Bradford’s short passes not enough for Vikings against Lions

His comment didn’t change anything.

Darius Slay dropped into coverage as if he were going to cover a deep route and pounced on an opportunity to help the Lions come back to win another game. The latest, their fourth Thanksgiving win in a row, claimed sole possession of first place in the NFC North for the Lions. The Vikings snapped a four-game losing streak with a 30-24 home victory over Arizona last Sunday. “We’re just battling, that’s more than anything. It’s not a good feeling”.

Slay stepped in front of Thielen on a third-and-7 situation and intercepted Bradford’s pass at the 33.

Souhan said one can’t expect perfection from Bradford, but with so many injuries and obstacles on offense, all eyes are on the quarterback. His team needed those skills to be maximized by some never-tell-me-the-odds moxy.

When the Vikings are playing their style of game, they’ve been able to do both – score enough points to cover what the defense allows.

At least that’s the thinking of cornerback Captain Munnerlyn. “We didn’t execute well at the end of the game, and it’s disappointing”.

Linebacker Chad Greenway said the Vikings “let them off the hook”. Though the Lions totaled 94 rushing yards at 4.9 a carry, Theo Riddick actually had his second-fewest yardage total for the season with just 58 total yards.

Minnesota got the ball back after a touchback, but it didn’t go well.

Think, if just one time on a third down Bradford had gone for broke, there’s a chance it would have been enough to keep a drive alive. “We can’t continue to shoot ourselves in the foot with some of those penalties and negative plays”.

Bradford threw his third interception of the season on the next play. “You know, I’ve seen this team play well against good teams”. This time, they didn’t need overtime. Last year, teams converted 45 2-point conversions; this year, they have converted 36 of 68 (52.9%) and are on pace for about 55 conversions.

Kicks from that distance are routine in the National Football League, but on November 6 at Minnesota, the Lions tested Prater’s range.

Stafford has been doing that to teams all season.

As it had all game, Detroit’s defense came up huge. Pro Football Focus charted just three passes from Bradford for more than 10 yards down field and noted that his 3.5 yards per pass average was tied for the shortest of any quarterback this season.

Sam Bradford completed almost every pass he threw on Thanksgiving Day. Diggs caught 13 passes in the first meeting with the Lions.

Matthew Stafford led another crucial drive late in the fourth quarter, and Matt Prater’s kicking again helped Detroit to a tight victory over Minnesota. It would be a stretch to say the refs played a significant role in the outcome of the game.

When asked about being in first place, Caldwell added: “I don’t even worry about that stuff”. “I know how we’re getting it done, and we’re getting done by hard work and Dak’s a great example”. Stafford completed all six of his pass attempts on the 75-yard drive, including his 2-yarder to Boldin. It’s understandable, especially considering that Detroit won the other game against Minnesota this year in highly improbable fashion in overtime.

PASSING- MIN, S.Bradford 31-37-1-224.