The Vikings offense was missing one of its most dangerous weapons Thursday, playing without wide receiver Stefon Diggs because of a knee injury.
But even in a tough 16-13 loss to the Lions, plenty of others stepped up in his absence.
"I thought those guys played well today," Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford said of his wide receivers. "Missing Diggs, he's a big part of our offense and what we do, but I thought those guys stepped up.
"That's the good thing about this group, we've got a lot of depth and a lot of guys we feel like we can put in and make plays," he added.
Entering Thursday, Diggs was third in the NFL with 67 catches and had 747 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Without No. 14 in white, Bradford completed 31 of 37 passes (83.8 percent) for 224 yards with no touchdowns and an interception.
Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph caught a season-high nine passes for 64 yards while wide receiver Adam Thielen had a career-high eight receptions.
A handful of others provided big plays all around as Jerick McKinnon's 41-yard reception set up a field goal. Cordarrelle Patterson added three catches for 15 yards and had a 22-yard run. Tight end Rhett Ellison had an acrobatic grab for 21 yards.
Vikings wide receiver Charles Johnson added a pair of catches for 12 yards, and rookie wide receiver Laquon Treadwell drew a pair of flags in his first NFL start.
"I thought they made some plays," Zimmer said. "Charles Johnson made a couple catches, Thielen obviously did some good things.
"I don't remember if Treadwell got any catches but I thought he did a good job when he was in there with some things that he did," Zimmer added.
Minnesota's offense put up 306 total yards but had a turnover on its final play as Bradford was intercepted by Detroit's Darius Slay.
"The corner made a good play," Bradford said. "They trapped it, and he just made a good play."
Said Thielen: "I put it on myself," Thielen said. "I should have come out of that break and knocked it down."
The Vikings will now get ready for a nationally televised game on Thursday Night Football against the Cowboys on Dec. 1.
"We've got five games left to play," Zimmer said. "We're going to go play them and keep fighting."
