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AP NFL Week 14 Preview Capsule: Lions at Vikings

Posted at 4:30 PM, Dec 05, 2019
and last updated 2019-12-05 19:50:09-05

DETROIT (3-8-1) at MINNESOTA (8-4)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, Fox

OPENING LINE -- Vikings by 14
RECORD VS. SPREAD -- Lions 5-7; Vikings 6-6
SERIES RECORD -- Vikings lead 75-39-2

LAST MEETING -- Vikings beat Lions 42-30, Oct. 20
LAST WEEK -- Lions lost to Bears 24-20; Vikings lost to Seahawks 37-30

AP PRO32 RANKING -- Lions No. 30; Vikings No. 10

LIONS OFFENSE -- OVERALL (7), RUSH (18), PASS (7)
LIONS DEFENSE -- OVERALL (29), RUSH (23), PASS (30)
VIKINGS OFFENSE -- OVERALL (8), RUSH (6), PASS (13)
VIKINGS DEFENSE -- OVERALL (16), RUSH (15), PASS (20)

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES -- Vikings have won four straight in series. ... Lions eliminated from contention for playoffs for third straight year. With one more loss, Lions would clinch worst record since finishing 4-12 in 2012. ... Lions have lost eight of last nine games, dropping coach Matt Patricia's record to 9-18-1. ... Detroit rookie QB David Blough expected to get first NFL road start after passing for 280 yards, two TDs and one interception vs. Bears in debut in place of Matthew Stafford. Stafford has missed four straight games with back, hip injuries. ... Lions signed former Vikings practice squad QB Kyle Sloter to be backup. ... Lions WR Marvin Jones had four TD receptions vs. Vikings in last meeting. ... Detroit WR Kenny Golladay, tied for sixth in league in receiving yards, needs 50 more to reach 1,000-yard mark for second straight season and give Lions 1,000-yard receiver for 10th straight year. ... Jones and Golladay tied with Buccaneers WR Chris Godwin for league lead with nine receiving TDs. ... Lions DE Trey Flowers has five sacks in last five games. ... Vikings trail Packers by one game in NFC North, lead Rams by one game for second wild- card spot. ... Vikings have three home games against division foes in final quarter of season for first time in team history. ... Minnesota QB Kirk Cousins, second in league in passer rating (111.9) and third in yards per attempt (8.5), has 10 total TDs and one interception with 129.6 passer rating in five home games this year. ... Vikings RB Dalvin Cook, who left last game with injury to shoulder/chest area, is second in NFL with 1,536 yards from scrimmage and tied for league lead with 12 rushing TDs. ... Vikings TE Kyle Rudolph has six TDs in last six games. He has nine TDs in 15 career games vs. Lions. ... Vikings defense allowed season highs in points (37) and rushing yards (218) to Seahawks. ... Vikings DE Danielle Hunter needs half-sack to become youngest player in NFL history with 50 career sacks. ... Fantasy tip: If Cook sits out or has workload limited, Vikings rookie RB Alexander Mattison would become valuable commodity. Mattison is 11th in league with average of 4.84 yards per rush among players with 75-plus attempts. He has 480 yards from scrimmage, third on team.