Detroit Lions: Ameer Abdullah, defense lead way to win over Vikings

In a divisional showdown that featured two of the league’s top defensive units, the Detroit Lions escaped U.S. Bank Stadium with a crucial 14-7 victory against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t easy. It wasn’t stellar. It wasn’t a loss, either.

The Detroit Lions defense turned in another terrific performance, and the offense made just enough plays en route to securing a key divisional win. It was a triumph over adversity for the Lions, who were without impact rookies Jarrad Davis or Kenny Golladay, and suffered a slew of other injuries throughout the game.

Quin-tessential Performance

The defense forced three more turnovers and held the Vikings to just 284 yards of total offense, and dominated in the game’s most crucial moments.

Trailing 14-7 and with 2:31 remaining and the Vikings at the Lions three-yard line, Anthony Zettel sacked quarterback Case Keenum for an 11-yard loss. On the ensuing fourth-down attempt, both pressure and coverage led to an incomplete pass and turnover on downs.

The Lions offense stalled at the two-minute warning, and punted the ball to give the Vikings one more opportunity, albeit one that was short-lived.

On the first play of the Vikings final drive, Glover Quin sealed the game with yet another veteran play. Keenum completed a pass over the middle to Adam Thielen, and as the receiver turned upfield, Quin popped the ball loose. Tahir Whitehead recovered the fumble and sealed the victory for the Lions.

Under Pressure

Quarterback Matthew Stafford was under siege all day. When he wasn’t sacked or getting drilled to the ground by the Vikings front, he played with fire. Errant throws and dangerous decisions with the football nearly spelled disaster on several occasions for the Lions.

Fortunately for Stafford, none of those mistakes led to turnovers, but the pressure was constant. The Lions’ signal-caller was sacked six times and hit countless others. He finished 19/31 for 209 yards and no touchdowns on the afternoon.

The Lions’ lone touchdown came on the reach of Ameer Abdullah, whose nifty stretch across the goal line in the third quarter turned out to be the difference. In a game of inches, and last week proved as much, the Abdullah was able to get just enough prior to his knee hitting the ground in front of the goal line.

Abdullah was the Lions’ best offensive player on Sunday. His ability to run between, behind, and around his tackles allowed the Lions to control field position and the clock. He finished the game with 20 carries for 94 yards, six yards shy of being the Lions first 100-yard rusher in 56 games.

Injury Watch

The Lions are expected to submit another extensive injury report in the coming days, as several key players exited the game early.

Already thin at the linebacker position coming into the contest, the Lions lost Paul Worrilow with a leg injury early in the first quarter and did not return.

Abdullah did not return to action after rolling his ankle in fourth quarter. Though the running back insisted after the game that he could have returned, the game situation dictated otherwise.

T.J. Lang returned to action after missing one series, but took a shot in the back that he expects to feel in the morning.

Next: Lions game balls for week 4 win over Vikings

The Lions hope to get healthy in time for next week’s game against the Carolina Panthers in a match-up of 3-1 division leaders.