Minnesota @ Detroit preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 12, 2014 ) Detroit 17, Minnesota 3

Detroit's pursuit of a playoff berth goes straight through its three NFC North rivals, beginning Sunday at home against Minnesota. The Lions have posted consecutive 34-17 wins over Chicago and Tampa Bay, respectively, and enter Week 15 needing to win two of their remaining three games to clinch a playoff spot and three victories to assure themselves of a first-round bye. Playing at home in the postseason could prove critical for a team that is 6-1 at Ford Field, including four straight wins.

Detroit manhandled Minnesota in Week 6 to pick up a 17-3 victory on the road, limiting the Vikings to just 215 yards while intercepting rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater three times. Bridgewater began to pick up his game soon thereafter and is completing 62.4 percent of his passes for an average of 220.7 yards with nine touchdowns and three interceptions over Minnesota's current 4-2 surge. Two of those wins have come in overtime, including last Sunday's 30-24 triumph over the New York Jets.

TV: 4:25 p.m. FOX. LINE: Lions -7.5. O/U: 43

ABOUT THE VIKINGS (6-7): Minnesota was officially eliminated from playoff contention by virtue of Arizona's win over St. Louis on Thursday, leaving the remainder of the season a mission to develop a young squad for the future. One of the tasks along the way might be to get dynamic wide receiver/returner Cordarrelle Patterson back into a more prominent role after he has been dropped down the depth chart and virtually eliminated from the offensive game plan in recent weeks, picking up zero targets over the last two games. "I want him to be a great player," head coach Mike Zimmer told reporters Thursday. "I don't know when it'll happen and I'm hoping like crazy it does because I want him to be a great player."

ABOUT THE LIONS (9-4): Matthew Stafford's ability to get the ball to superstar wide receiver Calvin Johnson often has been crucial to Detroit's success, and never has that been more the case than over the past several weeks. In the Lions' last three wins, Johnson - who has been hampered by ankle and elbow injuries - has averaged 139 yards while scoring four TDs, compared to a total of 124 yards with no scores in the last three losses in which he has appeared. Stafford has thrown for fewer than 200 yards just three times since the start of the 2011 season, one of those occasions coming at Minnesota earlier this year as Johnson was inactive.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Lions DT Ndamukong Suh, who had two sacks against Minnesota earlier this season, was absent from Thursday's practice due to an illness.

2. Vikings RB Matt Asiata ran for a career-high 115 yards against Detroit in a 14-13 win last Dec. 29.

3. Minnesota is tied for eighth in the NFL with 4.5 yards per carry while Detroit is 30th at 3.4.

PREDICTION: Lions 24, Vikings 17