What to watch for: Vikings at Lions

I really hate to say this, but week four and the Detroit Lions have a must win situation in front of them this afternoon. Falling to 1-3 would be disastrous and would lead to two weeks (since the Lions have a bye week next weekend) of panic laced phone calls to sports radio shows, and likely the call for not only Jim Schwartz’s head but that of QB Matthew Stafford as well. 2-2 at this point would look so much better, of course not as good as the 4-0 the Lions were at this point last year but hey what can you do. With all of that being said let us take a look at what to watch for in this afternoon’s game:

September 16, 2012; San Francisco, CA, USA; Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh (90) walks off the field after warm ups before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

Adrian Peterson- He is the 12th leading rusher this year, and has found teh end zone twice. The Lions did a decent job of containing Steven Jackson in week one, but this is a much harder task. If they can keep AP contained, and put pressure on a young Vikings QB they should be able to control this game.
Defensive Line- the Lions D line has done a pretty good job this year, and they have dominated the middle. However, teams counter that by bouncing backs outside. The Lions D line needs to not only get after Christian Ponder, but keep Adrian Peterson inside as much as they can. It seems very likely that is the key match up today. The Lions do have the 11^th best run defense so far in 2012.
Matthew Stafford- We saw him leave a game last week, he did practice this week but with him injury is always a concern. He has also made a lot of questionable decisions, and the offense has not played all that well in the first half. Look for the Lions to strike early in this game and establish both the run and the down the field to Calvin offense.
Lions’ offense- Last week with the debut of Mikel Leshoure the offense felt too conservative, especially early. The Lions still haven’t found the right mix of running and passing, maybe a little less running than last week is what this team needs right now.