A few things keyed the Lions’ past two victories.
They converted third downs at a high rate, avoided defensive lapses and converted touchdowns instead of field goals.
So far against the Vikings, the Lions haven’t mirrored that success at all. They finished the first half 0 for 6 on third down and only scored a field goal on their one red-zone drive.
The Lions also allowed the Vikings to score a touchdown on their opening drive after a 54-yard pass to rookie Jarius Wright moved them to the 1.
The Lions and Vikings have had similar time of possession (Lions lead 15:31 to 14:29) and total yards (Vikings lead 152-115), but third downs and a Matthew Stafford interception have doomed the Lions so far.
Lions running back Mikel Leshoure had just 26 yards on 10 carries. Wide receiver Calvin Johnson had four catches for 36 yards. Quarterback Matthew Stafford was just 12 of 20 for 97 yards with an interception, giving him a 51.5 passer rating in the first half.
Down 13-3, the Lions are still within range of a comeback, but they’ll need to come out swinging in the third quarter.