
LIONS OFFENSE: OVERALL (4), RUSH (3), PASS (19), SCORING (2).
LIONS DEFENSE: OVERALL (30), RUSH (26), PASS (27), SCORING (31).
VIKINGS OFFENSE: OVERALL (20T), RUSH (21), PASS (13), SCORING (25).
VIKINGS DEFENSE: OVERALL (29), RUSH (24), PASS (29), SCORING (6).
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Lions even; Vikings even.
LIONS PLAYER TO WATCH: WR Amon-Ra St. Brown. He had nine catches for a career-high 116 yards and two TDs along with a 58-yard run — the longest by a Lions WR — against Washington. In his second year, St. Brown is the first player in league history with at least eight catches and a TD in six straight games. St. Brown, Michael Thomas (2019) and Antonio Brown (2014) are the only three players in NFL history with eight-plus receptions in eight straight games.
VIKINGS PLAYER TO WATCH: OLB Danielle Hunter. He has 12 sacks in his past eight games against the Lions with two fumble recoveries and one for a touchdown. Hunter had a sack in each of the first two games this season.
KEY MATCHUP: St. Brown vs. Vikings DBs. St. Brown’s first career TD came on the last play of the game last year in Detroit to give Lions coach Dan Campbell his first victory in Week 13. Vikings CB Cameron Dantzler Sr. backpedaled too deep into the end zone to allow an easy 11-yard completion by Jared Goff to St. Brown.
KEY INJURIES: Two Lions starters — C Frank Ragnow (foot), G Jonah Jackson (finger) — missed last week’s game. Ragnow, who’s bothered by the same toe he had season-ending surgery on a year ago, practiced on a limited basis Wednesday. Jackson did not practice. … Lions DE Aidan Hutchinson (quadriceps) and DE John Cominsky (hand) were slowed against Washington. Hutchinson, the second overall pick in the draft, didn’t practice Wednesday. Cominsky had surgery Tuesday. … Vikings S Harrison Smith was in the concussion protocol and didn’t practice Wednesday.
SERIES NOTES: Each of the past three matchups have been decided by exactly two points. … Detroit’s win last season stopped an eight-game winning streak in the series by Minnesota. Prior to that, the Lions won nine of 14. … Vikings QB Kirk Cousins has 19 TDs, two interceptions, a 74.2% completion rate and a 119.9 passer rating in nine career starts against the Lions. His record is 7-2.STATS AND STUFF: The Lions have scored 35-plus points in three straight games for the first time since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970. Green Bay and Seattle in 2020 were the previous NFL teams with 35-plus points in the first two games of a season. … The Lions have rushed for 180-plus yards in two straight games for the first time since 2010. The previous NFC team to do so in the first two games of a season was Atlanta in 2006. … The Lions had their largest halftime lead (22-0) last week in nearly four years. … Hutchinson became the first NFL player in 20 years since Tennessee’s Carlos Hall to have three sacks over the first two games of a career. … If St. Brown has a TD catch, he’ll set a Lions record with one in seven straight games. … Cousins is 8-4 at home with Minnesota against NFC North opponents. … The Vikings have allowed three sacks, tied for the seventh fewest in the league. … Vikings RB Dalvin Cook had a career-low six carries last week for 17 yards. … Vikings backup OLB D.J. Wonnum has a sack in three straight games. … Vikings LB Jordan Hicks is the only player in the NFL with at least 15 tackles, one sack and one interception.
FANTASY TIP: The Vikings have been vulnerable in underneath pass coverage, making Lions TE T.J. Hockenson a viable play. He has two TDs in his past four games versus the Vikings. Eagles TE Dallas Goedert had five receptions for 82 yards last week against Minnesota.