The Minnesota Vikings enter their Week 8 matchup against the Detroit Lions sitting atop the NFC North. Their defense has been one of the toughest to crack this season, with no opponent managing to hand them their first loss through the opening seven weeks.

However, former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho believes the Vikings have not yet faced an offense close to what Detroit brings. He predicted Sunday would be the first real test of Minnesota’s unbeaten run.

Emmanuel Acho Expects Lions to Give Vikings a Reality Check

During a segment on the “Speakeasy” show, Acho argued that Minnesota’s unbeaten run has come against a schedule that has not included a team with the offensive firepower Detroit brings to Ford Field this weekend.

Detroit’s lineup of Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Jameson Williams is a deadly combination, and Acho argued Minnesota has not had to account for anything close to it yet.

He opened with the central point of his prediction: “I think the Vikings get exposed this weekend. And even if their exposure doesn’t come in the means of a loss, I think right now the Vikings have been like this big bad wolf defensively. Nobody can outdo them. But the Vikings this season have yet to see a player like Jahmyr Gibbs.”

Acho went through the big names the Vikings have faced on schedule, specifically to make the case that the level of competition changes in Week 8.

“The Vikings, the best players they’ve seen: Chris Olave, Emeka Egbuka, Luther Burden III, DeAndre Swift, Christian Watson. Like, the Vikings haven’t seen a player as dynamic as Jahmyr Gibbs. Obviously, Jonathan Taylor is a very good player, especially once he gets started,” he continued.

“But you ain’t seen a Jahmyr Gibbs yet. You haven’t seen an Amon-Ra St. Brown yet. Like, you ain’t seen a team that has two All-Pros on offense at the same time. You ain’t seen a team with a player that has the speed who’s exclusively a Jameson Williams, just go outrun everybody.”

Acho then compared Williams’ role in Detroit’s offense with Christian Watson’s in Green Bay. While Watson has developed into a more complete receiver, Acho sees Williams as a different kind of threat because of his ability to beat defenders with pure speed.

“Christian Watson is no longer just a ‘go outrun everybody’ guy. Now Christian’s a legitimate, full-route wide receiver kind of guy. Jameson Williams is, ‘Hey, just go take the top off.’ So I think the Lions will expose the Vikings from being this big bad wolf,” he said.

Despite his concerns about Minnesota’s defense, Acho stopped short of predicting a Lions victory: “I don’t know if the Lions will get the dub, but I think this will be a weird game. I could see the Vikings’ offense turning up and the Vikings’ defense struggling.”

Co-host LeSean McCoy pushed back after Acho floated the idea of the Vikings offense having a big day, questioning whether Kyler Murray was the quarterback to put up those numbers. Acho held his ground and went further with a score prediction.

“I could see this being like a 33-27 game,” Acho said.

McCoy pressed again: “You think Kyler’s put 30-something points up?”

Acho kept his projection in: “I could see two passing touchdowns, one rushing.”

So far this season, the Vikings quarterback has thrown for 812 yards and three touchdowns while completing 66.4% of his passes, and has added 132 rushing yards on 25 carries. PFN’s QB Impact Metric ranks Murray 27th through five appearances with a grade of 68.2.

Minnesota’s defense has been one of the most dominant units in the league through the first half of the season. The Vikings have allowed just 12.3 points per game, but the offense has been a different story.

PFN’s Offense Impact Metric places the Vikings 29th in the NFL with a grade of 68.5, ranking last in success rate and 30th in EPA per play.

The defense has covered all of it. According to PFN’s Defense Impact Metric, Minnesota ranks first in the NFL with a grade of 94.9, the ninth-best defensive performance in league history. The Vikings lead the league in pass defense, success rate allowed, and EPA per play allowed, while ranking second in run defense.