Vikings Edge One Out Against The Lions

For the second game in a row, Minnesota rode the back of one it’s defensive playmakers to a tight victory over the Detroit Lions. Last week it was Antoine Winfield, this week it was Kevin Williams’ turn. Williams finished the day with 8 solo tackles, including a whopping 4 sacks. His play was supplemented by another strong outing from Jared Allen, who also registered a sack and also pressured Detroit QB Dan Orlovsky out of the Detroit endzone for a safety.

The win was an ugly one to say the least, highlighted by a combined 8 sacks by the two teams as well as three Viking turnovers, which easily could’ve been 5 had it not been for fortunate bounces on fumbles by Gus Frerotte and Bobby Wade. Adrian Peterson, despite putting up good rushing numbers, lost two fumbles and Frerotte threw a pick to Leigh Bodden. Peterson’s fumble at the Detroit 5 yard line was particularly untimely.

Despite the interception and fumble, Frerotte demonstrated that he can do enough in supplementing Minnesota’s running game to give the Vikings a chance to win most weeks. Bernard Berrian was again his receiver of choice, which is good news for Viking fans as his health coming into the game was in question. Berrian finished with 5 grabs for 131 yards and a touchdown, as well as one rush for 3 yards.

Minny’s O-line was not as bad as it looks on paper with two of Detroits four sacks being generated by LB and DB blitzes, however they were a little more porous than one would like to have seen against a Detroit defense that has had a lot of trouble getting pressure on opposing QB’s so far this season.

All in all, the Vikings got what can be considered a big win against a team they should’ve beat to begin with. They can now concentrate on their preparations for a huge road game at Chicago next week, with the winner of the game having at least a share of first place in the tight NFC North.

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Last post (s) by Jesse Noonan

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