ALLEN PARK >> It’s an odd quirk in the schedule that the Lions and Vikings play each other on Thanksgiving for the second time in 18 days.
Both are 6-4 and tied atop the NFC North. So Sunday’s game is for the lead in the division.
“It’s a big one because it’s the next game on our schedule. That’s the way we think about it, but it is a division game at our place on Thanksgiving. There’s no getting around that, so I expect it to be an awesome atmosphere, both teams playing at a high level and a really good game,” quarterback Matthew Stafford said.
“It’ll be fun, what better way to get the Thanksgiving holiday started off than with a good football game at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday,” safety Glover Quin said.
Since both teams have just three days to prepare, the fact that they’re familiar is helpful.
“They’re fresh in your mind from just a couple weeks ago. It doesn’t diminish the challenge that the Minnesota Vikings give us. They’re a really good defense, a really good team and really well coached,” Stafford said. “We’ll have our hands full, but as far as a preparation standpoint it doesn’t seem like too ago I was looking at film of these guys.”
In the Nov. 6 meeting, the Lions pulled out a 22-16 win in overtime thank to the heroics of Stafford. With 23 seconds left he drove the team to field goal distance to get the game tied and to overtime. And then Stafford’s drive down the field in overtime ended the game with a 28-yard touchdown toss to Golden Tate.
Five things to watch as the Lions face the Vikings:
1. If the Lions’ running game doesn’t improve over its production of 14 yards in Sunday’s win over the Jaguars, it could be a long afternoon. Two weeks ago, the Lions ran for 97 yards in the overtime win at Minnesota. “The goal every week is to be efficient and explosive in the run game. Some weeks we’ve achieved that goal and others we haven’t. Obviously last week wasn’t good enough,” Stafford said. “The good thing about playing on a Thursday is you kind of get to go out there and quickly redeem yourself and wash that taste out of your mouth as far as running the ball goes.”
2. Stafford threw five touchdowns last Thanksgiving and threw a pair in the win over the Vikings on Nov. 6. He had a rare game on Sunday against the Jaguars where he didn’t throw a touchdown pass. Didn’t matter to him. “Obviously, I want to get our team in the end zone. I don’t care if I’m the one throwing it in from the 1-yard line or we’re running it from the one, doesn’t matter,” Stafford said. “For me, the worst part about last game is just not scoring enough.”
3. Eric Ebron has caught fire in the last three games with 17 catches for 241 yards. He also rushed one yard for a touchdown on Sunday. “He’s a very athletic guy, former No. 1 pick, very athletic, good size,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said on a conference call this week. “Excellent quickness in and out of the breaks, I think he does a nice job of using his body to ward off defenders. He can stretch the field with his speed. All those things and I think he’s a pretty good run after catch guy as well.”
4. The defense has vastly improved over the last four games, allowing 20 or fewer points in each. They held the Vikings to 16 points in the win two weeks ago although Stefon Diggs had 13 catches for 80 yards. “He’s a dynamic receiver, he gets a lot of targets and he catches a lot of passes,” safety Glover Quin said. “We just can’t allow him to have those big plays. He catches a lot of underneath passes, short routes. As long as we’re doing a good job of conversion and tackling, getting down, not letting him break tackles and turning short passes into long passes and not letting him get over the top for the home-run bal, I think if we do that we’ll be fine.” Diggs has a knee injury this week and did not practice on Tuesday so it’s uncertain if he’ll be ready to go on Thursday.
5. Keep an eye on rookie Miles Killebrew who is a part of the three-safety, third-down package. His confidence and play seems to improve game by game. On Sunday he played just a dozen defensive snaps but had five tackles to tie for the team lead. “All I know is I just need to do my job and that’s what I’m trying to do,” said Killebrew who plays several roles. “On (Teryl Austin’s) defense everybody has to know a lot, it’s not unique to me. Everyone in that room has to know what everyone else is doing.”
