The Vikings season opener is less than 48 hours away and as of last night the NFL season has officially begun! To start off their season the Vikings will travel to Detroit to take on their division rival, the Lions, a match-up they won both times last year. Both teams will suit up with much to prove on Sunday and both will need the crucial division win moving forward throughout the season. It make be week one, but this game will matter.
Vikings' Offense vs Lions' Defense
Key match-up: John Sullivan, Charlie Johnson and Brandon Fusco vs Nick Fairley and Ndamukong Suh
The Vikings' offense had very different outings against the Lions last year, only scoring six points when at Ford Field but putting up 34 points when on their home turf. If the Vikings' want to make sure they repeat their latter performance, their interior offensive line will need to handle Detroit's massive defensive tackles, who form perhaps the best defensive tackle combination in the game. Peterson is going to need room up the middle to pound the ball, which will then hopefully set up easy play-action passes for Ponder to complete and help bolster his confidence. The Lions' corner group isn't that intimidating of a bunch, so if Ponder is confident and drives his throws he should be able to have a nice day against the Lions' secondary. However, if Fairley and Suh are able to get pressure up the middle it could trigger Ponder's happy feet and he could start scrambling early out of the pocket. The Vikings' offensive line will need to shake off their preseason nerves quickly as they are facing one of the better front fours in the NFL, and if they can hold up the skill position players should be able to win match-ups against the rest of the Detroit defense.
Vikings' Defense vs Lions' Offense
Key match-up: Chris Cook vs Calvin Johnson
Like the Vikings' offense, Calvin Johnson had two drastically different days playing the Vikings last year. When Chris Cook was healthy and covering him most of the game played at Detroit, Johnson had only five receptions for 54 yards. With Cook out of the lineup later in the season, Johnson lit up the Vikings' secondary with 12 catches for 207 yards and a touchdown. It's no surprise that the Lions' offense had a much better day when Calvin was doing well, and they seem to struggle when Johnson is absent from the lineup (see 2013 preseason). If Cook is able to contain Johnson by himself (with some safety help occasionally) the rest of the Vikings' defense matches up well against this offense, especially in the trenches with the defensive line for the Vikings facing a pretty weak Detroit offensive line. The other major matchup-on defense will be between the Vikings' linebacking corps and new Detroit running back Reggie Bush. The Vikings linebackers will have their coverage ability tested early and often Bush, and they will need to show sure tackling technique so Reggie and his elusive running won't be able to see open field. If the Vikings are able to handle those two key match-ups, the Lions should have the air taken out of the ball on offense.
Special Teams
The Vikings' special teams will answer a lot of questions Sunday afternoon, as they have a lot of new faces but hope to prove they're still one of the best units in the league. Cordarrelle Patterson will get his first shot returning kicks, and he will hope to show Vikings' fans that he's just as explosive from that spot as Percy Harvin was. Rookie Jeff Locke needs to show he and Blair Walsh have figured out the field goal hold, so that Walsh can comfortably kick on the field. The biggest question for the Lions' special teams will be how new kicker David Akers performs after longtime kicker Jason Hanson called his over 20 year quits this offseason. Akers had a phenomenal 2011 season before a putrid 2012, which caused the 49ers to release him, and has to prove he won't be a question mark for the Lions this year.
Coaching
Leslie Fraizer and Jim Schwartz both have warm seats right now as NFL head coaches, and the loser will have the fire under them turned up quite a bit. The two have seemingly opposite coaching personalities, as Fraizer comes across as calm and patient and leads a well-disciplined football team. Schwartz, on the other hand, is much more hot-tempered and emotional, and his football teams seem to have more of an edge to them (though that edge has often cost the Lions through penalties). Both coaches have experienced both success and failure throughout their run and it's highly likely this game will help determine whether either of them sticks around past the 2013 season.
Intangibles
The energy will be high for both teams during week one as they'll finally be able to release all the pent up football they've kept inside them since last winter. The expectation level is high for both of these teams, though this Lion team as a whole have more to prove after finishing 4-12 last season. There's no question the Lions will come out wanting this win more, both to prove they are a different team this year and to prove they can hang in the NFC North after going 0-6 in the division last year. Extra energy may also come back to hurt the Lions though, because they can play sloppy when they are not thinking, and last year they had a penchant for shooting themselves in the foot with inopportune turnover and penalties.
Predicted Outcome: 27-21 Vikings
The Vikings' offensive line will have the biggest job of the day, needing to prove their preseason mistakes won't translate once the first whistle is blown. While it could be easy to doubt their ability after what we've seen so far, in the end this ground has too much talent and are much more disciplined under coach Fraizer than they have shown so far in 2013. Expect fewer than two sacks and over 100 yards for Adrian Peterson. The Vikings' special teams will also show up on Sunday and provide a healthy contribution to make life difficult for the Lions (expect the Vikings average field position to be drastically better than the Lions'). All in all, after Sunday we'll have a full game to judge this 2013 squad on, and that should go a long ways in determining what direction they may be headed in this season.
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