Looking North: People seem to forget how good the NFC North has been of late. The Vikings won the division title with 13 wins last year. The Packers won with 13 wins the previous three seasons. With two games left and a record of 11-4, the Lions could join the 13-win club. – Mike O'Hara
Old guard: Taylor Decker has been through some hard times in Detroit as one of the elder statesmen on the roster. He was extremely emotional after the game on the field, in the locker room and at the podium speaking to media after the game. Same with center Frank Ragnow. Detroit's offensive line has been a strength all year and that was the case again Sunday.
"When you love the guys, you are playing with it means a lot more," Decker said after the game. "We just really care about each other. That's not just the offensive line that's the offense, that's the team. It's everybody. So, it makes it special to do something meaningful with guys that you really care about. It's just a special group." – Tim Twentyman
Piling on: With 12 catches, wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown has gone over the 100-catch mark for the second time in his three-year career. He has 106 catches, already tying the 106 he had in 2022. – Mike O'Hara
Good problem to have: How good has safety Ifeatu Melifonwu been the last three weeks? He has 18 tackles, 3.0 sacks, an interception, a forced fumble, four passes defended and three tackles for loss. I'd say he's settling into his role at safety pretty well.
Now the Lions have a problem a lot of teams probably wish they had. With C.J. Gardner-Johnson set to return from IR, how do the Lions divvy up the reps at safety? What kind of unique packages can they employ with Kerby Joseph, Melifonwu and Garder-Johnson? – Tim Twentyman
Scoring: The Lions scored in every quarter (so did the Vikings), and the Lions scored a touchdown in the third quarter for the second straight game. St. Brown scored on a one-yard pass from quarterback Jared Goff at the end of an 75-yard drive that took up 13 plays. – Mike O'Hara
Offensive juggernaut: Detroit had four scoring drives of at least 13 plays against the Vikings – 14 (TD), 13 (FG), 13 (TD) and 14 (TD). Those four scoring drives gained 293 yards of Detroit's 389 total yards in the contest. – Tim Twentyman
Star rookie: Running back Jahmyr Gibbs is the third rookie in franchise history to produce 1,000-plus scrimmage yards and 10 touchdowns in a season. He joins an elite group consisting of Barry Sanders and Billy Sims.
Go back and watch the juke he put on cornerback Akayleb Evans on his 18-yard run on 4th & 1 in the third quarter. It was Barry-esque. Gibbs had 100 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns in the win. – Tim Twentyman
