Minnesota 42-30 over Detroit
Vikings
A
This was the kind of offense of performance that, if executed every week, would put Kirk Cousins in the MVP conversation. Yeah, I went there. The guy was consistent from start to finish, and if not for a Stefon Diggs drop, he would’ve had five touchdowns. Couple that with an excellently complementary running game headlined by Dalvin Cook, clutch depth in the wake of Adam Thielen’s injury and some timely defensive stands, and this was a Minnesota clinic. The only thing that would’ve made their day better was tighter pass coverage.
Lions
B+
Detroit certainly did not fail this game. Penalties were yet again a headache, and the lack of any consistent running game was again a problem, but they were never really out of this game, and while their defense obviously surrendered tons of long drives to Cousins and Co., they were also missing several starters due to injury. The Lions seem somewhat incapable of delivering that “it” play/performance to take a step toward serious contender, but you could do a whole lot worse.
Vikings-Lions grades by Cody Benjamin
Detroit is now 2-3-1. They've lost to GB and Minnesota, and have to play the Bears twice, and the other once each. Just within their division, they will probably split with all of them (that's the optimist in me), for 4-5-1, and their other games (Giants, Oakland, Dallas, Washington, Tampa Bay, Denver) actually look like a better than .500 schedule, meaning they will probably wind up watching the playoffs in TV, with a record of 8-7-1. Barring some amazing outcomes, GB will win the division, and may even sew up a first round bye (SF's current unbeaten record is a mirage, it was accomplished vs Tampa Bay 2-4, Cincinnati 0-7, Pittsburgh 2-4, Cleveland 2-4, L.A. Rams 4-3, and Washington 1-6). I'd consider that the best-case scenario at this point -- that, and the firing of Matt Patricia.
New England 6 0 0 1.000 190 48 142 3-0-0 3-0-0 3-0-0 4-0-0 2-0-0 W6 13.4 95.5% San Francisco 6 0 0 1.000 156 64 92 2-0-0 4-0-0 1-0-0 3-0-0 3-0-0 W6 12 68.9% Green Bay 6 1 0 .857 184 139 45 4-1-0 2-0-0 3-0-0 4-1-0 2-0-0 W3 10.5 49.8% Buffalo 5 1 0 .833 121 91 30 2-1-0 3-0-0 2-1-0 4-1-0 1-0-0 W2 10.3 4.5% New Orleans 5 1 0 .833 128 122 6 3-0-0 2-1-0 1-0-0 3-1-0 2-0-0 W4 11.7 86.3% Seattle 5 1 0 .833 165 146 19 2-1-0 3-0-0 2-0-0 2-1-0 3-0-0 W3 10.4 27.8% Kansas City 5 2 0 .714 202 150 52 1-2-0 4-0-0 2-0-0 4-2-0 1-0-0 W1 10.1 79.6% Minnesota 5 2 0 .714 192 123 69 3-0-0 2-2-0 1-2-0 4-2-0 1-0-0 W3 9.8 23.5% Baltimore 4 2 0 .667 184 140 44 2-1-0 2-1-0 2-1-0 3-2-0 1-0-0 W2 9.6 63.3% Carolina 4 2 0 .667 166 133 33 1-2-0 3-0-0 1-1-0 2-2-0 2-0-0 W4 9.3 13.3% Indianapolis 4 2 0 .667 143 138 5 2-1-0 2-1-0 2-0-0 3-2-0 1-0-0 W2 8.8 33.3% Houston 4 3 0 .571 185 164 21 2-1-0 2-2-0 1-1-0 3-1-0 1-2-0 L1 9.8 58.0% L.A. Rams 4 3 0 .571 190 164 26 1-2-0 3-1-0 0-2-0 3-3-0 1-0-0 W1 8.5 3.2% Chicago 3 2 0 .600 87 69 18 1-1-0 2-1-0 1-1-0 2-1-0 1-1-0 L1 9.2 14.5% Dallas 3 3 0 .500 153 114 39 2-1-0 1-2-0 2-0-0 2-2-0 1-1-0 L3 7.7 23.7% Oakland 3 3 0 .500 127 165 -38 2-1-0 1-2-0 1-1-0 2-1-0 1-2-0 L1 7.6 9.6% Philadelphia 3 3 0 .500 161 149 12 2-1-0 1-2-0 1-0-0 2-3-0 1-0-0 L1 9.1 70.5% Arizona 3 3 1 .500 161 192 -31 1-2-1 2-1-0 0-1-0 2-2-1 1-1-0 W3 5.6 <1.0% Jacksonville 3 4 0 .429 144 148 -4 1-2-0 2-2-0 1-1-0 3-2-0 0-2-0 W1 7 6.4% Detroit 2 3 1 .417 149 160 -11 1-2-0 1-1-1 0-2-0 1-2-1 1-1-0 L3 8.3 12.2% Cleveland 2 4 0 .333 120 154 -34 0-3-0 2-1-0 1-0-0 2-1-0 0-3-0 L2 7.5 15.1% L.A. Chargers 2 4 0 .333 120 118 2 1-3-0 1-1-0 0-1-0 2-3-0 0-1-0 L2 7.2 10.5% Pittsburgh 2 4 0 .333 123 131 -8 1-2-0 1-2-0 1-1-0 2-2-0 0-2-0 W1 8.1 21.5% Tampa Bay 2 4 0 .333 173 185 -12 0-3-0 2-1-0 1-2-0 2-4-0 0-0-0 L2 6 <1.0% Tennessee 2 4 0 .333 98 92 6 0-2-0 2-2-0 0-2-0 1-4-0 1-0-0 L2 6.2 2.3% Denver 2 5 0 .286 112 136 -24 1-3-0 1-2-0 1-2-0 2-3-0 0-2-0 L1 5.3 <1.0% N.Y. Giants 2 5 0 .286 132 187 -55 1-3-0 1-2-0 1-1-0 2-3-0 0-2-0 L3 6.3 5.6% N.Y. Jets 1 4 0 .200 63 123 -60 1-2-0 0-2-0 0-2-0 0-3-0 1-1-0 W1 5.6 <1.0% Atlanta 1 6 0 .143 145 223 -78 1-2-0 0-4-0 0-0-0 1-3-0 0-3-0 L5 4.8 <1.0% Washington 1 6 0 .143 90 176 -86 0-4-0 1-2-0 0-3-0 0-5-0 1-1-0 L1 4.1 <1.0% Miami 0 6 0 .000 63 211 -148 0-4-0 0-2-0 0-2-0 0-4-0 0-2-0 L6 1.8 0.0% Cincinnati 0 7 0 .000 114 186 -72 0-3-0 0-4-0 0-2-0 0-4-0 0-3-0 L7 3.8 <1.0%
Yeah, so SF beat the Rams. The Rams have four wins, and only the win over the Saints was an outlier. The other wins have been agains Carolina (4-2), Cleveland (2-4), Tampa Bay (2-4), and Atlanta (1-6).
I really was expecting the Vikes to screw the pooch today and get shelled by the Lions. The Lions did their part. The Vikings simply did not blow it like they always have in the past.