Minnesota Vikings Resurrect Season with 27-24 Win at Detroit Lions in Week 9

They entered the game as 9-point underdogs, but the Minnesota Vikings beat the Detroit Lions 27-24 at Ford Field in Week 9. Minnesota improves to 4-4 and has rejuvenated their season.

Minnesota is back to .500 (4-4) with the Vikings’ 27-24 win at the Detroit Lions in Week 9. It was a must-win game for Minnesota with all the importance of a playoff game as the Vikings tried to right their season. Playing in Detroit, all money was on the Lions and they were the safe pick for all the media too. But the beauty of actually playing the game is that the 9-point

underdogs can come away with a win.

Jonathan James McCarthy showed that same gutsy tenacity that he displayed in the 4th quarter of the season opener when the Vikings beat the Chicago Bears.

This week Minnesota looked like the squad we expected to see at the beginning of the

season. Detroit had the ball to start the game and went 8 plays on that opening drive and capped it with a 40-yard touchdown. In past weeks, that would set the tone for the game, but Minnesota’s offense, led by returning QB JJ McCarthy, answered back with a scoring drive of their own, punctuated with a 10-yard TD dart to Justin Jefferson. The Brian Flores defense then forced a punt. KOC’s offense scored another touchdown, a 7-yarder to TJ Hockenson. Minnesota’s defense forced another punt. And that was just the first quarter.

A quarterback can be clutch without putting up a bunch of lulu fantasy stats.

McCarthy ended the day with 14/25 for 143 yards, 2 passing touchdowns, an interception, and a rushing touchdown. Running back Aaron Jones was productive, running for 78 yards on 9 attempts before leaving the game with a shoulder injury. We got a taste of the chemistry between McCarthy and WR Jordan Addison (2-48 yards) and Justin Jefferson (6-47 yards, 1 TD), but it was the 16-yard pass to Jalen Nailor late in the 4th to put the game away that might have been his best throw of the day.

As incredible as the offensive resurgence was, the defense looked dramatically improved too. They sacked Lions’ quarterback Jared Goff five times and harassed him all afternoon.

Flores’ crew did a much better job of getting pressure up the A-gap, blowing up running plays. They forced a fumble and recovered it. Was it having Andrew Van Ginkel back that made all the difference and helped them to tackle better?

The Vikings were hardly perfect, but it was clear that they had gone back to the basics, doing those basic things better than they had in the past couple weeks. When a team as talented as the Vikings are no longer constantly sabotaging their success, you have a dangerous team. Next up, the Baltimore Ravens in Week 10. SKOL.

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