For our Week 6 installment of "Behind Enemy Lines," we reached out to Josh Katzenstein, who covers the Lions for the Detroit News. The Wayzata native and University of Minnesota alumnus answered five questions about the Vikings-Lions matchup at TCF Bank Stadium on Sunday.

Q: Where is the Lions offense through five games coming off a 14-point performance against the Bills?

JK: It's hard to imagine the Lions have reached their peak on offense considering they've only scored more than 24 points in one of the first five games. There's definitely reasons to be concerned. Since the Giants game in Week 1, quarterback Matthew Stafford has really struggled to stretch the field even when wide receiver Calvin Johnson was available.

Wide receiver Golden Tate has looked really, really impressive and worth every dollar that they spent on him this offseason. Besides Johnson and Tate, they don't really have any production out of their receivers. [Rookie tight end] Eric Ebron has flashed some potential, but it doesn't look like the coaches or Stafford necessarily trust him 100 percent just yet. There were some plays where he was wide open in the Bills game last week, and Stafford just didn't go to him.

Q: What's the status of running back Reggie Bush and wide receiver Calvin Johnson? How will that change the game plan?

JK: I don't know how much will change from the Bills game. I think running back Joique Bell returning is actually huge for the Lions. He's by far their best between-the-tackles running back. He's good in the pass game too, and I think the coaches really used him more the first couple games when he and Bush were healthy. I don't know if Bush's absence will matter a whole lot in this game, especially because the Lions will have [running back] Theo Riddick, who flashed a lot of potential in the offseason, and [running back] George Winn, who looked really solid against the Bills last week.

But with Calvin Johnson out, it takes away by far their best offensive weapon. Stafford has proven over the years that he's struggled when Johnson isn't in the game. Though Golden Tate has looked uncoverable at times this year, I just think that Stafford is a little lost when Johnson isn't on the field. That's something that one of the Bills cornerbacks said last week was once Johnson went out, it looked like Stafford didn't know what to do.

Q: The Lions have always had a good defensive line, but why has the entire defense taken that next step this year?

JK: It's the secondary by far. Not only are they playing above expectations, they're playing out of their mind. It's everyone in the secondary. [Cornerback] Rashean Mathis looks like he's back to being 26, 27 years old. He's been a really solid cornerback. Cornerback Darius Slay, now in his second year, looks like an ascending player. It was something a lot of people were saying this offseason but through five games is definitely proving to be true. [Free safety] Glover Quin has always been their best defensive back at safety. He's good against the run, he's good against the pass and now they've had [strong safety] James Ihedigbo. Go back the past two games, and he looked like everything that they hoped for. He's been really solid against the run, had a few good pass rushes and even played decent in coverage last week.

I would expect, at some point, some fall off just because I don't think they've felt the impact of losing [linebacker] Stephen Tulloch just yet. Just looking at the rest of the season though, they'll get rookie linebacker Kyle Van Noy back in Week 10. There is reason to think even if the Lions don't remain the top defense in the league, I would certainly think they'll finish in the top 10.

Q: Will kicker Matt Prater, who was signed this week, cure the Lions kicking woes?

JK: It's really hard to say. If you've looked at what Prater has done in his career, and especially last season, I think the answer should be yes. My only concern for the Lions with Prater is we don't know how much emotional toll he has taken with his off-the-field issues. He spoke really openly and honestly about his alcohol addiction the day after he signed. You don't know until a guy gets back on the field after enrolling in a 12-step program like he did 1 ½ months ago. Now that he's six weeks sober, there are a lot of reasons to think he should be the kicker he will be but nobody can tell how much he's impacted by everything that's going on emotionally.

Q: What do the Lions need to do to win on the road?

JK: They have to establish a run game, which is something they haven't been able to do in the first half of any of their games this year. If Calvin Johnson can't play then they need to be able to threaten the Vikings with something else. They're going to obviously be ready for whatever Tate can do. If Bell can get going, I think that'll give the Lions a much better chance.

On defense, they just need to make sure they account for wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson at all times and also make sure they contain quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. As much as I think Bridgewater will threaten them with his arm, the Lions are probably a little bit more worried about what he can do with his legs. They haven't faced a quarterback that's as mobile as Bridgewater has looked the first few weeks.