Calvin Johnson (2012) with eight straight 100-yard games, all-time longest streak in league history. … Vikings QB Kirk Cousins, is second in NFL in passing yards with 2,521, most through eight games in team history. … Vikings WR Stefon Diggs has 29 catches for 352 yards i

If there was any optimism remaining after the Detroit Lions traded Golden Tate Womens Taylor Decker Jersey , the Minnesota Vikings buried it along with Matthew Stafford on Sunday. Stafford was sacked 10 times—a Vikings record—on Sunday as the offense failed to reach the end zone and the Lions dropped another ugly game, 24-9. Here’s how it happened. First quarterEzekiel Ansah was back, but the Lions defense remained vulnerable to start. The Minnesota Vikings took the opening drive for a touchdown, but they had to work for it. Facing a fourth-and-2 at midfield, Kirk Cousins found undrafted rookie Chad Beebe, who had thoroughly beat Teez Tabor for the first down. A few plays later, Latavius Murray would rush for a touchdown—although officially he fumbled in the endzone and it was recovered by Kyle Rudolph. The Lions found themselves down early. 7-0 Vikings.The Lions came out as many expected them to—with Theo Riddick in the slot. Unfortunately, it didn’t result in any points early. After just one first down, the Lions punted back to Minnesota. After a decent punt, the Lions forced a three-and-out and got the ball back in good field position. Detroit would take advantage, converting on a couple third down thanks to both TJ Jones and Marvin Jones Jr. A defensive penalty would set up the Lions first-and-goal at the Vikings’ 4-yard line as the first period came to an end.Second quarterUnfortunately, the Lions would only go backwards from there. First, a false start moved Detroit back five yards. A stuffed run and a throwaway later, Matthew Stafford was sacked on third down and the Lions settled for a field goal. 7-3 Vikings.The Vikings couldn’t answer, because Cousins made a terrible decision and Darius Slay made him pay. Slay notched his second interception of the year, putting the Lions immediately in Vikings territory. The Lions, once again, got into a goal-to-go situation, but, once again, had to settle for a field goal. A third-down screen play was busted by someone running the wrong route and Matt Prater was true again. 7-6 Vikings. The Vikings would strike back quickly. Thanks to a 70-yard run from Dalvin Cook—in which he was barely touched—Minnesota would quickly find themselves in the red zone. Just a couple plays later, the Vikings were able to capitalize on the opportunity, with Cousins finding Adam Thielen for a 2-yard touchdown. 14-6 Vikings.Stafford continued to be under duress as the Lions tried to work a two-minute drill to draw the game even before halftime. The pressure would be too much. Stafford was sacked and it would be too much for the Lions stagnant offense to bear. On third down, Theo Riddick went out of bounds, saving the Vikings a timeout... and Minnesota would make Detroit pay for the mistake.With 40 seconds on the clock, Cousins easily worked Minnesota into field goal position. Thankfully Taylor Decker Jersey White , Ezekiel Ansah picked up a huge sack in the red zone, forcing Minnesota to settle for a field goal. The Lions were getting outplayed, but it was just 17-6 Vikings at the half, with the ball coming to Detroit in the third quarter.Third quarterThe Lions couldn’t take advantage of getting the ball first as both teams traded punts to open the second half. Stafford continued to take sacks, while the Lions defense was bailed out by a drop on third down. As a result, the Lions’ second possession started inside their own 5-yard line. Detroit would earn one first down, but that’s it. Another sack would stall the drive and the Lions would punt again.The defense would continue to give the Lions’ offense some chance, but they would continually squander them. Stafford was sacked for the seventh and eighth time on the final drive of a scoreless third quarter.Fourth quarterThe Vikings took over on their own 22-yard line and marched down the field to start the quarter. They looked ready to punch it in again and potentially put the game away, when Cousins and Cook missed on a pitch that was recovered by A’Shawn Robinson.Starting in their own territory, the Lions faced another long field. Faced with a quick three-and-out, Detroit pulled out a rare fake punt and picked up the first down. Unfortunately, a horrible decision to pitch the ball by Stafford resulted in a scoop-and-score, pushing the deficit to 24-6 Vikings.With the outcome of the game no longer in doubt, the Lions meaninglessly moved down the field with six minutes remaining. Stafford converted a fourth-and-long pass to Kenny Golladay and the pair connected again three plays later to get into the red zone at the two-minute warning.Detroit never made it into the end zone. Stafford was sacked on second down for the 10th time on the day, overthrew a screen on third down and the Lions settled for their third field goal of the day with 73 seconds left on the clock. 24-9 Vikings.The Lions went for an onside kick to try for a miraculous victory, but Minnesota easily recovered. Head coach Matt Patricia decided to keep fighting until the end, calling timeouts after each Vikings run. Detroit got the ball back on its own 1-yard line with 46 seconds to go and plunged forward twice as the clock expired.The loss drops the Lions to 3-5 on the year, and their hopes of salvaging a season look to be slipping away at an increasingly fast rate. Next week, Detroit heads to Chicago for a matchup against the division-leading Chicago Bears. PregameEzekiel Ansah is active; as is Darius Slay and T.J. Lang. For the Vikings, Stefon Diggs is OUT, but Xavier Rhodes is in. It’s a key game between the Vikings and Lions, as both teams are a game or less out of first place in the NFC North. The Lions have never lost at U.S. Bank Stadium, but they’ve also never played there without Golden Tate. WHAT. WILL. HAPPEN? It’s time to find out who this Detroit Lions team is. Fans have had whiplash with the flip-flopping identity of this team since opening weekend. Every time the Lions seem to pack it in for the season, they pull themselves out of a hole and give their fanbase a reason for optimism. 0-2 start? Yeah, how about a huge win over the Patriots in primetime? Heartbreaking loss to the Cowboys? Follow it up by sacking Aaron Rodgers four times on the way to a decisive victory.But now the Lions face their toughest trap. Not only are they coming off from a hugely disappointing loss to the Seahawks, but they’ve also just traded away one of their best players. With the Minnesota Vikings on tap Quandre Diggs Jersey White , the outlook is bleak and Lions fans seem to know it. Our FanPulse polls suggest the average Lions fan is expecting a three-point loss this week. Meanwhile, the Vegas line has moved to Vikings -5.5.The good news for Detroit is that injury luck appears to be in their favor. The Lions are optimistic Ezekiel Ansah returns this week, while cornerback Darius Slay is expected to play despite a new knee injury. For the Vikings, however, they’ll be without linebacker Anthony Barr, starting left guard Tom Compton, and wide receiver Stefon Diggs is also not expected to play. Will that result in a Lions victory—their third straight in Minnesota? We’ll have to watch to find out. Here’s how you can do that. How to watch Lions-VikingsDate: Sunday, November 4, 2018Time: 1 p.m. ETLocation: U.S. Bank Stadium—Minneapolis, MNTV: FOX Week 9 TV Map: Courtesy of 506 Sports hereAnnouncers: Thom Brennaman, Chris Spielman, Jen HaleOnline streaming: Fox Sports Go, Yahoo Sports appLocal radio: WJR-AM NEWS TALK 760Radio announcers: Dan Miller, Lomas BrownOdds: Vikings by 5.5 MINNEAPOLIS 鈥?When Kirk Cousins and his family moved from Illinois to Michigan, his allegiance to the Bears was well-established.Leaving Chicagoland, Cousins wondered aloud to his dad whether they’d be required to become fans of the Lions and the other Detroit-area teams.More Vikings coverageTop Tweets: Minnesota teams send best wishes to GophersVikings sign veteran guard KlineVikings agree to terms with kicker Dan BaileyVikings add RB depth, re-sign Ameer AbdullahFormer Vikings guard Easton agrees to four-year deal with Saints“He said, ‘Kirk, you can take the boy out of Chicago. You can’t take Chicago out of the boy,'” Cousins recalled this week.Loyal to the Bears they remained, but inside Michigan’s borders the Lions always received top TV billing. So Cousins moved through his teenage years and on to college at Michigan State with more than adequate coverage of the Lions, a clear familiarity that has only deepened now that Cousins has joined a different team in the NFC North in Minnesota.The Vikings (4-3-1) will host the Lions (3-4) on Sunday, the first time Cousins, who’s second in the NFL with 2,521 passing yards, will face his home state’s squad as a division rival.“I think with every game we play http://www.lionslockerroom.com/authentic-quandre-diggs-jersey , I can point to something about the team or an opponent on the team or a coach or whatever it might be that makes you feel like you’re living a dream,” Cousins said, “and certainly going against the Detroit Lions is no different being that I grew up in that state.”With the Bears (4-3) and Green Bay Packers (3-3-1) bunched in, too, this game will be the first of several in the second half of the season to shape a tight race.“Division games count for two,” Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “You get the win, and they get the loss. They’re big games, and the more you can go and win those, whether on the road or at your place, the better. We have a big stretch of them coming up.”Here are some other key angles to follow with the game:MATCHING MEGATRONAdam Thielen leads the NFL with 74 receptions and 925 yards for the Vikings. With at least 100 yards in each of the first eight games, Thielen has tied Lions legend Calvin Johnson for the longest streak in league history. Johnson’s run was in 2012, when he set the all-time NFL record with 1,964 yards.As a football-loving kid living in Minnesota, Thielen naturally tried to emulate Cris Carter and Randy Moss. But Johnson was another star wide receiver he closely watched. Johnson, who retired after the 2015 season, wore No. 21 in college at Georgia Tech. So did Thielen at Detroit Lakes High School, not coincidentally.“He could block, he could run short routes, he could run deep routes, and he’d catch everything,” Thielen said. “When people were draped all over him, he’d still make the plays. I just remember a lot of games where Stafford would just throw the ball up, and there’d be three guys on him and he’d still come down with the ball.”With Stefon Diggs another dangerous option for Cousins, limiting Thielen has been even more of a challenge for opponents.“We’re going to have a hard time trying to handle him,” coach Matt Patricia said. “He runs really good routes. He has great change of direction. He can get vertically very quick. He understands zone coverage 鈥?he can sit down and find the open space 鈥?and he has great hands. So definitely will be a big issue for us.”7View Gallery Gallery:Upon Further Review: Vikings vs. SaintsBrad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports | Brad RempelGOLDEN’S GONEThough Johnson caused the Vikings secondary plenty of problems over his nine years in the league, Golden Tate did his share of damage Austin Bryant Jersey 2019 , too.In the first four wins by the Lions over the Vikings since Zimmer was hired in 2014, twice in his first year and twice in 2016, Tate totaled 228 yards and two touchdowns on 30 catches while being targeted 38 times. That included his聽game-winning somersault into the end zone in overtime聽in Minnesota in 2016, after Vikings standouts Xavier Rhodes and Harrison Smith missed their attempts to tackle him.Last season, the Vikings limited Tate to just seven receptions for 36 yards over their two matchups. Now he’s gone, having been聽traded to Philadelphia聽.“I was surprised about that. He was their main guy on third downs. He was great with yards after the catch,” Rhodes said, adding: “It was one of those situations where you were like, ‘Oh, let me check MY phone.'”GRIFFEN GETTING GOINGVikings defensive end Everson Griffen, who has 7陆 sacks in eight games against the Lions since becoming a starter in 2014, made his聽season debut last week聽after missing five games to seek mental health treatment. Griffen played 37 of 53 snaps against New Orleans.“My No. 1 goal is just to keep on going out there and knocking the rust off more and more each day, but I’m feeling good,” Griffen said.GAME ON THE GROUNDAfter finishing last, third-to-last and last in the NFL in rushing over the previous three years, the Lions have revived their long-languishing ground game with the arrival of rookie Kerryon Johnson. With an average of nearly 110 yards per game, they’re 16th in the league this week.“It’s mostly what the offensive line’s doing. No matter how good a running back is, he needs the offensive line, period,” Vikings defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson said. “Ain’t too many Barry Sanders in the league.”—DETROIT (3-4) at MINNESOTA (4-3-1)Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT, FOXOPENING LINE 鈥?Vikings by 7RECORD VS. SPREAD 鈥?Detroit 4-3, Minnesota 4-3-1SERIES RECORD 鈥?Vikings lead 72-39-2LAST MEETING 鈥?Vikings beat Lions 30-23 on Nov. 23, 2017LAST WEEK 鈥?Lions lost to Seahawks 28-14; Vikings lost to Saints 30-20AP PRO32 RANKING 鈥?Lions No. 19, Vikings No. 9LIONS OFFENSE 鈥?OVERALL (8), RUSH (8) Color Rush Austin Bryant Jersey , PASS (8).LIONS DEFENSE 鈥?OVERALL (12), RUSH (16), PASS (4).VIKINGS OFFENSE 鈥?OVERALL (6), RUSH (13), PASS (4).VIKINGS DEFENSE 鈥?OVERALL (6), RUSH (5), PASS (9).STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES 鈥?Lions have won first two visits to U.S. Bank Stadium and four of last seven on road vs. Vikings, following streak of 13 straight losses in Minnesota. … This is first division road game for Lions under coach Matt Patricia. Lions are 21-10 vs. NFC North foes since start of 2013 season, best such record in division. … Lions QB Matthew Stafford has posted 95.0 passer rating in six consecutive games, longest run in Lions history. Since start of 2016 season, Stafford has 23 such games, trailing only Saints QB Drew Brees (29) and Falcons QB Matt Ryan (27). … Lions RB Kerryon Johnson has 466 rushing yards, most through seven games by rookie in team history since Barry Sanders (597 in 1989). … Lions DE Romeo Okwara has sack in each of last four games, tied for longest in team history. … Lions tied for third in NFL in sacks per game. … Vikings WR Adam Thielen tied with former Lions WR Calvin Johnson (2012) with eight straight 100-yard games, all-time longest streak in league history. … Vikings QB Kirk Cousins, is second in NFL in passing yards with 2,521, most through eight games in team history. … Vikings WR Stefon Diggs has 29 catches for 352 yards in four career games vs. Lions. … Vikings DE Everson Griffen has 11陆 sacks and 21 QB hits in 14 career games vs. Lions. … Vikings FS Harrison Smith has three sacks and three interceptions. No player in NFL hit both marks last season. … Fantasy Tip: After trade of Lions WR Golden Tate to Eagles, WR Kenny Golladay should have greater involvement. Had only three targets over last two games, after averaging nine over first five.