Staying on the field: In 17 games last season, the Lions' offense recorded a three-and-out possession just 25 times in 182 drives. That was second best in the NFL. Detroit came into Sunday's game having already recorded 16 three-and-out drives in seven games and 78 possessions. They had four more Sunday to give them 20 so far this season.
Doing it all: Linebacker Jack Campbell isn't just Detroit's leading tackler on the year, he's also rounding into a good pass rusher. Campbell recorded a sack in the second quarter Sunday where he ran through Minnesota running back Jordan Mason and pushed him into quarterback J.J. McCarthy for the sack. The flex afterward from Campbell was a perfect celebration for the dynamic play.
It's the third straight game with a sack for Campbell, who is the first Lions off-ball linebacker to record a sack in three straight games since Antonio London in 1995. Campbell finished with nine tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss and a quarterback hit vs. the Vikings.
Special teams: Outside of punter Jack Fox, who had a nice game punting the ball averaging 46.2 net yards with a long of 58 yards and placing two inside the 20-yard line, Detroit's special teams struggled Sunday. Running back Jacob Saylors averaged just 28.3 yards per kickoff. The Vikings had a 61-yard kickoff return to set up their first touchdown and blocked a late Lions field goal attempy that cornerback Isaiah Rodgers returned 41 yards to set up what turned out to be the game-winning field goal for the Vikings.
Big play LaPorta: Tight end Sam LaPorta opened the Lions scoring Sunday with a 40-yard catch and run on a 4th & 4 play on Detroit's first possession of the game. That's LaPorta's third career touchdown of 40-plus yards. No Lions tight end has done that since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger. LaPorta finished with six catches for 97 yards and a touchdown Sunday.
Penalty issues: The Lions had a season-high 10 penalties for 76 yards that doesn't include a couple Minnesota declined. It was sloppy on both sides of the football in that regard for Detroit. As soon as the Lions would get a stop on third down, they'd have a penalty that kept the drive alive. Offensively, they had too many penalties that put them behind the sticks.
Sack totals: Detroit's now produced 28 sacks, tied for the second-most they've logged through the first eight games of any season. The Lions have four players – Aidan Hutchinson (7.0), Al-Quadin Muhammad (5.0), Derrick Barnes (4.0) and Campbell (4.0) – with at least 4.0 sacks through the first eight games of a season for the first time in franchise history.
Getting Jamo involved: Wide receiver Jameson Williams logged four receptions for 66 yards (16.5 avg.) and a 37-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter that gave Detroit a chance at the comeback. It was Williams' 15th career scrimmage touchdown. Of those, 13 have come from 20-plus yards and 10 from 30-plus.
Changing the rule: Campbell was called for a roughing the passer penalty when he hit McCarthy right before he threw the football on a sack attempt. Campbell landed on McCarthy but didn't drive him into the ground or forcefully put all his weight on him. It's a rule I'd personally like to see amended in the future because it's so difficult for defenders to avoid.
