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NOTEBOOK: Vaki takes 'huge step,' gains 'a lot of trust' with performance vs. Vikings

Running back Sione Vaki chose a good time to have the best offensive performance of his career.

In a contest where the Detroit Lions knew they had to run the football effectively to stymie Minnesota's aggressive attacking defense, the Lions put up 230 rushing yards in a 19-15 win at Ford Field.

Jahmyr Gibbs led the way with 153 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries (6.7 avg.). He now has 1,058 scrimmage yards on the season, passing Billy Sims (991 in 1980) for the most scrimmage yards through the first seven games of a season in franchise history.

Vaki played a big role too, recording a career-high 65 yards on 11 carries (5.9) with some of those being critical chunk plays in the fourth quarter. Vaki had 34 rushing yards in the fourth quarter along with a five-yard reception.

"Vaki was one of the guys we challenged this week going into this game," Lions head coach Dan Campbell said. "We were going to need him. He needed to show up. He was going to need to get some carries for us, some significant carries.

"They needed to be real yards, and he was going to need to be able to pass protect for us. And I thought he took a big step today. That's a huge step. He gained a lot of trust today, a ton."

The Lions have leaned heavily on Gibbs this season. Sunday's game by Vaki, earning the trust of Campbell and his offensive coaches, should allow them to give a little bit more of the load to Vaki and keep Gibbs fresher throughout the course of the season.

"Vaki ran his tail off," quarterback Jared Goff said after the game. "And when he's able to do that, it just gives Gibbs that much more of a breath on the sideline to come back and do his thing at his full capacity. And the O-line loved it. They loved the challenge of, like, we're going to keep leaning on you guys. And I thought they played great."

Vaki had just 56 rushing yards on 16 carries this season coming into Sunday's contest. He set single-game career highs in rushing attempts, rushing yards, rushing average and scrimmage yards. Sunday's performance has likely earned him a bigger role moving forward.

ROOKIE CONTRIBUTIONS

Before leaving with a hamstring injury in the fourth quarter, rookie linebacker Jimmy Rolder had his best performance of the season. He led Detroit with five tackles and recorded his first career sack, two tackles for loss and a quarterback hit.

Since tackles for loss began being officially tracked in 1999, Rolder joins Boss Bailey (2003) as the only rookie off-ball linebackers in Detroit history to produce at least five tackles, two tackles for loss and 1.0 sack in a game.

Rookie defensive lineman Skyler Gill-Howard recorded his second sack of the season on a terrific rush up the middle, putting a great move on Minnesota right guard Will Fries to finish at Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray. Gill-Howard also chipped in three tackles, a tackle for loss and a quarterback hit. He's been terrific all season playing a key rotational role along Detroit's defensive front.

Defensive back Keith Abney II came in for the injured Brian Branch (concussion) and held his own. He recorded his first career interception Week 5 in Arizona and has earned more and more of a role in Sheppard's defense at safety.

Edge rusher Eric O'Neill (one tackle) played some key snaps Sunday, and found a way to make an impact. He's been great on special teams all year but has earned more reps on defense as well.

View photos from the Detroit Lions vs. Minnesota Vikings game at Ford Field on Sunday, Nov. 1 in Detroit.

EXTRA POINTS

  • Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown had seven receptions for 46 yards Sunday, reaching 600-career catches. He is the quickest player to reach 600-career catches in NFL history, doing so in only 90 career games.
  • Detroit's 230 rushing yards are the fourth-most they've ever produced against the Vikings and the most since rushing for 267 yards at Minnesota on Nov. 24, 1991. This is the most rushing yards the Vikings have allowed since surrendering 259 rushing yards at Philadelphia in 2023.

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