Pride of Detroit
The Detroit Lions (5-2) and Minnesota Vikings (3-4) will square off in a Week 9 NFC North battle at Ford Field. This will be the first of two times these teams will face off this year (they will meet again in Week 17), and represents the Lions’ third NFC North game of the season.
“The Vikings, good divisional opponent,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said on Tuesday. “Got a lot of respect for what (Vikings Head Coach Kevin O’Connell) KOC has done out there and that staff and that team. They’ve had a lot of success, have always found a way to win and be competitive in this League, in this division, certainly. Good players.[…] This’ll be a big test for us at our place, but once again, we’re looking forward to this.”
If the Lions want to continue their winning ways, they’ll need to follow the defensive keys to victory laid out in this week’s Honolulu Blueprint.
For a detailed look at the opposing scheme, make sure you check out our complementary breakdown piece: Lions Week 9 Preview: Breaking down Vikings’ offensive and defensive schemes.
The Lions’ rushing attack statistically ranks in the top half of the NFL in almost every category, but it’s not the dominating force it’s been in recent years. Their DVOA, yards per game production, and yards over expectation have been top 10 all season, but rushing yards per attempt, EPA per rush, and success rate have all been middle of the pack.
At the heart of these issues has been a regression in production on zone-blocked runs, the blocking scheme the Lions use on roughly 60% of their snaps. During the 2023 and 2024 seasons, Jahmyr Gibbs averaged 5.88 and 6.22 yards per carry (YPC) on zone-blocked plays, respectively. In 2025, that average has dropped to 3.51 YPC. The same is true with David Montgomery, who averaged 4.83 YPC in 2023 and 4.47 YPC in 2024, but is down to 3.06 YPC in 2025.
The bright spot in the Lions’ rushing attack has been their dramatic improvement behind their Duo-blocking scheme. In 2023, the Lions ran Duo on 18% of their plays; in 2024, 15%; and this season, they’ve increased it to 28.5%. The increase is surely due to their production. Gibbs averaged 4.41 YPC on Duo runs in 2023, 5.0 YPC in 2024, while Montgomery saw efforts of 3.87 YPC and 4.38 YPC. But in 2025, production has spiked, with Gibbs averaging 7.58 YPC and Montgomery 7.89 YPC behind Duo.
The Lions’ worst statistical rushing category is creating explosive runs, ranking 25th in the NFL with only 18 rushes of 10+ yards this season. However, their two biggest run plays of the season—Gibbs’ 78-yard touchdown vs. the Bucs in Week 7, and Montgomery’s 72-yard run against the Ravens in Week 3—both were results of a Duo blocking scheme.
This week, the Lions will face a very fast Vikings defense that has...
