NFL Week 9 preview 2025: Minnesota Vikings vs. Detroit Lions | Chris Simms Unbuttoned | NFL on NBC

The Vikings return to Detroit with a much different vibe than the last time the Vikings were in Detroit. That was the final game of the 2024 regular season with the one seat on the line. The Vikings, I don’t know what they are right now. JJ McCarthy is returning after a 7-week absence. The Lions had their by-week and the Lions are looking very good. They’re 5-2. They’re favored by eight and a half with an overunder of 48.5. 94% of the spread money is on the Lions. Yeah. What do you think? Yeah. I I’m I I think this is a Lions ass whooping coming to a theater near you. All right. That’s what I think is coming right here. I mean, the Lions are awesome. Like you said, they’re home after a by-week. Oh, and it’s basically a rookie quarterback who was very shaky before he got hurt. Now he’s going to go in and not be shaky. and then we don’t have a run game to really rely on there in Minnesota as we’ve discussed week in and week out and this is not the week you’re going to jump start it. Detroit’s not going to let you run the ball. They don’t let anybody run the ball really. So that’s where I look at that. The Lions got to be a little healthier as far as having that by week. But the big problem and what everything relies on is the Vikings defense. And the Vikings defense as we know is as well coached as there is. But there’s just not enough talent there to, in my opinion, to match up with some of the best offenses in football. And you know better than anybody, you guys can’t really stop the run that well unless you crowd the line of scrimmage and do all that crazy Flores stuff. So within that though, you got to be careful about doing that crazy stuff. You got all these people at the line of scrimmage. Jared Goff says, S Hut is Jameson Williams and Aman Ross St. Brown flying down the field and your safeties are three yards from the line of scrimmage. Guess what? you’re in deep They’re going deep. It’s going to be a touchdown. So, that’s where I think it almost chops a a leg of creativity away from Flores to stop the run and that’s where I think they’re going to be in trouble. Uh the guy the Lions, as we know, are so explosive on that side of the ball. 3517 Lions. Yeah, look, I I have no illusions about this one. It’s good that JJ McCarthy’s back, but this will be his third career regular season game. It’s his first game in Michigan since he beat Ohio State in 2023 with the Wolverines. But hey, if if the Vikings pull this one off, then it will be one of those, okay, maybe they have something and then they’ll lose two in a row after that like we already established with some of these other teams. But I just don’t see a set of facts where the Vikings can win this one and I think they know it and the Lions know it. Their only hope is for the Lions to be complacent, but I don’t think that’ll be the case. A couple of factors there. They’re starting to realize Jir Gibbs is the guy. Some of the comments in the aftermath of their most recent game, it’s clear that they get it, that they understand that he’s a special talent. And as much as they’d like to split the touches, I think it it’s in the process of going to starter backup, not not not Sonic and Knuckles. You’ve heard me been saying for two years, right? Like go you got to give him more touches. He’s just too explosive. you’re leaving yards on the field with him not getting the ball. And the other factor is the contract extension for Aiden Hutchinson because now he can quit worrying about carrying the injury risk, right? The the Lions have assumed it to the tune of $141 million in injury guarantees. He can finally and not that he was he’s playing well while he’s carrying that injury risk coming off of the serious lower leg injury from last year. Now he’s completely and totally free to things up for the Vikings. 42 to13 the Lions. And I’ll tell you now, it’s probably going to be one of my best bets. Yeah, I think it’s at 8 and a half. It’s probably going to be a best bet. It can trend that way for me as well. I hear you. It’s definitely been starred on my documents there to go that could be a possible best bet right there. Yo yo yo. Thanks for watching homies. We are now in the NFL season here on Chris Sims Unbutton. Hit subscribe to get our weekly picks, game recaps, film deep dives, and much, much more. Thanks again for watching. Subscribe, rate, review. Peace out. You know where to find us.

J.J. McCarthy is set to return for Minnesota for his third-career start, but Detroit is coming off a bye week, and Chris Simms is predicting the Lions to whoop the Vikings with not much disagreement from Mike Florio. #NBCSports #NFL #ChrisSimmsUnbuttoned
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NFL Week 9 preview 2025: Minnesota Vikings vs. Detroit Lions | Chris Simms Unbuttoned | NFL on NBC
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22 comments

  7. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Vikings win. Goff is great when he has lots of time in the pocket but when he’s pressured he makes poor decisions. The Vikings are going to gamble on defense and blitz like crazy. If they can get some turnovers and get the lead anything can happen.

  11. Things are tough in Minnesota when Mike Florio predicts the Lions win 42-13 over his beloved Vikings even though the spread is only -8.5. Respect Mike.

  12. It's something about those UofM kid's. Every time one of them returns to the state they ball out on us. Look at what mikey did to us in the playoffs with Washington last year in detroit broke my heart.

  19. As a Vikings fan it's pretty clear our season is dead just tank the restbof the games so we can get a good draft pick and maybe get a QB that can stay healthy through 1 game and ain't scared

  22. Vikings will need turnovers to get a win. Detroit will have to self destruct and that's probably not going to happen. Detroit still has to play good, Minnesota isn't going to just give them a win.

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