Following the controversial calls in Monday night's loss to the Green Bay Packers, the Detroit Lions have to turn around and face the Minnesota Vikings on a short week.
The Lions could use a win against the NFC North to get things back on track, and here are four reasons why they should be able to attain that win.
4. Matthew Stafford is balling out right now
Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford is currently at the top of his game, as this season, he has already thrown for 1,387 yards, completing more than 61 percent of his passes with an efficient touchdown-to-interception ratio of 9-to-2.
His recent play is earning recognition from the Vikings coaching staff, as head coach Mike Zimmer spoke highly of Stafford earlier this week.
“He’s throwing the ball into a lot of tight windows, he’s pulling the trigger, he’s still scrambling like he has,” Zimmer said in a conference call with Detroit reporters. “I feel like he’s making the right reads, getting the ball out quick.”
While Stafford is playing his best brand of football right now, the same cannot be said for Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, who has been called the weak link of Minnesota's talented offense.
The sizable advantage that the Lions have in the quarterback department should help lead Detroit to victory
3. Ford Field will be rocking
Ford Field is typically a pretty loud stadium with passionate fans to begin with, but Lions fans will be especially loud this week due to the pent-up rage they have from last week's officiating mistakes.
With the Detroit faithful behind the Lions, while the game is currently a pick'em in Vegas, having the crazy Motor City maniacs behind them should help the Lions come through with a win over the Vikings.
2. The Vikings defense is not at full strength
As talented as the Minnesota defense has been, they have battling injuries all season, and the Lions will luckily be catching them at just the right time.
Linebackers Ben Gedeon and Kentrell Brothers, who sat out of part of practice on Wednesday, will either play injured or miss the game entirely. And while fellow defenders Xavier Rhodes, Eric Kendricks, Anthony Harris, and Shamar Stephen all fully participated in Wednesday's practice, they have all been struggling with various injuries and may not be at full strength for the game.
With the Lions' passing attack playing so efficiently in the past few games, having so many defenders in Minnesota's back seven nursing injuries could help the Lions convert on more than a few big pass plays.
1. Trey Flowers is ready to exploit a former Lion
Of all the Lions who got screwed over with incorrect calls, Flowers was the most damaged victim of those calls, being that he was called for two phantom hands-to-the-face calls that created a viral post-game interview clip.
Trey Flowers doing everything in his power to not get fined by the league while still calling the refs idiots pic.twitter.com/jDnPJ87lge
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) October 15, 2019
While Flowers showed a lot of sorrow and contained rage in that clip, he can take that rage out on the Minnesota offensive line and cause hell for Kirk Cousins all day long.
It helps Flowers that the guy projected to block him in former Lions offensive tackle Riley Reiff has been limited in practice this week while nursing an ankle injury.
Lions fans know that Reiff struggled during his time in Detroit and those present at Ford Field will be roasting the former Lions first round pick every chance they get.
If Flowers can implement the rage from the wrong calls last week on Reiff and pressure Cousins, he can not only earn a few sacks, but may also cause Cousins to make dumb throws that will fall right into the hands of Detroit defenders.
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