When wide receiver Jameson Williams plays football the way he has the last two games for the Detroit Lions' offense, they're even more dangerous to try and contain.

Williams notched seven receptions for 138 yards and four touchdowns against Arizona and Green Bay the last two games with zero drops. He's stretched the field, sat down and found gaps in zone coverage, and made difficult catches in traffic. He's done it all.

"He's a big part of it," Lions offensive coordinator Drew Petzing said of Williams' impact on the offense the last two weeks. "He's dynamic, he's explosive, he's fast. He can change the game at a moment's notice."

Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown said Thursday he's noticed the impact Williams has had on defenses the last two games and credited it with some of his own opportunities last week on his way to nine catches for 153 yards.

"It's exciting," Williams said of his play and the opportunities within Petzing's offense the last two games. "I'm just going out there and trying to execute to the most of my ability when my number is called. It's fun. It's a boost when you score a touchdown and makes it more fun."

Williams looks to keep it rolling Sunday against Minnesota. The Vikings have the No. 1 scoring defense, No. 2 total defense and No. 2 defense against the pass. When they blitz, which is about 70 percent of the time this season, there are one-on-one opportunities to make plays if the Lions can block it up and give quarterback Jared Goff time. Williams hopes to take advantage of some of those Sunday.

PERFECT ATTENDANCE

Wednesday's practice report had 10 players on it with seven not taking part. Some of that was veteran rest and not injury related with edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson, defensive lineman Alim McNeill, tackle Penei Sewell and edge rusher DJ Wonnum getting a day off. All four were back at it Thursday.

St. Brown (ankle), running back Jahmyr Gibbs (shoulder) and defensive lineman Tyleik Williams (illness) did not practice Wednesday. All three were back on the field at the Meijer Performance Center Thursday during the portion of practice open to the media and were listed as full participants on Thursday's practice report. That's a great sign all three are trending in the right direction ahead of Sunday's key NFC North matchup with Minnesota at Ford Field.

Every player currently on the roster took part in practice on Thursday as Detroit continues to enjoy good health heading into Week 8.

ROOKIE PROGRESSION

Rookie edge rusher Derrick Moore has found a bit of a groove and has gained confidence within Kelvin Sheppard's defense.

Last Sunday was his best game of the season. He played 20 snaps for the second game in a row after playing less than that combined the prior two games. He earned his highest grade of the season from Pro Football Focus and had a tackle and quarterback hurry.

"Early on, it's like, 'I'm playing nine snaps, seven snaps. It's like, ah.' And I told him, 'Just stick with it. Just trust the process here. You got the best in the league coaching you brother in (run game coordinator/defensive line coach) Kacy Rodgers, the best defensive line coach is in this building guys," Sheppard said Thursday.

Moore continues increasing his toolbox of pass rush moves and the Lions are moving him around and letting him stand up and rush trying to accentuate what he does best.

"I love [Moore's trajection] and he'll continue to progress, I believe," Sheppard said.

Moore said Thursday he's enjoyed more opportunities the last two games and while he hasn't made the splash plays just yet, he believes they're coming if he stays the course.

MARRIAGE BETWEEN RUSH & COVER

It's been much better the last two games against Arizona and Green Bay, and Sheppard is looking for more of the same against a Vikings' offense ranked 29th in total offense (281.7) and 29th in passing offense (162.3) heading into Sunday's matchup at Ford Field.

Sheppard said one big thing he's noticed the last two games is the communication across the entire defense being much better than it was the first month of the season.

"These players are starting to talk a lot more," he said. "They're starting to meet a lot more together. They understand on certain things, we need to be there really fast, D-line. On other things, we can work and manipulate some things.

"And just the overall total understanding of these guys starting to play and merge together, gel together, and the trust factor I think is the biggest thing that you're starting to see kind of grow and gain as we move here."

EXTRA POINT

This is Goff's 11th NFL season but according to NFL Research he's never faced a No. 1 scoring defense in his career - regular season or playoffs. Sunday's matchup against the Vikings' defense that's allowing opponents to average just 12.3 points per game will be his first crack at it.