EAGAN, Minn. — The Vikings are seeking their seventh 6-0 start to an NFL season and first since 2009, but Minnesota knows the challenge posed by the Detroit Lions (4-1) in Week 7.

The stakes are about as high as they could be between the NFC North foes in October. The winner will be in first place in a highly competitive division with 11 games remaining for each squad.

“There’ll be a ton of juice in the building, and we’ve got to have some good days of preparation coming off the bye,” Vikings Head Coach Kevin O’Connell said Wednesday. “We had a good short day on Monday. We’ll get back in the pads today and continue our prep throughout the week, but it’s a very important week of preparation because we’re playing one of the best teams in the National Football League.

“Really good team in all three phases,” O’Connell continued. “Dan [Campbell] is one of the best coaches in our league, and his team and his staff, everything that they’ve got going on is going to be a heck of a challenge. And really, with how well everybody’s playing in our division, these division games are going to be really, really important.”

Kickoff is set for noon (CT) Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Vikings Uniform

The Vikings will wear their modern home uniform with purple jerseys and white pants.

4 Storylines

1. Blue-blood divisional game

The storied Black and Blue division is off to a start unlike any other.

It’s the first instance in NFL history a division has had a combined win percentage of .750-plus through Week 6 or later of a season. The NFC North is 17-5 (.773). The AFC West is second best at 13-9 (.591).

It gets juicier.

The division houses the top four teams in the NFL in point differential and four of the top seven in turnover margin. In the first category, the Vikings (+63) are steering with the Lions (+60) sitting shotgun, and Chicago (+47) and Green Bay (+41) following closely. Turnover-wise, Minnesota is +4 and Detroit is +6.

Catching the drift? The hype is real. The division ramifications likely will be, too. Sunday should be epic.

2. Returning to U.S. Bank Stadium

Minnesota played its last “home” game more than 4,000 miles away from U.S. Bank Stadium. Waves of Purple were present at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London but nothing compares to the home-field crowd in the Twin Cities.

Just ask Houston.

The most recent team to visit Minnesota’s turf (all the way back on Sept. 22) committed four pre-snap infractions in a row due to the noise and passionate involvement of fans. It has an extreme effect on communication and momentum.

3. On the offensive

Detroit’s offense is humming, but the Vikings group has had some stalls, particularly in second halves.

The Lions have produced back-to-back games of 40-plus points for the first time since their 1962 campaign in which quarterback Milt Plum tossed seven touchdowns with no interceptions in Weeks 1-2.

Minnesota has one offensive touchdown since pouncing on the Packers for a 28-7 first-half lead Week 4.

Just how dominant was Detroit at Dallas? Well, its 47 points was the team’s second most on the road in franchise history, challenging a tally that has stood for nearly 75 seasons (the Lions dropped 52 at Green Bay in Week 5 of 1952). Detroit did not punt or turn over the football in Week 6 – its second game sans a punt or giveaway in the Super Bowl era (also Week 13 of 2022 against Jacksonville).

The Vikings may be without running back Aaron Jones, Sr., which could complicate the sledding. After Jones exited Week 5 with a hip injury, Minnesota’s rushing average dipped from 4.5 yards to 1.7. Jones has been classified as week to week by Kevin O’Connell.

4. Justin Jefferson’s encore

A 12th man on the field might not be enough for Detroit to stop Justin Jefferson.

In his past three games against the Lions, “Jets” has posted the following receiving lines: 12-192-1 on 14 targets; 6-141-1 on 10 targets; 11-223-0 on 15 targets. Unfortunately, Minnesota went 0-3 in said games.

Jefferson always is the player to watch on the Vikings offense – and even more so Sunday because he vocalized his disappointment across the pond after the group’s sub-optimal performance against the Jets.

In eight career games against the Lions, Jefferson has reeled in 62 passes for 1,073 yards (134.1 avg.) and three TDs. Detroit has allowed 100-yard games in 2024 to DK Metcalf, Chris Godwin and Cooper Kupp.

3 Things ‘Bout the Lions

1. Goff playing at elite level

Jared Goff is expertly leading Detroit’s balanced offense.

In Week 6, he became the first Lions quarterback since Dave Krieg in 1994 with 300-plus passing yards, 3-plus passing touchdowns and a 150-plus passer rating. During the Lions’ current three-game win streak, Goff is 54-for-66 (81.8%) with seven touchdowns, one pick and 268.7 passing yards per game.

It’s a sharp turnaround for Goff, who completed 52 of 83 passes (62.7%) for 524 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions over Detroit’s initial two contests – and an historic one; he joined elite company.

Goff is the fourth QB since 1970 with an 80% clip, 800-plus passing yards and 7-plus TDs in a span of three games, linking with Drew Brees (2018), Peyton Manning (2008; 2013) and Phillip Rivers (2013).

The surge is partly attributed to rhythm and timing. The ball is leaving Goff’s hand quickly. His average time to throw is 2.78 seconds per Next Gen Stats. For perspective, Sam Darnold’s average release is 3.14.

2. Bad break for Hutchinson

Lions Defensive Player of the Year candidate Aidan Hutchinson suffered a broken tibia and fibula in the third quarter during Detroit’s Week 6 game at Dallas and will be out for the foreseeable future. It’s difficult to portray his impact in stats alone, but we’ll try.

The 2022 No. 2 overall draft pick had a sack in four of five games this year, including 4.5 in the club’s lone loss in Week 2 against Tampa Bay, and he leads the NFL this season with 7.5 sacks and 17 quarterback hits. Since 2023, Hutchinson has 50 QB hits, four more than anyone else (Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt is second with 46).

Hutchinson accounted for half of Detroit’s team sacks – the second-highest percentage behind Cincinnati’s Trey Hendrickson (62.5%; 5 of the Bengals’ 8) – and more than triple the number of QB hits of No. 2 teammate Levi Onwuzurike (5). Defensive tackle Alim McNeil has the second-most sacks (2.5).

Vikings Offensive Coordinator Wes Phillips said Tuesday that Detroit’s talent up front goes beyond Hutchinson.

“Those interior guys are really good players – McNeil and [D.J.] Reader. [Josh] Paschal, who came in after Hutchinson, is a really good player,” Phillips shared. “And then they have very extensive pressure packages, particularly on third downs. [Alex] Anzalone is a very good blitzer. … They understand protections. … They’re not just throwing things against the wall and seeing if it sticks.”

3. Complementary personnel

Detroit has the goods on offense.

David Montgomery is the “angry run” king. He forced 10 missed tackles Week 6 according to Next Gen Stats. Jahmyr Gibbs looks like a bottle rocket blasting out of the backfield. He’s tied for fourth in the NFL with six rushes of 15+ yards. They slash and claw forward behind one of if not the best offensive line.

But wait, there’s more. The receiving corps is dizzying.

Jameson Williams is averaging 22.8 yards per catch. He takes the top off the defense in a breeze – and so can Kalif Raymond if opponents fall asleep. Amon-Ra St. Brown is physical, gritty and a red-zone favorite – his three TD grabs inside the 10 are tied for second in the NFL. Last but hardly least, Sam LaPorta is a big run-after-the-catch threat. His 3.2 average YAC above expectation is in the top 10 according to Next Gen Stats.

O’Connell announced Wednesday that Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman is dealing with turf toe.

2 Vikings to Track

Justin Jefferson: The receiver enters Sunday’s game with 6,349 career yards. He needs 52 to pass Sammy White (6,400) for sixth in team history and 85 to pass Jake Reed for fifth place. Jefferson’s next 100-yard game will break a tie with Randy Moss (30) for the most such games in a player’s first five seasons. If Jefferson catches a touchdown, it will be the 35th of his career and move him past Ahmad Rashad (tied for seventh with 34) on the franchise leaderboard.

Vikings run defense: OK, this is a combination of players, but stopping the run is something Minnesota has done well this season and an aspect that is expected to be important. The Vikings and Lions are two of the four NFL teams (Ravens and Chargers also) who have only allowed 100 or more rushing yards once in a game this season. Minnesota has contacted opposing rushers behind the line of scrimmage on 50.5 percent of opponents’ carries and have allowed just 15 yards before contact this season.

1 Key Matchup

Vikings Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores vs. Lions Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson

Vikings Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores was asked Tuesday about this week’s challenge, and he calmly responded, “I try to fight fire with fire. That’s just me.”

It worked in Games 1-5, so why change? Minnesota’s defense is tied for second in the NFL with 13 takeaways. The five other teams ranked in the top six have played a game more than the Vikings.

Flores’ coverage unit leads the league with 11 interceptions and 41 passes defended. Its pass rush is tied for the third-most sacks with 20 – the 12 other teams ranked in the top 13 have played six games. FYI, Seattle’s defense has 68 pressures, second most in the NFL; Minnesota has 84, or nearly 17 per outing!

The fire comes in the form of disguised pressures. Five, six, seven guys show blitz. Sometimes none, one or two players drop into coverage. The possibilities are limitless because of Flores’ deep bag of calls and the Vikings personnel – a mix of young and veteran players that are similarly intelligent and aggressive.

“I think the idea is to try to make the quarterback [and] receivers figure it out,” Flores said. “If they’re trying to decipher it for an extra half a click, that might be the difference between making a play and not making a play. … It’s not just the various coverages. It’s your techniques, your fundamentals, your communication, your film study, your ability to anticipate. We talk about all those things all the time.”

Across the ball, Lions Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson operates with the same pleasure of creative firepower. Johnson uses a balanced attack to keep defenses off balance; he’s able to explore the depths of his call sheet by staying ahead of the sticks – i.e. keeping downs and distances (D&Ds) manageable.

The Lions boast the No. 1 scoring offense (30.2 ppg). They’re seventh in third-down conversion rate at 44.8% and fourth in successful drive percentage (48.2% of possessions end in an offensive score) and third with 6.3 yards gained per play. They’re a juggernaut that avoids being attacked by doing the attacking.

“There’s not a lot of weaknesses here,” Flores admitted. “They’ve got a really good group. They’re well-coached, they’re physical, they can play a variety of styles – power run game, drop-back, play action, screens, [short, intermediate and deep] throws. Got a lot of speed. They pose a lot of problems.”

Flores is tasked with trying to force the Lions to do what they haven’t; Detroit has turned the ball over only four times in five games and Goff has been sacked nine times (tied for fourth fewest among five-game starters).