Winning Extremely Ugly

I spent Sunday afternoon at Bar None, the Vikings/Saints hangout in Manhattan, checking out the Vikings-Lions game. It was the first time I had been back in a few weeks. Despite the fact the Vikes were 16 1/2 point favorites, bum teams like the Detroit Lions always scare me.

There's an old saying about there is no one freer than someone with nothing to lose. Well, the Lions were in that position Sunday, and for three quarters they were hanging around the Vikings when they shouldn't have been. And the Vikings only had themselves to blame for it.

The final score was 27-10, but Minny should have won by five touchdowns. It really wasn't a close game by the stats. The Vikes had over 500 total yards of offense, against one of the NFL's worst defenses.

The Vikings made way too many penalties (13). One cost them a TD on their opening drive in the first, when Jim Kleinsasser was called for jumping offsides. The Vikes had to settle for a field goal.

Detroit could do little on offense in the first half. Adrian Peterson ran for an amazing 22 yard TD run after it looked like he stopped behind the line of scrimmage. It looked like he was running for another late in the first half, but Lion DB Philip Buchanon punched the ball out of AP;s arm and it rolled into the end zone where Detroit fell on it for a touchback. They added a FG to make it 10-3 at the half.

The Vikes capitalized on a Detroit fumble and Peterson ran another in from one yard and it was 17-3. But Detroit wouldn't go away, as Matthew Stafford threw an 8-yard TD late in the third to cut the lead to 17-10.

Brett Favre had a big day, as he threw for a season high 344 yards, including 201 of those yards to Sidney Rice. In the fourth, he threw a bomb to Rice of 56 yards, and that set up Favre's TD to Jeff Dugan to basically salt away the game at 24-10.

Peterson rushed for 133 yards, scored two TDs, but fumbled twice. The Vikings looked really sluggish against a far weaker opponent, and I guess some might attribute it to the week's layoff. They looked undisciplined at times with all the penalties and fumbles. It was an exasperating win for the Vikings, one that the coaching staff better take a close look at this week. It wasn't at all pretty.

The Vikings have now beaten the hapless Lions 12 straight times at the Metrodome, the last Detroit win coming in December 1997. Yep, it was the last century the Lions last had any success in Minnesota.

The Vikings take on Seattle at the Metrodome next Sunday. Green Bay beat Dallas, so the Vikes lead in the NFC North remains at three games.