Lions Up Against Another Monster

NFL News - September 17h, 2009 - Written by John

Minnesota at Detroit -- Feel for the the Lions a little bit, if you don't already. Coming off the one of the worst seasons in NFL history, they were dealt a brutal opening schedule against the two most prolific offensive weapons in the league today. Last week it was Drew Brees, who threw for over 5,000 yards in 2008 and headlined the quarterbacking troupe at the Pro Bowl. He then promptly torched the Lions secondary for a franchise-record six touchdowns to five different receivers. Now the Lions have the seemingly impossible task Sunday as they game-plan to stop yet another freak of nature in Adrian Peterson.

The Minnesota Vikings appear to be the frontrunner in the entire NFC after Peterson single-handedly trucked the Browns in more ways than one. Peterson ran for a league-high 180 yards and scored three touchdowns last week, including a nifty 64-yard dash down the sideline, shedding five blockers as he tight-roped the boundary.
It's scary thinking about what he might do against a team that hasn't won a game in 17 straight weeks.

What's more is that the Vikings are now captained by Brett Favre, who looked more than servicable in his team debut, throwing for 110 yards and a TD. They will also have to pay attention to rookie Percy Harvin, who had an impressive debut with 157 total yards.

Detroit is under the helm of rookie Matthew Stafford, who actually looked good for the first half of the game before his three picks took the Lions out of the game. Calvin Johnson is his main deep threat and caught three passes for 90 yards. He was a big part of last year's meetings with the Vikes', where he hauled in 168 receiving yards and two scores. The Lions lost both their meetings by a combined six points. That connection will be vital for any chance at a win.
The Vikings have owned in this series, both historically and contemorarily, winning 13 of the previous 14 games against the Lions, and lead the series 63-30-2. The Vikings are 9 1/2 point favorites on the road against the Detroit Lions this weekend.

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