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Kevin Patra’s insights:

1. Jared Goff leads the Lions to the top of the NFC North. It’s not how you start that matters, it’s how you finish. Goff and the Lions got off to a terrible start but sprinted to the finish in a roller-coaster divisional battle that lived up to the hype. Multiple penalties, a stuffed fake punt, a 34-yard TD allowed and back-to-back three-on-outs led Detroit to a 10-0 deficit. After getting a first down on the last play of the first quarter, the Lions got rolling. Detroit scored touchdowns on four consecutive possessions to turn around a double-digit deficit. Jahmyr Gibbs bullied his way for a 45-yard TD and Goff bombarded the Vikings defense. The quarterback was great in the pocket, completing his first 15 passes and 22 of 25 for 280 yards and two touchdowns. He collected four sacks but had an excellent performance against Brian Flores’ blitz-happy D. The Vikings beat Goff with a season-high 55.2% of his dropbacks. According to Next Gen Stats, he completed 13 of 15 such passes for 163 yards and a touchdown (+11.2% CPOE). Going through a wannabe Jonathan Greenard Throwing a sack on a dime was probably Goff’s best play of the day. Pressure is usually the QB’s kryptonite, but in Minnesota it didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest. With the game on the line, the QB made the right calls and then passed a ball to Amon-Ra St. Brown to set up the game-winning goal Jake Bailey Field goal. Goff has dominated for the third straight season after a shaky start to the season. When he gets to the point, few can keep up with the Lions.
2. The Vikings offense took advantage early but faltered late. Sam Darnold had his worst day in Minnesota. Mind you, it wasn’t terrible, but the QB left some yards on the field in a close game. He missed an interception on a wide-open ball from Aaron Jones, took a sack that forced a field goal and missed the ball high Justin Jefferson on the last trip. The Vikings took advantage of the Lions’ mistakes early on and built a 10-point lead. But Kevin O’Connell’s team couldn’t put the hammer down. Two punts and an INT turned the first half from a Minnesota celebration into a nail-biting game. Darnold fought back and made great shots in the third quarter, but Minnesota’s offense stalled twice and settled for field goals. After the defense gave them the lead late with a strip-and-score, Minnesota failed to gain a first down that could have wasted most of the game. For much of the season, the Vikings took advantage of opponents’ mistakes and leaned on defense. Minnesota came up just short at home against the league’s strongest offense. They’ll get a chance for revenge in Week 18 in Detroit.
3. The Lions defense survives without Aidan Hutchinson. Aaron Glenn’s D clearly missed the DPOY candidate’s presence. Sometimes Darold had all day to throw. But credit the secondary for playing well to force the QB to hold onto the ball. Given that their opponent has Jefferson, that’s an encouraging sign heading into the season. In their first game without Hutchinson, the Lions made 20 of 35 dropbacks (57.1%), their highest rate in a game since defensive coordinator Glenn’s first game with the Lions (Week 1, 2021). The Lightning was unsuccessful in the first three quarters (only four pressures on 14 blitzes), but the Lions produced three sacks and four pressures on six blitzes in the fourth quarter. What highlights Hutch’s absence is that Detroit’s edge rushers generated just three pressures on 27 individual pass runs when not blitzing. The Lions gave up 383 yards, but when it counted late, they left the field to give their offense a chance. That’s the formula Campbell’s club will need the rest of the way.

Next generation statistics for Lion Viking (via NFL Pro): Sam Darnold did most of his production while targeting slot receivers, completing 12 of 13 passes for 190 yards and a TD (a season-high 48.1% of attempts). The Lions linebackers allowed all 10 targets for 46 yards while making a slot corner Amik Robertson allowed three receptions for 70 yards and a touchdown on his three targets in coverage.

NFL Research: Longest streak with a 140+ passer rating since the 1970 merger: Jared Goff – 3 (2024), Aaron Rodgers – 3 (2011 – won MVP), Kurt Warner – 3 (1999 – won MVP), Roger Staubach – 3 (1971 ).