People of a certain age will remember a pro wrestler named Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania III in Detroit, the moment the irresistible force met the immovable object. And there was nothing fake when Hogan — in front of 93,000 fans at the home of Barry Sanders and the Lions — somehow lifted and body slammed the 7-foot-4, 520-pound Andre the Giant.
Brian Flores has molded his Vikings defense into an immovable object. On Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium (1 p.m. ET, FOX), Minnesota (5-0) hosts Detroit (4-1) and its irresistible force of an offense. And there was nothing fake about his response when a reporter asked Flores how he plans to counter the aggressive Lions.
“I try to fight fire with fire,” Flores said Tuesday, unable to hide the twinkle in his eyes as he anticipates this one. “That’s just me. Some other people are different.”
Flores is different because he’s so aggressive. His fire comes in the form of blitz and disguise, unlike any other NFL defense. Fresh off a Week 6 bye, the Vikings lead the NFL in opponent passer rating (70.3) and interceptions per game (2.20). They’re second in sacks per game (4.00) behind the Giants (4.33), and rushing yards per game (67.20) behind Baltimore (59.00).
The Vikings are married to aggressiveness on both sides of the ball, and Flores will camp on that hill until death does him part. It’s something Detroit hasn’t seen very often since Ben Johnson became offensive coordinator in 2022. But Flores hasn’t seen many offenses like the Lions, something he called a major challenge.
“Across the board, they play physical,” said Flores. “They don’t really have a lot of weaknesses. Normally, you watch the tape, you say, ‘Hey we’re going to attack them here.’ That’s not really the case with this group. So, really, from the backs to the tight ends to the receivers to the O-line to the quarterback to the play-caller, all of it is high-level.”
Detroit has also produced points at a high level, a combined 89 the last two weeks in wins over decent opponents, a 42-29 win against Seattle and a 47-9 annihilation at Dallas. The Lions lead the NFL with 30.2 points per game and rank third with 416.0 yards per contest.
And if all that weren’t enough for a Sunday blockbuster, the game is a battle for first place in the NFC North. Through six games, the division is the first since realignment in 2002 with all four teams recording at least four wins. Get to your seats early for this one.
Discover more from Pro Football Post
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.