The story going into the matchup was how the Lions defense would put pressure on J.J. McCarthy and the Vikings offense. However, the end result had Lions fans wondering what had happened to their own high-powered offense. It wasn’t just the pressure that Jared Goff was facing, but the complete lack of a running game as well. Per Nate Tice and Next Gen Stats, the Vikings generated 15 quick pressures against the Lions offense. The 35.7% quick pressure rate is the highest of any team in the 2025 season. It’s also the highest rate allowed by the Lions offense since week 12, 2022, when the Bills did it.
Any time Jahmyr Gibbs was put into pass block, he was seemingly getting blown back into Goff’s lap, and the stats back it up as well. Gibbs allowed 7 total pressures and one sack with a time to pressure allowed of 2.1 seconds.
The high-powered Lions offense was shut down by the Brian Flores schemes. To have this occur after a bye week where you have two weeks to prepare for your next opponent is unthinkable. It was a bad loss, and Dan Campbell and company will need to get the protection figured out fast in an NFC North race that is getting tighter.
This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Vikings pass rush exploited Lions pass protection issues in Week 8
Reporting by Lions Wire / Lions Wire
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