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Week 6 Game Recap: Detroit Lions 10, Minnesota Vikings 12
What you need to know
| Detroit Lions |
The Lions kept this game close by playing well on defense but were unable to come away with the victory due to making few big plays on offense. Apart from one big run by Kevin Smith, he and Rudi Johnson combined to average 2.38 yards per carry. Smith only had five carries in the game, all in the first half, as the Lions utilized Johnson exclusively as their feature back in the second half. Johnson attacked the line of scrimmage aggressively, but was unable to gain many yards past the line of scrimmage, although he did use his power to gain an extra yard after initial contact.
As a result of their ineffective rushing game, and having to start the untested Dan Orlovsky at quarterback as Jon Kitna did not make the trip to Minnesota, Detroit tried to rely on a short passing game. Orlovsky found himself under intense pressure from the Vikings' pass rushers, and as a result the Lions mixed in some designed rollouts for him. He showed good poise in the face of the pass rush, although he did not make big plays while in the pocket. However, he seemed comfortable rolling out, as he was able to get additional time to throw. He showed a strong arm when given time to throw, and directed most of his long passes to Calvin Johnson, and seemed most comfortable with him.
The Lions attempted five plays on two possessions in the red zone, and came away with one touchdown and a field goal. They only ran twice, with Smith and Johnson getting one carry apiece. Orlovsky lost the ball on the snap on one red zone possession, was sacked on another, and connected on the only red zone throw he actually threw, to Johnson for a touchdown.
| Minnesota Vikings |
The Vikings made enough adjustments against an aggressive and tough Lions defense to generate enough big plays to stay close throughout the game and kick a field goal at the end to eventually win the game. Adrian Peterson overcame losing two fumbles and a slow first half to help Minnesota come away with the victory. Peterson had 25 rushing attempts while backup Chester Taylor only had five carries. Between the two, 20 percent of their carries were stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage.
Gus Frerotte played well, and although he was blitzed frequently by Detroit, remained poised and led his team to victory. He displayed a strong arm on occasions, and was accurate on his shorter throws as well. Most of his incompletions came as a result of successful blitzes by the Lions, but he maintained his composure and kept fighting to keep his team's drives moving. Frerotte benefited from some big plays by his receivers, as Bernard Berrian, Bobby Wade and Jim Kleinsasser all turned shorter, accurate passes into big gains. Berrian broke free from his defender and outran the other Lions en route to an 86 yard touchdown. Frerotte spread the ball around, but seemed in sync mostly with Berrian.
The Vikings ran nine plays on three red zone possessions, and came away with one touchdown, a lost fumble, a missed field goal and the game winning field goal. Eight of the plays were running plays, with Peterson carrying the ball six times and Taylor the other two. Peterson had gained a first down on his run where he lost a fumble just one yard from the end zone. He was the featured player by far once Minnesota got into the red zone.
What you ought to know
| QB Dan Orlovsky, Pass: 12 - 21 - 150 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - 0 - 0 |
Orlovsky showed poise at times, but was rattled at others, none more evident than when he took a snap in his own end zone and ran out of the end zone for a safety while trying to elude the Vikings' pass rush. He was under duress for a good portion of the game, and as a result threw short passes from the pocket. However, when he rolled out to throw a pass, he displayed a very strong arm and the confidence to go deep to his receivers and try to make big plays. He seemed most confident in Calvin Johnson as his go-to receiver for big plays, as Johnson was the only receiver he threw a deep pass to.
| RB Rudi Johnson, Rush: 17 - 38 - 0, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (2 targets) |
Johnson started the game, but although he received the bulk of the running workload, was unable to capitalize on his opportunities. He ran hard and with power, but although he would gain an extra yard or two after contact, he was unable to break free for any runs in excess of ten yards. He seemed to be tackled just as it appeared he was gaining momentum through the line of scrimmage.
| RB Kevin Smith, Rush: 5 - 62 - 0, Rec: 2 - 11 - 0 (2 targets) |
Smith ran hard, but did not have any opportunities in the second half, despite breaking off a 50 yard run while showing good ability to make defenders miss as he got to the second level of the defense. Apart from that run he did not come close to making any additional big plays.
| RB Jerome Felton, Rush: 1 - 0 - 0 |
The fullback was used almost exclusively as a blocker, and had one failed short yardage carry.
| WR Calvin Johnson, Rec: 4 - 85 - 1 (8 targets) |
Johnson and Orlovsky had a solid connection, with Johnson not only being targeted the most, but being the only deep target in this game. He was targeted five times on deep patterns, which he ran well, getting open on most of them thanks to a combination of excellent speed and good route running. Johnson displayed good hands as well as running after securing shorter passes. He left the game after absorbing a hard hit late in the game, on a controversial play where it was ruled he had fumbled, and did not return afterwards.
| WR Roy Williams, Rec: 2 - 23 - 0 (3 targets) |
Williams was not targeted often, and was targeted only on shorter routes. The only pass he did not catch was one he actually caught, but part of his foot was correctly ruled out of bounds.
| WR Mike Furrey (1 targets) |
Furrey was targeted once, but it was on an important third down play with less than five minutes remaining in the game. He got open past the first down marker, but Orlovsky missed him, forcing Detroit to punt.
| WR Shaun McDonald |
McDonald played sparingly but did not have a pass thrown his way.
| TE Michael Gaines, Rec: 2 - 24 - 0 (3 targets) |
Gaines caught the short passes thrown his way, but fumbled one of them. Fortunately, Roy Williams was able to pick it up and retain possession for Detroit.
| TE John Owens, Rec: 1 - 3 - 0 (1 targets) |
Owens' involvement was minimal.
| PK Jason Hanson 1 - 1 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 4 points |
Hanson made his only point after attempt as well as the only field goal he attempted, which was from 40 yards.
| DET Rush Defense |
Detroit's rush defense did a commendable job limiting the big plays by Peterson in the first half, but although they forced him to fumble twice and recovered them, he was able to make several significant plays. The Lions used an aggressive run blitz, which was effective in spurts, but overall they gave up over 100 yards rushing to Peterson and over 4.0 yards per carry to Peterson and Taylor combined.
| DET Pass Defense |
The Lions were aggressive and blitzed Frerotte often. Four of their five sacks were due to effective blitzes, and they recorded their first interception of the season. However they fell victim to a few big plays that had significant impact on the outcome of the game. Three different Vikings receivers took short passes and turned them into gains of 34, 46 and 86 yards as Detroit's defenders did a poor job of stopping them.
| QB Gus Frerotte, Pass: 18 - 33 - 296 - 1 TD / 1 INT |
Frerotte faced a very aggressive pass rush and had difficulty establishing a rhythm early. However he remained calm and kept making enough passes to complement his running game, by looking for focusing on the short to intermediate passing game that enabled him to pass the ball earlier. He only threw deep three times, and instead tried to deliver the ball to his receivers in stride to better enable them to gain yards after the catch. Frerotte seemed most comfortable throwing to his wide receivers, as both Bernard Berrian and Bobby Wade were targeted the most.
| RB Adrian Peterson, Rush: 25 - 111 - 0, Rec: 1 - -5 - 0 (2 targets) |
Peterson ran with aggression and finished off his runs by attacking the defenders. He lost two fumbles while striving for extra yards and being hit in timely fashion by the defense. Peterson showed great acceleration through the line of scrimmage, and only the Lions' swarming defense prevented him from gaining even more yards. He was the featured person in the Vikings; red zone offense, garnering six of the eight red zone running plays.
| RB Chester Taylor, Rush: 5 - 21 - 0, Rec: 3 - 33 - 0 (4 targets) |
Taylor did not have many opportunities during the game, but took advantage of his limited opportunities by averaging just over4 yards per carry, and 11 yards per reception.
| WR Bernard Berrian, Rush: 1 - 3 - 0, Rec: 5 - 131 - 1 (7 targets) |
Berrian and Frerotte continued to develop their rapport, with Berrian showing he could run shorter and intermediate routes well. He showcased his speed and elusiveness by turning several shorter passes into long gains, including running one in 86 yards for a touchdown. The only passes Berrian did not catch were one that was thrown too low and anther where Berrian's defender was called for a foul.
| WR Bobby Wade, Rec: 4 - 71 - 0 (7 targets) |
Wade was used mostly on shorter routes, and a couple of intermediate routes. He ran them precisely, getting open and showing good ability to run in the open field.
| WR Robert Ferguson, Rec: 2 - 16 - 0 (3 targets) |
Ferguson was used exclusively as a short yardage, possession receiver.
| WR Aundrae Allison (5 targets) |
Although Allison did not have a reception, he was more involved than his lack of stats suggest. He managed to get open deep three times, but Frerotte missed him twice and he was able to get a penalty called on the defender covering him on the third pass. That penalty was on Minnesota's final drive, which resulted in the game-winning field goal.
| TE Jim Kleinsasser, Rec: 2 - 40 - 0 (2 targets) |
Kleinsasser turned a short pass into a significant gain, and his second reception went for a first down on the Vikings' final drive.
| TE Visanthe Shiancoe, Rec: 1 - 10 - 0 (1 targets) |
Shiancoe caught the only pass thrown his way.
| PK Ryan Longwell 1 - 2 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 4 points |
Longwell made his only point after attempt, had a 38 yard field goal attempt blocked and made the game winning kick from 26 yards.
| MIN Rush Defense |
Minnesota's rush defense was very effective, holding the Lions running backs to 50 yards on 21 carries, except for a 50 yard run by Kevin Smith. They held up to the strong running attempts by Rudi Johnson and did not allow him to break free for big gains.
| MIN Pass Defense |
The Vikings' pass defense was aggressive, and prevented Orlovsky from becoming comfortable in the pocket. They blitzed at times, but generated a lot of their pressure from their front four, led by defensive tackle Kevin Williams' four sacks. Their pressure caused Orlovsky to roll out of the pocket on designed plays in an effort to buy some more time, and forced him to run out of the end zone for a safety. Fittingly, the game ended with Minnesota sacking Orlovsky.
