Minnesota Vikings: 4 Steps to Beating the Lions
By Luke Sims
Sep 8, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson (81) celebrates after catching a pass in the end zone for a touchdown in the first quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at Ford Field. The play was ruled no touchdown after being reviewed. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
3) Stop Calvin Johnson
This may seem obvious, especially with the Minnesota Vikings playing the Detroit Lions two times each year, but Calvin Johnson simply cannot be overlooked.
With 59 targets so far this season, Johnson is the sixth most targeted receiver in the NFL. He’s also coming down with a lot of them, catching 64 percent of those targets for 38 total receptions (ninth in the NFL). The catch rate is not going to inspire fear, but it is as a result of teams paying increased attention to him. Left alone, Johnson is more than capable of dominating a football game.
The Minnesota Vikings are used to seeing Johnson and should be able to limit him in the game. In Week 2 of this season, Johnson was kept to under 100 yards, but was still a primary offensive weapon with 10 catches. The year before, the Vikings held Johnson to just 53 yards in the one game he had against them.
The ability to shut him down is there and the Vikings will need to make it a priority once again. Stafford, as discussed earlier, is a capable quarterback and won’t hesitate to fire tough balls toward Johnson. It is the duty of the Vikings defense to make sure the defender(s) can make a play.
One benefit of Johnson being such a dominant offensive threat is that Stafford will take shots toward him when he otherwise would not. This has led to three interceptions, as measured by Pro Football Focus (a third of his total picks) when throwing to Megatron. The Vikings should be able to take advantage of that with a secondary that is hungry for turnovers.
Next: Convert third downs, or risk falling behind