EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — The Vikings have played six times on Thanksgiving in franchise history, compiling a 5-1 record.
Win No. 6 would put Minnesota in first place in the NFC North.
With the Vikings and Lions sporting identical 6-4 records heading into Thursday's 11:30 a.m. (CT) tilt, the winner will grab control of the division with five games to play.
Both teams won this past Sunday and are on a short week, but perhaps the Vikings will be extra motivated because of how they lost to Detroit earlier this season, a gut-stomping 22-16 overtime decision.
Minnesota earned a 28-19 win over the Lions in Detroit last season.
On the airwaves: The game will be broadcast nationally by CBS. Jim Nantz, Phil Simms, Tracy Wolfson and Jay Feely will be on the call. The game also will be broadcast on KFAN 100.3-FM and across the Minnesota Vikings Radio Network by the team of Paul Allen, Pete Bercich, Greg Coleman and Ben Leber. There is also a national radio broadcast on Westwood One Sports with Tom McCarthy, Ross Tucker and Hub Arkush calling the game.
Three things to watch:
Short-yardage success— Eric Smith
After weeks of frustrating outcomes on third-and-1, the Vikings offense finally delivered last week against Arizona. Minnesota converted both of its chances at that down at distance, with Cordarrelle Patterson catching a short pass for a 30-yard gain and Matt Asiata gaining three yards on the ground.
Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer said Asiata's run was one of the offensive highlights from Sunday.
"The most encouraging thing to me, because we talked really a lot last week about third-and-1, the third-and-1 that we hit, we got some movement," Zimmer said. "We got our pads down, we came off the ball, we were physical; the back didn't tip-toe in there, he hit it. To me, that shows a little bit of progress."
Ironically enough, both of the Vikings touchdowns against Detroit earlier this year came from a yard out — Kyle Rudolph caught a touchdown pass, and Rhett Ellison ran for a score.
If the Vikings can move the chains on third-and-short situations, it will allow them to control the clock and keep their defense fresh, elements of the game that usually make up a winning formula.
On the topic of tackling — Lindsey Young
A focus of the Vikings defense since last facing the Lions on Nov. 6 has been improved tackling. The Lions have been one of the best in the NFL at getting yards after catch and yards after contact this season, and the most recent meeting was no exception. Another component for the Vikings is stopping their opponent on third down rather than allowed a drive to continue. Detroit converted seven of its 14 third-down attempts against Minnesota.
Defensive end Brian Robison told Twin Cities media members Monday that watching film of the division rivals' last matchup would be advantageous, but the defense knows without watching tape that wrapping up tackles will be key. The area showed improvement in Sunday's game, in which Minnesota came out with a win over Arizona.
"I'm sure they'll do a lot of the same stuff because they were successful with it, especially in that last 2-minute situation and in overtime," Robison said of the Lions. "What we have to look at is that we have to be better at tackling; we missed a lot of tackles in that game. We gave up some big plays, we weren't necessarily great on third down against them. Those are the things defensively we need to look at and be better at."
Secondary in second meeting— Craig Peters
Detroit's success against Minnesota on third downs wasn't an aberration from what the Lions have done this season. Out of 119 third downs, Detroit has earned first downs 51 times (42.9 percent).
The Vikings could be short-handed in the secondary or at least not at 100 percent on the short turnaround. Terence Newman (neck) is doubtful, and Harrison Smith (ankle) and Captain Munnerlyn (ankle) were listed as questionable for the game.
Andrew Sendejo also encountered an illness during the week, leaving reigning NFC Defensive Player of the Week Xavier Rhodes as the only member of the starting secondary to avoid the injury report. Trae Waynes, however, has logged significant action this season and filled in for Newman last week against Arizona.
The last time the secondary was dealing with so many injuries was last December in a Thursday Night Football game at Arizona when Newman and Anthony Harris started at safety.
Matthew Stafford ranks fifth in the NFL with a passer rating of 101.2 and should present a tough challenge.
Substantial Stats
—The Vikings and Lions each have two punt returns for touchdowns this season; Minnesota and Detroit are the only teams with more than one punt return for a score.
— Minnesota has an interception rate of just 0.58 percent this season, the second-lowest amount in the NFL behind New England; Minnesota has thrown two interceptions on 344 pass attempts.
— Minnesota's Cordarrelle Patterson has four career 100-plus yard plays for touchdowns. He is the first player in NFL history to accomplish the feat.
— Detroit's defense has allowed opposing quarterback's to compile a 108.5 passer rating this season, the highest mark in the NFL. Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford's rating this season is 99.8 and includes a 103.4 against the Lions earlier this month.
Quotable
"I think we're excited about the opportunity, especially after the way the game ended a couple of week ago against Detroit. I think we're all anxious to get back out there." — Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford on Thursday's matchup against Detroit.
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Worth a watch
Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr was mic’d up during Minnesota's 30-24 home win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
