ALLEN PARK — Open those presents and get those family parties out of the way, because the Detroit Lions are headed to Minnesota for Christmas.

The Lions (8-7) will face the Vikings (7-8), needing a win to keep their dwindling playoff dreams alive. If the Lions win out and the Green Bay Packers lose out, then they will make the playoffs. That is the only remaining scenario for Detroit to return to the postseason for the third consecutive season.

There is still plenty to dissect with two games left, so let’s dive into MLive’s three burning questions below:

Is Detroit’s offense better equipped to handle Minnesota’s unrelenting blitz this time?

Well, they weren’t back in Week 9. And things look worse on the interior offensive line this time around. Running back Jahmyr Gibbs also had a nightmare day picking up the blitz in pass-protection duties.

Altogether, the Vikings hit them for five sacks, 10 quarterback hits and 21 pressures. Gibbs allowed seven pressures and one sack on 15 pass-blocking reps, for the worst showing in that department for a running back since 2018.

Whether it’s Graham Glasgow or Kingsley Eguakun at center, the challenge ahead is as tough as they come.

Minnesota’s defense doesn’t just blitz more than any other team in the league; they do it nearly 8% points more than anyone else heading into Christmas. Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores smelled blood in the water in that first matchup, sending cross-dog blitz after cross-dog blitz at the interior offensive line.

Detroit’s run game has vanished recently, with only 85 yards, including a 15-yard showing against the Pittsburgh Steelers, across the last two games. Jared Goff has had to drop back 95 times in those back-to-back losses, and if he’s forced into that type of day, then buckle up, because the O-line has to be better.

“I go back to the game, we made so many mistakes all over the map, you know, and so we just gotta eliminate the errors,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “Let’s just eliminate the errors. Look, our backs are gonna have to protect. They know that. And so is the O-line, and so are the tight ends.

“At times you’re gonna have to little chip and nudge, and then sometimes you’ve got to beat the rush with your receivers. You’ve got to play faster than their rush comes.”

Can Jared Goff continue to put this offense on his back to keep the team’s playoff hopes alive?

On that note, Goff has been the furthest thing from the problem during this slide out of the playoffs. Across the last three games, the Lions quarterback has shouldered the load, throwing for 1,000-plus yards with seven touchdowns and no interceptions.

In that first game against the Vikings, Goff completed 25 of 37 attempts for 284 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He did that while taking a season-worst five sacks and hit 10 times against the Vikings. Goff has had previous success against Flores’ defense and these Vikings, but with the offensive line play in the dumps, it’s a daunting test.

Goff hasn’t turned the ball over in four straight games, with only two interceptions dating back to before the bye week. And with more uncertainty at center, the quarterback might have even more on his plate if it’s Eguakun making his second-career start.

Identifying blitzes, where they’re coming from, who needs to be ready, and any communication with quick looks to his receivers will be on Goff’s shoulders.

Campbell said they are putting a lot on the quarterback’s plate this week, but that’s “nothing new.” He knows the Vikings present a ton of problems with their aggressive defense, and he’s banking on the quarterback to hold things down in that regard.

“But I remember their pressures were doing a good job getting home,” Goff said of the Vikings. “I don’t think we really threw it or ran it very well, to be honest, if I’m remembering correctly. So, yeah, again, exploiting their pressures, if they want to bring the pressures, and then we need to find ways to find openings.”

Will we see more zone coverage from Detroit’s struggling defense on Christmas?

The Lions more than tweaked their defensive style against the Steelers on Sunday. They switched from a group that plays more man coverage than any other team to living in zone coverage for most of the day.

Kelvin Sheppard had his defense play more zone and two-high safety looks than they had all season. The first-year defensive coordinator said he wasn’t looking to overhaul the entire scheme. But knew they had to tweak some of the things they’ve been doing based on the personnel they have now and recent showings.

The Lions came into last week’s game leading the league by playing man coverage 44.4% of the time. But against the Steelers, they were in zone on 37 of 45 dropbacks by Aaron Rodgers (82.2%). They had two-high safeties on 75.7% of their defensive snaps, and actually enjoyed some decent returns in zone.

Sheppard’s group allowed just 4.5 yards per play and a 27% offensive success rate when in zone. When in man coverage, Pittsburgh’s offense averaged 13.4 yards per play and enjoyed a 85.7% success rate.

The Lions are missing cornerback Terrion Arnold, and safeties Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph for the rest of the season. Avonte Maddox has been a non-participant in practice this week after handling a massive workload for the last three games.

Amik Robertson has been playing with a giant club on his left hand. So, playing some more zone makes sense with all the missing pieces in the secondary.

“As you guys know, the rush and coverage always go together,” Campbell said. “And we have not worked in unison for a number of plays. We’ve gotten hit on a number of plays. Some of that is – we play a certain style, right? And then if you feel like you’re not executing there, then you try to give some help in areas. Well, I kind of mentioned this last week. When you do that, then you expose yourself and others.

“And that happened a little bit yesterday (against the Steelers), we tried to play with a lighter box, and then we got hit in the run game. Some of them we missed some tackles that showed up. Where we fit, who the support player is, that showed. It’s obviously – it’s too much, man, it’s not sustainable. Listen, you live, and you learn.”