Five extra points: Vikings D gets an A for effort against the out-of-sorts Lions

Spare me any analysis that says the Vikings coaches did anything magically different from an X’s and O’s standpoint in Sunday’s season-turning 27-24 victory over the Lions at Detroit’s Ford Field. Kevin O’Connell and Brian Flores did a wonderful job, but this stunning 10-day turnaround from the 37-10 beatdown from the Chargers came down to effort, desire, pride, old-fashioned want-to.

Nowhere was that more evident than how the defense manhandled Jahmyr Gibbs, the elite back who in two games vs. the Vikings last year posted 47 touches for 330 yards (7.0 per carry) and six touchdowns. Sunday, he touched the ball 12 times for 28 yards (2.3), a long gain of 7, no TDs and not even a single first down. He also gave up a critical third-down sack with a lackadaisical attempt to block Eric Wilson in the red zone near the end of the third quarter.

Javon Hargrave, who had eight tackles in a standout game, started two Detroit three-and-outs by simply beating the man across for him to drop Gibbs for minus-2 and 2 yards. Wilson had another tackle for loss on Gibbs, Josh Metellus a stop for 1 yard and Blake Cashman an open-field tackle for 6 yards on a third-and-8 completion. The effort Sunday was every bit as beautiful as it was ugly against the Chargers. It makes little sense, but that’s why we like the NFL.

It’s no mystery why the Vikings offense had good rhythm throughout most of this game. O’Connell ran the ball! He knows he has to, but he doesn’t always listen to himself. At halftime, when the Vikings had their first lead at Ford Field since 2021, O’Connell had called 19 passes and 11 runs, as many runs as the entire Chargers game. McCarthy was sacked three times, but he appeared comfortable because he had a running game averaging 6.0 yards a carry.

Things got more difficult when Aaron Jones left because of a shoulder injury early in the third quarter. And O’Connell nearly blew the game by reverting to his pass-happy passions after the Lions gifted the Vikings a short field with a blocked field goal. It was first-and-goal at the 1 when Jordan Mason was stuffed for a 1-yard loss on a run up the middle. Some of us — even Fox announcer/former KOC teammate/QB GOAT Tom Brady — were pleading for more runs, but O’Connell threw the ball (incomplete) and rolled McCarthy to his left (sack). Two clock stoppages left the Lions with all three timeouts and the Vikings with a 20-yard field goal and too much time left (3:31).

After a Lions touchdown, KOC’s hand-picked franchise QB bailed him out with a great touch pass to Jalen Nailor to seal the victory. Overall, O’Connell called 30 passes and 29 runs, but one or two of those passes should have been red-zone runs.

The Lions didn’t look like the Lions. The Vikings’ physicality had a lot to do with that. But the Lions also were just out of sorts coming out of a bye after dominating a Buccaneers team that’s better than the Vikings. Detroit had a season-high 10 penalties — and two more that were declined — for a season-high 76 yards. There were three false starts (at home!), including one on third-and-9 at the Vikings 13. There were four defensive penalties (two of them personal fouls) that produced four first downs and nullified an interception.

I spent time with Myles Price last week, telling him, “I want to write about you before you score a touchdown, and I know I better hurry up.” He laughed. “I’m so close,” he said. “It’s coming. I can feel it.” I said, “When people stop holding, you’ll find the end zone.” Price found the end zone, but for the fourth time in two games, a holding penalty was called that nullified a long Price return. And this one was a doozy. Tavierre Thomas held on what would have been a 99-yard kick return. The Vikings’ first possession resulted in a touchdown drive of only 36 yards because Price broke a 61-yard return — the team’s longest since 2022 — and somehow no one was flagged. Price finished with 164 yards on five kick returns (32.8). In other sloppy special teams news, Thomas was flagged a second time — 15 yards for not returning to the field of play quickly after being blocked out of bounds while covering a punt — and Tai Felton was called for holding on a punt return that was fair caught.

Hutchinson came in leading the NFL in hurries (33) and pressures (48), according to Pro Football Focus. He also came in even richer than he used to be, signing a four-year, $180 million extension during his bye. Then he had one of his quieter games. His only sack came when McCarthy had to spin away from Campbell’s blitz up the middle and fell in the vicinity of Hutchinson. Hutchinson also had only three hits and minimal hurries. And McCarthy did what few of us expected at this early point in his career: He handled the heat of Ford Field in a winning fashion. Hutchinson had two third-down pressures in the first quarter. McCarthy completed passes both times — part of him starting 6-for-6 when pressured — for 45 yards. Against Hutchinson’s blindside pressure on third-and-9, McCarthy hit Jones for 14 yards to the Detroit 10. The Vikings went on to tie the score 7-7. Against Hutchinson’s frontside pressure on a later third-and-9, McCarthy threw deep to Jordan Addison for 31 yards. The Vikings went on to take a 14-7 lead they never would relinquish.