3. Detroit has won their last four matchups against the Vikings dating back to 2022. O’Connell was asked if there’s been a common theme in those contests. He pointed to turnovers as one reason for their lack of success recently against the Lions, saying Detroit does a good job of taking advantage of other teams’ mistakes.
“They are a complete team,” he said of Detroit. “They play a physical brand of football. They are going to compete. They are very well coached across the board with AG (Aaron Glenn) and Ben (Johnson) and special teams for that matter.
“I think it’s just any self-inflicted things you do against good football teams, it’s going to be hard to win. We’ve had chances to win games against those guys and haven’t always been at our full capacity whether it’s T.J. (Hockenson) or our quarterback. Being relatively healthy at this point in the season is a big bonus, for sure.”
4. Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman knows the importance of Sunday’s game in Detroit because a win means everything in the NFC playoffs would have to roll through U.S. Bank Stadium, a place where Minnesota has lost just once this year in a two-point defeat to Detroit.
“I think it’s major, he said. “I think playing here like our opponents feel that. We have to take care of next week first but that would give us a great opportunity and I think a leg up on our opponents if we can remain home.”