ALLEN PARK, Mich. — The Minnesota Vikings are coming, bent on bruising and blitzing. The Detroit Lions have seen this before, and it still sounds positively frightful.

“They create havoc and chaos,” Campbell said Wednesday. “And inevitably they force you to make massive errors, massive turnovers. It’s just wave after wave and these offenses are cracking significantly.”

Good thing the NFL doesn’t allow Nordic marauders to use axes and swords and bring their gigantic Viking horn. Good thing the Lions have Jared Goff.

What a delicious collision we’re about to see. The Vikings (6-0) are menacing, the NFL’s last unbeaten team. They have the best defense in the league by a wide margin, statistically and reputationally. The Lions (4-2) have one of the best offenses in the league, statistically and reputationally.

Vikings’ defensive coordinator Brian Flores is an unrepentant blitzer. For three years now in Minnesota, he has unleashed defenders in waves, and last season he finally hit the Lions hard. The Vikings swept the series and sacked Goff 10 times, five in each game. He threw two interceptions and no touchdown passes.

The Lions had beaten Minnesota five straight before everything wobbled, and Goff had been masterful. Flores was the coordinator in four of those games and Goff completed a staggering 78.5% of his passes as the Lions rolled up point totals of 31, 31, 30 and 30.

Flores has complex blitz packages, and most important, he has the experienced players – Harrison Smith, Josh Metellus, Blake Cashman, Andrew Van Ginkel, Dallas Turner, Eric Wilson – to pull it off, even when everyone knows it’s coming. They blitzed on 85% of the Colts’ dropbacks last week, the highest rate since the stat has been kept. The Vikings won 16-10, which is how they win most games, by the skin of their defensive teeth.

Goff is playing as well as any quarterback in the league, and yes, perhaps climbing into the MVP discussion. He has 14 touchdown passes and zero interceptions, the second signal-caller in NFL history to post those numbers through six games. Oh, and this timely stat: Goff’s 134.7 passer rating against the blitz, according to TruMedia, is No. 1. Where other teams see chaos, Goff sees opportunity.

“They're obviously very well-coached with Flores, and they've got a number of guys who have been there for a long time and know their way around all the calls and checks,” Goff said. “So there is that cat-and-mouse chess game they'll play, and it's part of the fun, part of the challenge.”

Whether it’s a chess game, a cat-and-mouse game, or basic Wordle, it’s a puzzle, with Flores known to change things up year to year, or game to game. Campbell and Goff clearly like puzzles, whether it’s dissecting fourth-down numbers, barking out audibles or building Lego models.

Wait, what? Hey, it fits Goff’s analytical mind. He has a snazzy Lego DeLorean displayed in his house, which he put together after training camp. For his recent birthday, he received a fancy Lego sports car that he hasn’t opened yet. It’s not quite the physical challenge of being a Blitz Buster, but it’s the cerebral challenge he enjoys.

“Yeah, I do regular people stuff,” he said with a laugh. “I guess I like solving problems. I think that's like our world of football. If you tear everything away, that's all we're doing is solving problems constantly. You're putting these little pieces together and you're trying to figure out how it's going to fit. You're following the Lego instructions, sure, but you’re putting stuff together.”

Sounds mind-clearing, creating order out of chaos.

“It’s like when you buy a new piece of furniture and you put it together, it’s kind of satisfying, right?” he said. “Once it's done, you're like, okay, I built this. It’s cool. It's therapeutic.”

Many quarterbacks need a little therapy after facing the Vikings, who are first or second in the league in the following defensive categories: Points per game (12.3), first downs allowed, total yards allowed, passing yards allowed, red-zone percentage and a few others. They’re tied with the Lions for most sacks with 21.

The Lions are first or second in the league in the following offensive categories: Points per game (30.7), first downs, passing yards and total yards, among others.

Something has to give Sunday, and someone has to take it. Ford Field should be bedlam, which could affect Kyler Murray and the Vikings’ middlin’ to below-middlin’ offense. They do have running back Aaron Jones and receiver Justin Jefferson, and in case you forgot, the Lions still rank last in total yards and passing yards allowed.

The Lions’ defense remains fully capable of getting picked apart, until further notice. But their offense appears whole again, unlike last season when their line was battered and aging. Center Cade Mays is back from injury, and Juice Scruggs played very well in his absence. The offensive line could be approaching standout status again, perhaps just in time.

Mays already sounds like he speaks Goff’s language. He’ll lean on the 11-year veteran quarterback because this is Mays’ first look at the Vikings’ mayhem.

“It’s like putting a puzzle together, figuring it out,” Mays said. “(Goff) is very helpful, he’s seen a lot in this league, he prepares like a pro. He’s one of the best for a reason.”

Goff isn’t always comfortable accepting praise because he knows nothing is guaranteed, and also knows he’s blessed by the Lions’ array of versatile talent. But his acumen keeps growing, especially the play-action pass game, and he’s meshed well with new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing.

Last year’s sweep by the Vikings — 27-24 and 23-10 — gives the Lions something to think about, as well as something to avenge.

“Goff’s very poised, very smart, and he knows his issues,” Campbell said. “He processes it very quickly, that's where he's grown tremendously. He can diagnose in a hurry.”

Sometimes it’s not hard to diagnose. The Vikings will walk eight defenders up to the line, then maybe back off, maybe not. Everything looks like a disguise, although it often isn’t. They blitz more than any team in the league – above 70% – and aren’t afraid to get burned.

“Yeah, they don't mind telling you they're blitzing sometimes, and they want you to deal with it,” Goff said. “I think they're really good. I think we're really good too. There will be some rough times and some rough hits. But there’s always a chance of a big play the other way.”

That’s the cat-and-mouse game, the Lego game, the mind game. To beat the blitz you have to solve the puzzle, which probably has changed since the last time you saw it. The Vikings send a lot and Goff has seen a lot, and once again, he’ll have to think as quickly as he throws.

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