Predictions: Vikings-Lions

The SI All Lions staff provides its predictions for the Detroit Lions' Week 13 contest with the Minnesota Vikings.

Vito Chirco 

No Dalvin Cook. No problem. 

Expect Minnesota Vikings backup running back Alexander Mattison to be more than up for the challenge in the team's Week 13 matchup with the Lions. 

Remember, he finished with 25 rushes for 113 yards, to go along with seven receptions for 40 yards and a touchdown, in the Vikings' 19-17 Week 5 triumph against Detroit. 

Additionally, this week, the Lions will be without their most consistently productive offensive weapon in second-year running back D'Andre Swift.

And even with a healthy Swift, Detroit's offense has only averaged 15.8 points per game this season, the third-worst mark in the NFL through 12 weeks. 

Sorry, Lions fans. But, the first win of the 2021 campaign for Dan Campbell & Co. isn't coming this week.

Vikings 27, Lions 17 

Daniel Kelly

The last time these two teams met, it drove Lions head coach Dan Campbell to tears, as Detroit lost a heartbreaker to Minnesota, 19-17.

The play of Lions cornerback Jerry Jacobs was even more upsetting, if you ask me. On the final drive of the game, he backed off and all but let Minnesota's Kirk Cousins and Adam Thielen play pitch and catch, which set up the Vikings' game-winning field goal. 

Minnesota is fighting for its playoff lives, and Detroit is "fighting" for the top pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. This will be hardly a contest, as the Vikings will blow the Lions out of the snowbanks. 

Vikings 43, Lions 16 

Jeffrey Becker, USA TODAY Sports

John Maakaron 

I wonder if the Lions can stop quarterback Kirk Cousins, wideout Justin Jefferson and running back Alexander Mattison this week. It feels like the defense will figure out how to win one of these weeks. 

I think the Lions again try to keep it conservative and will keep things close to the vest offensively, for the most part. With nothing to lose, maybe Campbell & Co. air it out just a tad more. I could see the Lions getting their first victory at Ford Field against the Vikings. 

Lions 20, Vikings 17

Adam Strozynski

At this point, this coaching staff, specifically head coach Dan Campbell, has shaken any hope I originally had of this team getting a win this season. 

It's been a multitude of errors, blunders and mismanagement in games that has cost this team at least three wins in recent weeks.  

I don't see a Thanksgiving break and reading "Football for Dummies" helping the Detroit Lions get that elusive win. 

Also, Kirk Cousins has looked like an MVP candidate in the second half of the season, with a 7.67-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio. 

Vikings 35, Lions 17