Are the Lions Battle-Tested Enough?

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell watches a play against Seattle Seahawks during the first half at Ford Field in Detroit on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. © Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.

The Minnesota Vikings host the Detroit Lions on Sunday, another game where they’ll face a formidable foe. Of course, that is par for the course this season for Minnesota, as their schedule has been nothing short of a gauntlet. That means Kevin O’Connell’s team has been through the wringer, but the opposition hasn’t seen that quite as much.

Are the Lions Battle-Tested Enough?

The Detroit Lions are 4-1 and are fresh off an absolute shellacking of the Dallas Cowboys. There has rarely been a question about the explosiveness of their offense. They showed a solid ability to shut down Dak Prescott on Sunday, but there’s a chance that Mike McCarthy’s team is actually a stinker.

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Thus far this season, the Lions have hosted the Los Angeles Rams, traveled to Tampa Bay, beat the Cardinals in Arizona, and won over the Seahawks at home. All of that was prior to their road victory against Dallas, and the lone loss was a tight contest against Baker Mayfield at Ford Field. Of the teams they have played, only the Buccaneers truly stand out as notable opponents. Of course, they lost that game.

Every week, the NFL has produced puzzling results this year. The Vikings have yet to find a loss, but that doesn’t mean they are set up to run the table. The Lions have dropped just a single game, but it was against the best foe they have faced.

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Dallas basically gave Dan Campbell’s team a bye on Sunday. The big news, despite the score, was that Aidan Hutchinson is now out for the year following a gruesome leg injury. Not only is it unfortunate to see such an impressive competitor go down, but Detroit lost one of its best players against its toughest opponent.

Minnesota rested up following a trip overseas, and they’ll now have the benefit of additional preparation ahead of another divisional opponent. The hope is that O’Connell and his squad can put the team in a strong position to come out victorious. Not all records are created equal, and similar to where the Chicago Bears are, the Detroit Lions may not be able to rest on what they have accomplished thus far either.

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It’s time for the Vikings to go out and take it.

Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes daily for Minnesota Sports Fan. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.