Power plays: The Vikings' statement drive to start the second half was something the Lions would like to do. They'd cut the deficit to 20-10 with a touchdown late in the first half, and the Vikings answered back on the first possession of the third quarter. On four straight running plays they drove 75 yards to a touchdown to expand the lead to 27-10. It was a prime example of power football. – *Mike O'Hara
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Marvelous Marvin: Marvin Jones Jr. continues to be a bright spot for the Detroit Lions' offense. Year two in Detroit has been very good and very consistent for him. Jones caught another six passes Thursday for 106 yards and two more scores. That brings his season totals to 44 receptions for 731 yards and eight touchdowns with five games still left. The little things he worked on this offseason like being friendlier to the quarterback and adding strength have paid off. – Tim Twentyman
Goose eggs: Turkey eggs would be more fitting on Thanksgiving Day, but sticking with conventional wording the Lions had goose eggs in two critical areas that helped the Vikings build their lead in the first half. The Lions did not have a rushing first down, and they were 0-for-4 on third down. For the game they had one rushing first down and were 3-for-11 on first down. – Mike O'Hara
Not sharp: Stafford missed a streaking Golden Tate on what could have been a big play late in the game on 3rd and 7. The next ball Stafford threw was intercepted and he never got it back. Stafford was too high on the throw to Tate. Thursday wasn't the sharpest Stafford's been this season, a season in which he's basically carried the offense with his right arm. There were some other throws scrambling around and improvising that he typically makes that he just didn't convert vs. Minnesota. Credit the Vikings -- that's a good defense -- but Stafford called the performance "frustrating" after the game, probably because he knows he usually hits on a number of throws he missed on. – *Tim Twentyman
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Golladay deep all day: Rookie receiver Kenny Golladay continued to show he can help the offense with big plays with two catches for 61 yards. In each of the two previous games he also had two catches – for 64 yards against Green Bay and 52 yards against Chicago. In the last three games his six catches have gained 177 yards – an average of 29.5 yards per catch. – Mike O'Hara
Defensive pressure: Credit the Lions defensive front for responding pretty well to arguably their poorest outing of the season last week in Chicago. The Lions were credited with just three quarterback pressures in that game against the Bears a week ago. Ziggy Ansah, Akeem Spence and Anthony Zettel were credited with sacks vs. Minnesota, and the Lions hit Vikings quarterback Case Keenum nine times in the game. There's still a lot of things to clean up upfront on defense, but that was a much better effort we saw Thursday. – *Tim Twentyman *
Tate coming up short: He was targeted eight times Thursday and had four catches – for seven yards. He also ran twice for 13 yards, giving him 20 yards in total offense – an average of 2.86 yards per touch. Some games, that's how the offense rolls. It was an unusual stats line for Tate, who's been enormously productive in his four seasons as a Lion. – Mike O'Hara
