Sidney Rice (Tom Dahlin/Viking Update)

In week ten of the 2009 NFL season the Minnesota Vikings defeated the Detroit Lions by a score of 27-10. The 1-7 Lions stayed close against the 7-1 Vikings through the first half before the Vikings’ took over in the 4th quarter. The Vikings’ gave the Lions plenty of opportunities with two turnovers and 13 penalties but the Lions failed to capitalize. Lets take a closer look at how the offense, defense, special teams, and coaching faired in this game against the Lions.

Offense The Vikings’ had two turnovers in the first half both at the fault of Adrian Peterson. Both fumbles were in the red zone. Technically the second fumble was not considered the red zone but the ball was knocked out at the 18 yard line and red zone is based on line of scrimmage. The Vikings’ had a chance early to put this game away but failed to do so due to the unfortunate fumbles by Adrian
Peterson and the penalties. Despite the turnovers and penalties the offense played well. Favre finished 20-29 with 344 yards and one touchdown. Most importantly Favre did not throw an interception or have a turnover. Sidney Rice played the game of his career finishing with 7 receptions totaling 201 yards. Adrian Peterson ran for 133 yards and finished with two touchdowns. Despite the Peterson mishaps he still had a strong game. If the Vikings played a more solid game they could have possibly scored over 40 points. Grade B

Defense The Vikings’ had 3 sacks against the Lions and allowed only 10 points. Ray Edwards lead the way with 2 sacks, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. Cedric Griffith lead the Vikings’ with 9 tackles. The defense held the Lions to 3 points in the first half. The Lions had one solid drive in the second half that resulted in a touchdown. Other than that the defense maintained a good
showing, although it was against the Detroit Lions who are now 1-8. Too many penalties. Grade B+

Special Teams
The penalties were not limited to the offense and defense. On the Lions opening drive, after a couple of first downs, the Lions were forced to punt. On 4th and 4 Brian Robison jumped offsides giving the Lions a fresh set of downs. For Brian Robison this is the second bonehead mistake in as many games. The special teams played well not having any big plays or not allowing any big plays. Ryan Longwell was perfect with 1 field goal, 3 extra points, and had some nice, deep kickoffs. Grade B

Coaching
Brad Childress seemed to call a good game for the most part. A couple of reverse calls on offense appeared to be a good idea to stop the over pursuit on the run plays. Unfortunately Peterson did not execute the play correctly. There were however 2 questionable calls. The first was on the first drive when the Vikings’ had third and goal with about 12 yards out. The call was a draw play to Peterson. It appeared that the Vikings’ were settling for a field goal. The second questionable call was the 4th and 1 where Jeff Dugan was stopped short of the first down. Overall though the game plan seemed good but the execution was the problem with the two turnovers and 13 penalties. Grade B

The Vikings go to 8-1 despite two turnovers and 13 penalties. Against the Lions the Vikings can get away with this but as the competition gets stronger a couple penalties or a turnover could mean the difference between a win or loss. The Vikings play the Seattle Seahawks next week who are a notch or two above the Lions. The Vikings’ will need to limit the turnovers and penalties and play more sound football in order to obtain the win. Nevertheless the Vikings beat the Lions and are atop of the NFC North by 3 games.

Paul Gantner