The Minnesota Vikings will look to return to .500 when they head to Ford Field to take on the Detroit Lions on Sunday. Minnesota is trying to get back on track after an embarrassing 37-10 loss to the Chargers last Thursday night.

Unfortunately, the Lions are not only good again, sitting at 5-2 through seven games. But the Vikings haven’t beaten the Lions since Week 3 of 2022. Dan Campbell even got his first victory as the head coach of the Lions in Week 13 of 2021 on a last-second touchdown.

A Week 18 loss at Ford Field has lingered in Minnesota since last season. The 31-9 loss not only kept the Vikings from winning the NFC North, but they went from potentially holding the NFC’s No. 1 seed to having the No. 5 seed, forcing them to play on the road in the Wild Card round against the Rams.

If the Vikings want to beat the Lions for the first time in three seasons, they will need to win in important individual matchups. Detroit may have a stronger overall roster, but the Vikings still have players who hold advantages in individual matchups.

Here are three to watch on Sunday.

3 Matchups to watch in Vikings vs Lions in Week 9Justin Jefferson vs Amik Robertson

Lions cornerback Amik Robertson had good stats against Justin Jefferson in their Week 18 matchup last year, holding him to two catches for 48 yards on six targets. Jefferson only caught one additional pass for six yards that night.

However, much of Jefferson’s poor production can be attributed to Sam Darnold’s poor performance. He missed Jefferson for at least two touchdowns in the red zone.

In their Week 7 matchup last year, Jefferson caught seven passes for 81 yards and a touchdown. Can he perform closer to that in a revenge game, knowing that there were plays to be made the last time the two teams played?

Brian O’Neill vs Aiden Hutchinson

Aiden Hutchinson broke his leg in Week 5 last year and didn’t play the Vikings in 2024. But he appears to be fully recovered this season, leading the team with six sacks and a league-leading four forced fumbles.

Hutchinson primarily aligns on the offense’s right side, meaning he will likely face Brian O’Neill, who is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game but is expected to play. O’Neill has been ranked by PFF as the 20th-best tackle in football this year. He has allowed only one sack and four pressures in five games this year. Can he protect J.J. McCarthy in the second-year quarterback’s first game back since Week 2?

The Vikings’ interior defensive line vs the Lions’ interior offensive line

The Vikings were forced to blitz the Lions last season because they couldn’t win their individual matchups against Detroit’s interior offensive line. With voids in the secondary, Jared Goff carved up the Vikings, completing 49 of 58 passes for 511 yards and three touchdowns in 2024.

Minnesota’s ineffectiveness against the Lions played a large role in their adding defensive tackles Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave in the off-season. Out of 126 qualifying defensive tackles, Allen ranks 89th and Hargrave ranks 99th this season.

Can they step up big in a game that they were specifically brought to Minnesota for? They have combined for 31 pressures, but it’s been Jalen Redmond who has led the interior defensive linemen in pressures this season. His 21 pressures rank second on the team.

If the Vikings can get the best performances of the season from Allen and Hargrave, they have a chance to disrupt Goff in a way they couldn’t consistently do last year. Otherwise, the Vikings will be forced to blitz, likely leading to a similar outcome to last season.