{"id":951155,"date":"2026-10-29T22:32:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T22:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/951155\/"},"modified":"2026-10-29T22:32:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T22:32:09","slug":"vikings-and-lions-match-up-nfls-stingiest-defense-vs-high-scoring-offense-in-nfc-north-showdown-wtop-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/951155\/","title":{"rendered":"Vikings and Lions match up NFL\u2019s stingiest defense vs. high-scoring offense in NFC North showdown \u2013 WTOP News"},"content":{"rendered":"

DETROIT (AP) \u2014 The Minnesota Vikings<\/a> are the NFL\u2019s<\/a> only unbeaten team thanks to their stingy defense and stellar special teams.<\/p>\n

If their low-scoring offense doesn\u2019t get in gear in the Motor City on Sunday, it might be tough for the NFC North leaders to keep up with the high-octane Detroit Lions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Minnesota (6-0) is allowing a league-low 12.3 points per game and Detroit (4-2) is averaging 30.7 points, ranking behind only Buffalo, and something has got to give at Ford Field.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to play the best, you want to beat the best,\u201d Lions quarterback Jared Goff said. \u201cYou want to have these opportunities to show what you\u2019re made of. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think they\u2019re the best in the league right now on paper and certainly present a ton of challenges and it\u2019ll be fun to try to solve those challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n

The last time the NFL had a matchup of teams giving up 13 or fewer points and scoring 30-plus points a game in Week 8 or later was in 2019 when Baltimore\u2019s high-scoring offense beat New England\u2019s stout defense and handed the Patriots their first loss that season.<\/p>\n

Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray said his confidence in the the team\u2019s offense will never waver, knowing the players around him, and believes a breakout performance is coming.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve just got to end the drive with touchdowns instead of kicking field goals,\u201d Murray said.<\/p>\n

That has happened lately.<\/p>\n

Minnesota\u2019s offense has scored just four touchdowns over the last five games and is averaging just 1 1\/2 offensive touchdowns per game, the second-lowest average in the NFL.<\/p>\n

The Lions, meanwhile, are rolling with Goff playing as well as any NFL quarterback with one of the league\u2019s best running back (Jahmyr Gibbs) and pair of receivers (Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams) along with standout tight end Sam LaPorta and a solid offensive line. <\/p>\n

The Lions, coming off a win over Green Bay in their first division game of the season, are well aware that the game against Minnesota is potentially pivotal in the NFC North race.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you can\u2019t get fired up for this and for the competition of it and in the division, I mean, I don\u2019t know what you can get excited for,\u201d Detroit coach Dan Campbell said. \u201cThis is as good as it gets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Need to know<\/p>\n

Minnesota (6-0) at Detroit (4-2)<\/p>\n

When\/where to watch: Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, Fox.<\/p>\n

Latest odds: Lions by 3.<\/p>\n

Against the spread: Vikings 4-2; Lions 1-4-1.<\/p>\n

Last week: Vikings beat Colts 16-10; Lions beat Packers 20-17.<\/p>\n

Last meeting: Vikings beat Lions 23-10 on Dec. 25, 2025, in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n

Series record: Lions lead 82-45-2.<\/p>\n

Matchup to watch<\/p>\n

Detroit\u2019s balanced offense against Minnesota\u2019s blitz-heavy defense. The Lions were 4-0 against the Vikings, averaging 30.5 points a game, in Brian Flores\u2019 first two years as their defensive coordinator. In Minnesota\u2019s two wins last year, Detroit averaged just 17 points and the Lions had six turnovers in the last meeting. This season, the Vikings have become the third team in two decades to give up 13 or fewer points and 224 or fewer yards in three straight games in a season. Goff has thrown 223 passes without getting picked off, ranking sixth among NFL quarterbacks with the most pass attempts without an interception to start a season. He has 14 touchdown passes without an interception, matching Russell Wilson\u2019s run in 2019 for the most touchdown passes without a pick through the first six games of a season. Goff ranks first in the NFL with a 12.5 passer rating, 298 yards passing per game and 14.67 passing first downs a game.<\/p>\n

Stats and stuff<\/p>\n

\u2014 Minnesota, off to its best start since 2009, has a chance to be 7-0 for the first time since 2000.<\/p>\n

\u2014 The Vikings have won four straight NFC North games and nine of their last 12 in the division.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Minnesota is an NFL-best plus-7 in turnovers and its seven interceptions rank among the league leaders.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Detroit has won two straight for the first time this season.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Gibbs is the only NFL player to run for at least 40 first downs and catch passes for 10-plus first downs through the first six games of a season since the NFL began tracking the data in 1981.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Detroit\u2019s improving defense allowed an average of 19 points during its two-game winning streak.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP Pro Football Writer Dave Campbell in Minneapolis contributed.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

\n See AP\u2019s full NFL coverage here<\/a>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DETROIT (AP) \u2014 The Minnesota Vikings are the NFL\u2019s only unbeaten team thanks to their stingy defense and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":951156,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[49,48,514,82],"class_list":["post-951155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=951155"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951155\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/951156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=951155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=951155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=951155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}