Looking ahead to Lions' next opponent: Minnesota Vikings

Next up for the Detroit Lions is a road game against the Minnesota Vikings. Here's an early look at the Vikings:

Minnesota Vikings (2-3)

Schedule so far

Week 1 - at Rams - won, 34-6
Week 2 - vs. Patriots - lost, 30-7
Week 3 - at Saints - lost, 20-9
Week 4 - vs. Falcons - won, 41-28
Week 5 - at Packers - lost, 42-10

Reason for optimism

Statistically speaking, the Vikings aren't great at any one thing. In fact, they're toward the bottom of the NFL in passing, and they're in the low teens in rushing yards allowed. The Vikings are right around 10th in running the ball and passing yards allowed, but again, they're not elite in any of those categories. What's more, they're coming off a one-sided loss to the Packers, and they're going to be starting a rookie quarterback on Sunday.

Reason for pessimism

The flip side is that the rookie quarterback may actually be a reason for concern for the Lions. The Vikings looked lost last week without Teddy Bridgewater, but he should be back this week after dealing with an ankle injury. When Bridgewater started against the Falcons a couple weeks back, the Vikings looked like a much different team. Their offense was explosive through the air and on the ground, and it showed some life for the first time since Adrian Peterson left the team. Bridgewater's return could be trouble for the Lions.

Storyline to watch

Quite simply, the Lions need to get things back on track this week after an extremely disappointing loss at home. 4-1 was within reach, yet they are now 3-2. If they fall to 3-3 with another loss this week, it will feel like another collapse is in the process of happening. The Lions need to make sure that doesn't happen by beating the Vikings, improving to 4-2 and staying on top of the NFC North.

Additional info

For more on the Vikings, check out Daily Norseman.