EAGAN, Minn. — The stakes are high, but not as extreme as vying for the NFC's No. 1 seed.

Minnesota goes to Detroit this weekend, seeking to perform better than it did 300 days ago when the Lions topped the Vikings 31-9 in a Week 18 matchup between 14-win teams with titanic implications.

The Vikings arrived with 50/50 odds of a first-round playoff bye and left Ford Field as the conference's fifth seed, raising the difficulty of their Wild Card loss one week later to the Los Angeles Rams.

That was then … this is now.

Minnesota has the next 10 weeks to correct course from its 3-4 start, and it could acquire serious momentum with a second divisional win in its second divisional try of 2025. It's unfortunate, however, that the Vikings don't have much room for error – or many more losses – in an absolutely stacked NFC.

One bearer of the great organizational hope propelling Minnesota is young team captain J.J. McCarthy, who is set to start again after fully recovering from injury. His fill-in QB1, Carson Wentz, hit Injured Reserve on Monday after five gritty starts that featured a model of efficiency Sept. 21 against Cincinnati and an exciting comeback Oct. 5 versus Cleveland to maintain the club's perfect record in London games.

As is always the case, the goal for the Vikings on Sunday is to play 60 minutes of complementary football.

Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell announced C.J. Ham, Jeff Okudah and Josh Oliver will not play Sunday, and Christian Darrisaw, Joshua Metellus, Brian O'Neill and Andrew Van Ginkel are questionable.

Vikings Uniform

Minnesota will wear its primary road uniform set, featuring white jerseys and purple pants.

3 Vikings Storylines

1. McCarthy making 3^rd NFL start

A torn meniscus last preseason and a high-ankle sprain sustained mid-game six weeks ago has dampened the beginning of McCarthy's career. Out of a possible 24 games, the 2024 10^th overall pick has played two. And in those, the offense averaged 16.5 points, 127 pass yards and 12 first downs per game.

The fourth quarter of his debut at Chicago, though, offered a good look at the 22-year-old's upside.

In those final 15 minutes, McCarthy registered a 149.5 rating with 87 passing yards at a 75 percent clip, plus two touchdowns through the air and another on the ground from 14 yards away via a read option.

He received NFC Offensive Player of the Week accolades in the wake of that game for mounting the second double-digit fourth-quarter comeback in a quarterback's first regular-season start in history, joining Pro Football Hall of Fame QB Steve Young, who achieved the same for the Buccaneers in 1985.

Both are true: McCarthy's limitations due to injury are inconvenient, and he has tremendous potential.

And by the way, in hindsight, McCarthy's encore versus Atlanta wasn't that bad. The Falcons defense entered Week 9 atop the NFL in fewest passing yards allowed; in five of six other games this season, opposing quarterbacks have passed for fewer than 200 – Baker Mayfield (167), Bryce Young (121), Marcus Mariota (156), Josh Allen (180) and Mac Jones (152). The lone exception is Tua Tagovailoa, who notched 205 in a surprising rout of Atlanta last Sunday. McCarthy had 158 with 14.4 per completion.

Here are things to be aware of Sunday when he takes his first live reps since Sept. 14: First, McCarthy focused with coaches on conditioning his eyes and feet as he rehabbed his ankle injury, meaning he worked to sync up his sightline with his drops and steps in the pocket with the intent of sharpening his accuracy; he also closely observed positives displayed by Wentz, such as the veteran's timeliness reading defenses and the power of completions. Above all else, McCarthy's health and his confidence improved.

"Is [J.J.'s performance] going to be perfect? No, and it doesn't have to be," O'Connell commented Wednesday. "It just needs to be clear and obvious to me that he's got a good grasp on doing his job, technique, fundamentals, progressions. And I believe in his talent and his ability, that that will show up."

Here's one more thing to chew on: Since Detroit Head Coach Dan Campbell took over in 2021, the Lions are 0-2 against quarterbacks in their first three career starts. Detroit lost to Chicago and Justin Fields, 24-14, in Week 4 of 2021 and got shut out versus New England and Bailey Zappe in Week 5 the next year.

2. All about the response

Don't you know? Adversity necessitates growth.

Eight weeks and seven games of overcoming obstacles and willing a way to three wins has led Minnesota here – to Ford Field with a real chance to revitalize its goals for the year in a roaring division atmosphere.

During chats with reporters on Thursday, offensive and defensive coordinators Wes Phillips and Brian Flores were in lockstep regarding this week's test; they discussed the objective of "responding," with a communicable confidence.

"People may not feel this way, but the best thing, in my opinion, is to go play a division team who's a very good football team on the road," Phillips told the media. "Guys are going to respond. Guys are going to come out ready to play football, and we'll roll the ball out there and we'll see what happens."

The season is long, after all. And things can change in a wink.

"There's ebbs and flows," Flores said. "But it's always about how you respond in those situations. And I think we've got a really good group here, a special group, and I'm confident we'll respond the right way."

Obviously, a win at Detroit, which is 9-1 at home since Sept. 30 last season, will demand the Vikings very best in everything. That means fewer self-inflicted mistakes. See: The team has committed 22 pre-snap penalties per NFLpenalties.com, tied with Tennessee for the eighth most in the NFL. It also entails greater execution in weightier moments. See: One year ago, Minnesota's defense recorded six sacks, six picks and two forced fumbles on 113 snaps with offenses in third-and-7-or-longer situations. In 44 such instances this year, the group has two sacks and no takeaways (a splash play rate of 4.5 percent vs. the 12.4 rate of last season). Also, the Vikings offense must prioritize protection – of the football and their young quarterback. See: McCarthy was sacked on 18% of his pass attempts his first two times out. Wentz was sacked on 10.11%.

Phillips emphasized that McCarthy has to "be on top of making some checks" to ensure he's protected.

3. Flores' group looks to rebound

Minnesota's defense is itching for a get-right game after two challenging weeks.

There's no sugarcoating the woes, only accepting them for what they were and what they could teach the Vikings about what they want to become – i.e. dependably destructive and unflappable in the clutch.

Feel free to skip this next part:

Ninety-six-ish hours after the Vikings allowed a season-high 28 points to the Eagles in Week 7, the Chargers posted 37 on Minnesota on Thursday Night Football. That double dose of action included Flores' crew yielding an average of 390 total yards and 264 pass yards – roughly 100 yards more in each category than it gave up per games in Weeks 1-5. Most notably, the purple defense has whiffed on recent chances to get off the field; Philly and L.A. converted 52.2 percent of third downs (a 22% surge from Weeks 1-5).

If the mini-bye Minnesota is coming off resolved even just a few of the defense's outstanding issues, such as missed tackles, and containment of quarterbacks and takeaway production, or lack thereof, then it could generate an opportunity for the Vikings to reestablish themselves. If not, though, watch out …

Because Jared Goff knows Minnesota's vulnerable spots. He's clipped 69.94% of his passes for 2,884 yards, 18 touchdowns and five picks in seven wins (five consecutive) and three losses facing the Vikings.

The 31-year-old and No. 1 overall draft pick in 2016 is one of eight quarterbacks since at least 1970 to throw 15 or more TDs and five or fewer INTs with 2,500-plus passing yards and a 65-percent-or-higher completion rate in his first 10 career starts versus a single opponent. That foe, of course, is Minnesota.

The others are Tom Brady (vs. Atlanta and Pittsburgh), Kirk Cousins (vs. Dallas and Detroit), Patrick Mahomes (vs. the Raiders), Peyton Manning (vs. Houston), Phillip Rivers (vs. Tennessee), Aaron Rodgers (vs. Detroit and San Francisco) and Steve Young (vs. the Rams). Goff replicated the feat against Arizona.

Suffice to say, he's a problem for which Minnesota needs a solution. Goff's top targets – spirited Amon-Ra St. Brown, speedster Jameson Williams and athletic tight end Sam LaPorta – are problematic, too.

Here's a final thought regarding Flores' unit and the challenge ahead in the Motor City: According to Next Gen Stats, the Vikings own the NFL's second-highest blitz rate, sending an extra rusher on 44.3 percent of opponent dropbacks. In turn, Goff is the league leader with a 137.7 passer rating vs. the blitz.

"Goff's as efficient as anyone in the league," Flores said.

2 Things 'Bout the Lions

1. Juggernaut defense

Aaron Glenn left his post as defensive coordinator for "green" pastures, becoming the Jets head coach.

It hasn't mattered.

Kelvin Sheppard is continuing Detroit's renaissance as the engineer of a defense that is fourth at thwarting the run (87.7 YPG), and ranks tied for fifth in takeaways (11) and sacks (23), eighth in yards permitted per play (5.0) and tied for 11^th in points allowed per game (21.6). It's the byproduct of a carried-over culture.

A play style, if you will, that is physical first and foremost, and equally skilled.

The leader of the pride is Aidan Hutchinson, who received a rich new deal this week. Hutchinson had 7.5 sacks in five games last season before a gnarly leg injury. He's back like he never left, amassing six takedowns in seven games to begin his fourth campaign. He paces the league's top pass-rush artists with three strip sacks (four forced fumbles), and is third with 39 QB pressures in 2025, per Next Gen Stats, behind Green Bay's Micah Parsons (44) and Denver's Nik Bonitto (40). In his most recent appearance versus the Vikings, Hutchinson logged 2.0 sacks and five QB hits in Week 18 of 2023.

He's not a one-man wrecking machine, though.

Detroit has talent next to and behind Hutchinson. Alex Anzalone was called "one of the best linebackers in this league" by Phillips, and his former teammate T.J. Hockenson said "it's a great challenge to go against him" because of his coverage chops and downhill "boom." Also, defensive tackle Alim McNeill commands double teams inside, and safeties Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph are instinctive and hawkish.

"I think there are some small schematic differences where you can see that Kelvin has put his touch on it, but [they're] similar [to Glenn's defense] in that they're very aggressive (and) very physical. They're a smart group," Phillips noted about Detroit's unit. "They challenge you in a lot of ways. Even if it's not bringing a lot of guys on a blitz. They know what they're doing based on protection, where the back is, the slides, all those types of things. So they do a great job there. They've got some great personnel. And they fit a scheme or fit the players into their scheme. One way or the other, they've done a heckuva job."

2. 'Sonic' and 'Knuckles'

Ben Johnson left his post as offensive coordinator for Chicago, becoming the Bears head coach.

It hasn't mattered, either.

Detroit's offense is revving under John Morton, who LaPorta dubbed in July as a "brilliant mind." The Lions are averaging 30.7 points a game this season, and 36.7 at home, so, yeah, that comment's verified.

"I think [Morton] plays to the strengths of the guys on the roster, like most good coaches do," said Flores, expressing that fundamentals will be extra pertinent against a loaded lineup. "They've got a good quarterback; it runs through him. They've got good receivers. They've got good backs. They've got a good o-line. And, you know, having that versatility or that variety allows them to have a balance offensively where it's, 'Hey, if you load up on a run, they're going to pass it. You load up on a pass, they're going to run it. You blitz, they've got screens. I mean, they've got an array of variety offensively."

Morton's energizer bunnies, or rather extremely fast blue hedgehog and brutally strong red echidna are running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, who are nicknamed after the video game characters.

Together, they're the only teammate duo in 2025 to date with 300-plus rush yards and 4-plus rush TDs each. They've scored a touchdown in the same game 14 times in their careers, which is tied with former Cowboys Emmitt Smith and Daryl Johnston for the most such games among RB duos in the Super Bowl era. And they helped Detroit produce an NFL-best seven runs of 20-plus yards from Weeks 1-7 this year.

There's not much else to be said, and yet there's not enough space to qualify their impacts.

Like clockwork, Detroit softens defenses with Montgomery and then slashes them with Gibbs.

Shifty and quick as a hummingbird, and a slippery tackle-breaker in his own right, Gibbs leads the Lions with 720 yards and seven touchdowns from scrimmage; he's one of five NFL players with at least 700 and seven in 2025. And like his quarterback, Gibbs relishes playing the Vikings. He toted the rock 38 times for 255 yards (6.7 avg.) and grabbed nine balls for 75, with six TDs, in two games against Minnesota last year.

Piggybacking off Flores' previous comments, the Vikings have to do all the non-sexy things correctly in the Lions den.

"For us, it's (about) fundamentals, technique, communication, everybody on the same page," he said, pointing out the buck stops with himself. "The premiums are setting edges, being physical, shedding violently – all those things that oftentimes are coach-speak or viewed as coach-speak. They're real things against really every team in the National Football League but certainly this one."

1 Key Matchup

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson vs. Lions CB Amik Robertson

There's history between these two.

Minnesota's main man said he's pretty sure Robertson is the only player he's competed against in high school, college and the NFL. In 2016, "Jets" and Destrehan HS celebrated their District 7-5A championship with a 48-33 win over Thibodaux HS and Robertson, a RB then who rushed for 168 yards and three TDs.

They met again in Baton Rouge in 2018 when LSU beat Louisiana Tech 38-21. As for the NFL …

Jefferson was targeted six times with Robertson guarding him in Week 18 last year and was limited to two receptions for 48 yards. Eleven weeks before that, in Minnesota's building, Jefferson handily won his lone matchup with Robertson, beating him on a fade route from inside the numbers for a 25-yard score. They've gone mano a mano on one other occasion as professionals, with Jets catching a pass for a first down before he left Minnesota's 3-0 loss to the Raiders (Robertson's original team) in Week 14 of 2023.

On the topic of history, Jefferson needs 342 yards to reset the all-time record for the most in a player's first six seasons (Randy Moss – 8,375) and 123 to eclipse Torry Holt (8,156) for the second most. Jefferson set the Vikings franchise mark for receiving yards in a game (223) at Detroit three years ago. And his 120.8 career average against the big cats is the most by any player versus any opponent since at least 1950 (min. 10 games), outdoing Julio Jones' 115.1 vs. the Bucs and Jerry Rice's 106.9 vs. the Bolts.

Robertson, a fourth-round draft pick in 2020, has played a career-high 74% of the defensive snaps in 2025 (his old high was 60% for Las Vegas in 2022-23). In seven contests, he's allowed 21 catches on 31 targets, with a trio of touchdowns against him and one interception, according to Pro Football Focus.

Jefferson's connection to Robertson, as well as Sheppard, who teamed with the receiver's oldest brother Jordan at LSU in the late 2000s, adds a familiarity to Sunday's battle that naturally makes things personal.

"I love his competitive spirit," Jefferson said of Robertson, calling him a baller. "I love the way he approaches the game, his energy, you know, his trash talk, that's all something that I'm used to, with knowing him and playing against him. I just love that type of energy and love that type of competition."

Top Quote of Week 9

Vikings Offensive Coordinator Wes Phillips on Lions DE Aidan Hutchinson

"Maybe he eases off a little bit with the new contract, like, just takes a breath or something, you know – please? But no, I mean, he's physical, all the things that they reward, [what] you like to see as a football fan, like players, who coaches feel like play the game the right way – quote unquote – but you like to see those guys get rewarded for what they've earned, and he's certainly one of those players."

From the Inbox | by Craig Peters

My name is Jessica, and I'm reaching out from Illinois. My 9-year-old son, Dallas, is a huge Vikings fan and absolutely adores Coach Kevin O'Connell. He's been so detailed and excited about dressing up as Coach O'Connell for Halloween — down to every last piece of the outfit!

He would be over the moon if there were any way for Kevin to see his costume. This would truly make his day (and probably his whole year!).

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for all the joy and inspiration your team brings to young fans like Dallas.

Skol!

— Jessica Barrie in Illinois

A little different than in some weeks, but it's not every day that a game preview is published on Halloween. Between that and the top-notch execution by Dallas with his costume, particularly down to the details, I thought more than just K.O. should have the opportunity to see this. (I made sure Jessica was OK with us including.)

Some games are tougher than others and some seasons are rougher than others, but O'Connell has taken numerous opportunities to lift up guests when they've visited practices, whether it's a young patient battling a severe medical condition, or families of military members who have passed away, O'Connell (and players) have made sure to welcome the guests and lift spirits.

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