4 Lions that can have the most success against the Vikings

We already know that Aidan Hutchinson is going to put pressure on any quarterback the Lions face. Only Micah Parsons and Nick Bosa have more pressures than Hutchinson this year. This is a game where he can get home though. There's multiple reasons as to why.

The first is that this Vikings offensive line has struggled as of late. They've allowed just 35 sacks this season. 20 of those came in the last seven games. That's the 10th most in the last seven weeks.

The other thing is that Vikings starting right tackle Brian O'Neil has yet to practice this week with an ankle injury that kept him out of the game against the Bengals and looks like it could keep him out of this one too. The Bengals got three sacks in that game. 

The final thing is that Nick Mullens is the first quarterback that the Lions have played in a while that doesn't have the ability to get mobile on defenses. Mullens has seven career rushing yards on 40 rushing attempts in 18 starts. He's also been sacked 39 times in 18 starts. Hutchinson should get home at least once in this one. 

Jared Goff

There's some real concern about the Vikings defensive line in this game and it's warranted to a point. They're able to get home and they do some exotic blitz's and all that fun stuff. The Problem with the Vikings defense is that if you can get a pass off against that blitz, they're in trouble. 

Per FTN, the Vikings have 245 pass attempts on them when they blitz. That's more than anyone. They're allowing 71.8% of those passes to be completed. That's second in the NFL. The Vikings have allowed 14 touchdown passes while blitzing this year. That's the most in the NFL. 

Where that continues to fall into favor for Goff is that he will have his fully healthy offensive line blocking for him in this one. In the five games that he's had them blocking for him this year, he's completed 68.9% of his passes and has thrown for 521 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception against the blitz. The Lions are a pretty well equipped team when it comes to handling the blitz when they have their guys healthy and that's bad for the Vikings. 

Jahmyr Gibbs

I'm taking a risk here for sure. The thing is that I just don't believe that the Vikings run defense is as good as it looks on paper. I could wind up being totally wrong and I have no problem being totally wrong about stuff as long as I'm proven wrong. Here's what gives me pause. Here's who the Vikings have faced when it comes to run defense:

• Bucs: They're 29th in rushing yards this season. 
• Eagles: They're ninth in rushing yards and they put 259 yards on the Vikings.
• Chargers: They're 27th in rushing yards.
• Panthers: They're 17th in rushing yards.
• Chiefs: They're 20th in rushing yards.
• Bears: They're fifth in rushing yards and they put 162 yards on the Vikings
• 49ers: They're third in rushing and the Vikings did hold them to just 65 yards. That is pretty impressive and hard to look past. 
• Packers: They're 21st in rushing yards. 
• Falcons: They're 10th in rushing yards and they put 110 yards and on the Vikings.
• Saints: They're 18th in rushing yards.
• Broncos: They're 14th in rushing yards.
• Raiders: They're 32nd in rushing yards. 
• Bengals: They're 31st in rushing yards.

The Vikings have, for the most part, faced some of the worst rushing attacks in the NFL this year. With the exception of the 49ers, every time they face a top 10 unit, they get ran on and they get scored on. The Lions are the second best rushing attack in the league right now. 

David Montgomery is having a very good season, but I think Gibbs could be the more dangerous one here. He's currently averaging a league high 5.7 yards per carry and has the most 20 plus yard runs in the league this season. I think he can break one on this team. We'll see if I'm right or wrong on Christmas morning. 

Donovan Peoples-Jones

It's time for the weekly reach. I think this could be the week that Peoples-Jones gets that first touchdown for the Lions. I think it comes in the red zone where the Vikings defenses is allowing a touchdown on 69.2% of their opponents trips to the red zone at home. 

I think the point of the Peoples-Jones trade was to get a player that could get contested catches and help the Lions in the red zone. That's clearly not happened yet. I don't think he takes off from here, but I do think he gets one against the Vikings on Sunday.