The Vikings are 3-2, but they're also 0-2 on the road and, believe it or not, they have won only one division road game since the end of the 2009 season. That's a 1-13-1 stretch of road futility in the NFC North. Throw in the last division road game in 2009 — a loss at Chicago during a 12-4 season — and the Vikings are 1-14-1 in their last 16 division road games.
But …
They travel to Detroit (1-5) on Sunday. They controlled and beat the Lions 26-16 at home in Week 2. And, for what it's worth, their only division road win since 2009 came at Detroit in 2012.
For this week's closer look at the opponent, we turned to Tim Twentyman, lead writer and insider for DetroitLions.com and former Detroit News beat writer. Here goes …
MC: Even when they were 0-6 on their way to 0-16 in 2008, the Lions had turned the ball over nine times. This year, they've turned it over 18 times. The next-closest team is at 12. I know turnovers come in bunches, but this seems much worse than the randomness of a ball bouncing the wrong way. What's the primary issue and can the Lions fix it?
TT: "There are two big culprits here. After throwing just 12 interceptions all of last season, Matthew Stafford already has eight through six games. He's been way too careless with the football at times and it's cost the Lions. His three interceptions in a little more than a half vs. Arizona led to his first benching for performance reasons in his seven-year career. If there's one thing head coach Jim Caldwell hates more than anything it's turnovers. The second culprit has been rookie running back Ameer Abdullah. He's fumbled four times and has lost three of those. There are 11 of the 18 turnovers from two players. There have been a few bad bounces in there too. Take last week, for example, a terrible punt by Chicago's Pat O'Donnell bounced around and hit the foot of a Lions player. The Lions have been on the wrong end of a lot of those bounces early on this year. The good news for Caldwell and Co. is that those issues are fixable. Stafford can be more disciplined and take better care of the football and Abdullah can play with better technique and five points of pressure on the football."
MC: Heading into Week 2, we talked about the departure of Ndamukong Suh and the injury that kept middle linebacker DeAndre Levy out of the game. Give us an update on the progress of the Lions' defense since Week 2 in terms of whether it has been able to recreate a physical presence and run-stopping ability.
TT: "Detroit's defense has been about as inconsistent as they come all season. When they get a good effort from the front seven in terms of stopping the run, they've been unable to limit big passing plays down the field. Arizona gashed them for chunk runs a couple weeks ago and it led to some big play-action opportunities down the field in the passing game. The Lions have certainly missed Suh and Levy in the middle of their defense, and it hasn't helped that Haloti Ngata has missed the last two and a half games with a calf injury. He's probably their top run defender. Detroit's defense is allowing 120.7 yards per game on the ground, which ranks 26th in the NFL. They also rank 22nd against the pass, so it's not a situation where one number is reflective of the other. After giving up 199 rushing yards to Minnesota in that Week 2 loss, I'd expect defensive coordinator Teryl Austin to make a concerted effort to force Teddy Bridgewater and the Vikings' 32nd ranked passing offense to try and beat them."
MC: It's so hard to get an accurate reading on Matthew Stafford and how good or bad he is and how good or bad he can be. Is he the guy who can lead his team consistently, throwing for 400 yards while managing a wide-open, one-dimensional attack? Or is he a guy just putting up fantasy numbers between turnovers and inconsistent play during mostly losing seasons? What's your read on Stafford and how he's playing this season?
TT: "Consistency has been the biggest issue with Stafford over his seven-year career. He can look so brilliant at times, like he did last week vs. Chicago, but then so bad at times, as he was a week prior when he was benched against Arizona. Stafford hasn't gotten much support in terms of a rushing attack, which hasn't helped his cause. The Lions have the worst rushing offense in the NFL and that's led to Stafford having the fourth-most attempts in the NFL this year (237). He hasn't had much in terms of running support over the last seven years. Stafford's had to pass the ball more than 70 percent of the time this season. That's not a recipe for success in this league unless your quarterback is Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers. Caldwell and Co. tried to reel Stafford in last season, limit his turnovers and make him more of a game manager, but that's not Stafford's game. He's a gunslinger. His best game of the season so far was last week when he was throwing the ball down the field. The Lions had eight passing plays of 20-plus yards. They had just 15 such plays the previous five games. Stafford is at his best when he's throwing the ball down the field and you'll have to live with some of the mistakes that come with that. Stafford is who he is. He's a gunslinger, who can be so great and so frustrating in the same game. The Lions just hope they get more great than frustrating, which hasn't been the case so far this year."
MC: Give us the inside look on Joe Lombardi, the so-called "Gulf Coast Offense" he brought with him from New Orleans last year and what has happened between last year, when the team was 11-5, and this year's 1-5 start.
TT: The offense was able to be complementary last year to a dominating defense that ranked second in the NFL. Taking care of the football and not putting that dominating defense in bad spots was priority number one a year ago. Stafford had a career low 12 interceptions as a result. He also had a career-low 22 touchdown passes, but the Lions won games being great on defense and opportunistic on offense. The problem this year is that the defense isn't playing anywhere close to that level. The Lions have fallen behind in a number of games this year and have been forced to be predictable on offense throwing the ball to get back into games. That happened in Minnesota Week 2. Lombardi's offense is a substitution-based system that features many different packages and formations. There really hasn't been much tempo or rhythm to the offense until last week when they racked up 405 passing yards and 155 yards on the ground. Lombardi went up to the coaching box to call the game for the first time last week. They were much better on the execution end of things and really looked to stretch the field vertically. Have the Lions finally figured out a recipe for success on offense? We'll see this week vs. Minnesota, which poses a much tougher test defensively than Chicago."
MC: Ezekiel Ansah had the career-high 2 ½ sacks across from left tackle Matt Kalil at Minnesota a year ago. He had one sack in Week 2 when he moved over to the left side to rush against rookie right tackle T.J. Clemmings. The Vikings have given up 12 sacks in two road losses and only three sacks in three home wins. Kalil is playing much better this season, while Clemmings has understandably struggled as a fourth-round draft pick thrown into the lineup when Phil Loadholt was lost for the season in August. Ansah appears to be the Lions' best pass rusher. How often does he line up on the left side and do you foresee the Lions gearing their pass rush to the right side of the Vikings' offensive line?
TT: "I'll say one thing about defensive coordinator Teryl Austin. He's not predictable. The Lions will still bring pressure from all sides and all gaps. Austin does a good job of moving Ansah around to both sides. He'll also stand him up at times and rush him that way. Ansah is really good in the stunt game, which Minnesota should also worry about. Ansah ran 10.9 seconds in the 100-meters in college as a 6-foot-5, 270-pound man. He's a freak. The Lions like Ansah's matchup against any Vikings blocker, to be honest."