Vikings struggle to score – and win – against Detroit Lions in Mike Zimmer era

[purplefaithful]

Puzzle all you want about the Vikings’ 2-5 record against the Detroit Lions since 2014, over how two aggravating losses against the Lions were all that kept the Vikings from wresting a playoff berth from the tumult of their 2016 season, and then consider this:
It’s awfully hard to win games consistently when you average 15.3 points.
That’s been the Vikings’ scoring rate against the Lions in the Mike Zimmer era, dating to a 17-3 loss where Teddy Bridgewater was sacked eight times in an Oct. 12, 2014, meeting. The Vikings’ only two wins over the Lions came in 2015 and were also the only games where they’ve scored more than 17 points. Last year, they managed just 16 against Detroit before losing in overtime at U.S. Bank Stadium, and mustered only 13 three weeks later in a Thanksgiving Day loss.
Last month, a week after Case Keenum won NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors for his performance against Tampa Bay, the Vikings scored just one touchdown in a 14-7 loss at home.
That game still stands as the Vikings’ most recent defeat, and if they’re going to put themselves in command of the NFC North with a Thanksgiving Day win at Ford Field this year, they’ll have to solve a Lions defense that hasn’t given them much.
http://www.startribune.com/vikings-strug...459223813/

[Guest]

The Vikings offense has coalesced around Keenum since the last time they played the Lions, and the quarterback has used his mobility to create big plays outside the pocket.
He’s found some success while taking chances, to the point where Zimmer praised the quarterback’s intestinal fortitude by complimenting a different part of his anatomy Tuesday.
“He’s not afraid,” Zimmer said. “He’s going to pull the trigger, and he is going to play like that. That’s a good thing.”
As the Vikings saw last week, they don’t have to get all their big gains by throwing downfield. Thielen’s 65-yard touchdown came on a 4-yard pass to the receiver, who made an inside move on cornerback Dominique Hatfield and raced the final 61 yards for a score after a Rams blitz left them without a deep safety.
“We threw a little hitch route, they were in the right coverage, he made a guy miss and went 65,” Keenum said. “Things like that, you can’t force those things. You have to let those things come to you.”
Short of that, the Vikings know they could find themselves in another game where they’re forced to grind out drives. They’re 11-for-34 on third downs in their past three losses to the Lions; they know they need to be better.
“Every game this time of year is big,” Thielen said. “Last week, it did. This week feels the same way. We’ve got to prepare and be ready to play.”

[Guest]

They really need to win at least one of the next 3:

@ Detroit
@ Atl
@ Carolina

Win 2 of the next 3? Well that would be swell..