TNF Preview- Can the Vikings bounce back after losing to the Lions?

    Written by: Miles Jordan •

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    Can Vikings bounce back after losing to the Lions?

    Week 8 of NFL action kicks off with the eighth edition of Thursday Night Football when the Minnesota Vikings (5-1, 1-1) travel to So-Fi Stadium to take on the Los Angeles Rams (2-4, 1-1).

    The Vikings are coming fresh off their first loss of the season, falling to divisional rival the Detroit Lions (5-1, 1-0) 31-29 after a near come-from-behind victory in the fourth quarter. Minnesota's downfall came in the second quarter of the Detroit matchup when Lions running back Jamir Gibbs stepped up and delivered two rushing touchdowns in 15 minutes.

    Gibbs took full advantage of the brief absence of his counterpart in the backfield, David Montgomery, leaving the game with a knee injury, racking up 116 yards rushing and 44 yards receiving to tack on to his two scores.

    Detroit quarterback Jared Goff also awoke in the second quarter after the Lions went down 10-0 in the first. Goff found his favorite target, Amon-Ra St. Brown, for a 35-yard strike over the middle of the field on the following drive after Gibbs' first touchdown.

    Goff finished the contest with a near-perfect 22/25 passing for 280 yards and two touchdowns, while St. Brown finished perfect with eight receptions on eight targets for 112 yards and a touchdown. To top off the second-quarter fiasco, Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold threw his only pick, which led to Gibbs' second touchdown.

    However, the Vikings played a sound contest outside the second quarter.

    Darnold finished the match competitively with Goff, completing 22/27 passes for 259 yards, a touchdown, and the aforementioned interception. He breathed life back into the Vikings' offense in the third quarter, completing a 25-yard pass to Justin Jefferson to cut the score to 21-17 in favor of Detroit.

    Jefferson finished the game with a relatively quiet performance. While he caught seven passes and a touchdown, the skilled wideout finished with 81 yards, his second-lowest performance of the season.

    Aaron Jones opened the game with a 34-yard touchdown for the first score but finished the contest by only recording 59 more yards after his one breakaway run.

    The real hero of the game, however, was not found in the Vikings' offense but in their defense. Sophomore outside linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. almost kept Minnesota undefeated when he recovered a fumble from Montgomery, who had previously left the game with an injury. He ran the ball back 36 yards for a Vikings touchdown, capturing a 29-28 lead, their first since the first quarter.

    But in the end, even though the Vikings' defense stepped up to take the lead, they could not stop Goff and the Lions' offense from driving 44 yards in the final two minutes to knock in the game-winning field goal.

    Minnesota played three sound quarters of football, but its second-quarter performance single-handedly lost the game for the Purple and Yellow.

    While the Vikings face a less struggling 2-4 Rams team, football is a game of momentum, which can change directions like the wind. Suppose Minnesota is not prepared to play all four quarters against Los Angeles. In that case, Matthew Stafford and a newly activated Puka Nacua from IR may find a way to snatch their third victory of the season and hand the Lions back-to-back losses.

    The Vikings prepare to kickoff at So-Fi stadium at 8:15 p.m. EST, and Nacua prepares for his first home game of the year.

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