First and foremost, let me say this...For the first time in this century, the Lions will not have a losing season....those are big, big words....an amazing feat that the Lions should be proud of...they are officially taking that next step that people in Michigan have been asking for for a long, long time.

But they shouldn't have won yesterday...and not just because I picked them to lose...by a point...which is what they would have lost by if the refs had called one of the most obvious face mask penalties in recent years....but hey, much like a lot...and I mean A LOT of calls all day...the refs decided to overlook this one too.

The refs overlooked a ton of calls...both ways...so if everybody is cheating...then it's "fair."...I guess...I think...

Here are some other thoughts about this game...

1. On the long incompletion to Titus Young...a beautiful laser, put in just the right spot up the left sideline...the reason he didn't catch that ball was because the Vikings defender grabbed his outside arm and pulled it back, before the ball got there...that's called pass interference...

2. Any time that Matthew Stafford feels the pressure and pulls it down...he never seems to look downfield.  It's as if he panics early and then tries desperately to escape...these are the mistakes of a rookie qb with mobility...which Stafford isn't...he's not a rookie and he's definitely not mobile.  He needs to be coached out of this.

3. Why?  Why couldn't the Lions stop Toby Gerhart?  He's the reincarnation of Tommy Vardell...maybe Mike Alstot...not Earl Campbell.  He's not a speed back.  He's a power runner.  The strength of the Lions is supposed to be their defensive line and yet they couldn't stop Gerhart from averaging almost ten yards a carry. 

4. Why?  When the Vikings had only one viable receiver, Percy Harvin, were we completely unable to cover him?  How can the Vikings be smart enough to consistently find ways to get Harvin the ball and we can't get more catches for Calvin Johnson?  The Lions must be doing something really wrong.

5. The Lions really missed Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairly this week.  They'll definitely get Suh back for this weeks road game against the Raiders...but you know that every eye in the stadium will be on him and he'll get flagged for anything that is remotely close to a foul.

6. Likewise, the Lions really miss a running game.  With Leshoure gone all season, Best now on the IR and Kevin Smith nursing a bad ankle, the Lions have been trying to scrape together some semblance of a rushing attack with Maurice Morris (who has been less than impressive), Keiland Williams (who has looked good at times, but not consistently) and reverses to Stefan Logan and Nate Burleson.  This is a team that cannot get one yard late in the game with their running attack.  This will not do.

7. Where has Alphonso Smith been all year?  I know he came to camp hurt, but last season he was the second best (some might say the best) corner on the team and this year the Lions have played an inexperienced and highly suspect Aaron Berry instead of Smith.  I hope to see Smith the rest of the year...at least in the Nickel if nothing else.

8. Are Houston and Delmas coming back?  The Lions need them badly.

9. Sure there were no stupid personal foul penalties, but...the Lions still gave up 10 penalties...that's pathetic.

10. In order to make the playoffs, the Lions have to win against both Oakland and San Diego...if they don't, they will not be playing in January.

The Lions lay in wait of the remnants of the Minnesota Vikings team this Sunday.  It will be a game of attrition as both teams are already withered and injured up and down each roster.

The Vikings will play without starting rookie QB Christian Ponder or perhaps their best defensive back Chris Cook--who did very well against Calvin Johnson.  They will play with a hobbled Adrian Peterson, who comes in on one good ankle.  They will come in with a 2-10 record and players in fear of their jobs.

There would be little argument that this should be a blow out...but I fear it will not be.  This is a trap game.

Ndamukong Suh is still out, finishing his two game suspension for ultimate stupidity.

Kevin Smith may not play on a bad ankle.

Nick Fairly, Suh's replacement, is most likely out with a sore foot.

Delmas and Houston are most likely out too.  So the defense is much depleted in the face of...a hobbled Peterson and a third string quarterback...In Lions' lore, this is the kind of game that has shown itself over and over again--a team that the Lions really have little right in losing to.  A struggling skeleton of a squad with absolutely nothing to play for, while the Lions are in the middle of playoff run. 

The Lions need this game.  They need to win this one and the Raiders and the Chargers and to head into the graveyard of Lions' failures past, Lambeau, at 10-5...to have real hope to make the playoffs for the first time in more than 12 years...

Will this Lions team, which has broken so many tendencies and streaks in this season, be able to break this last major drought?  I'm not sure.  They could have cemented their place in the lead of the playoff race if they had stepped up to the challenge of Drew Brees and the Saints...but they didn't.  Instead they lost their heads in the pressure and screams of the Superdome and fell back to the pack...can they step forward this time?

Minnesota Offense vs Detroit Defense

The Lions have typically done a pretty good job of containing the Vikings best weapon, Adrian Peterson.  This week, he comes into the game hobbled on one bad ankle. 

The Vikings will start Joe Web at QB, an inexperienced running quarterback without much of an arm.  Web was so good in his short stint last season that the Vikings saw fit to reach for a third round QB with their #1 pick and grab Ponder. 

Perhaps the best option the Vikings have is WR and returner Percy Harvin, especially since the Lions have had such a hard time covering kick offs and punts this season.

Advantage: Detroit

Minnesota Defense vs Detroit Offense

Jared Allen was nice enough to give the Lions adequate billboard material this week.  Allen was nice enough to say in the press that "if (he) had to live in Detroit, (he'd) drown himself in that river." 

But I'm sure that nobody on the team saw that...

The Lions offense SHOULD manhandle the Vikings defense.  The only corner that seemed to have any success for them against Megatron will not be playing.  If the Lions can control the defensive ends Jared Allen and Bryan Robison (who had a good game the first time the two teams met, but will be playing injured this time) then there should be no problem scoring enough points.

But...Allen has always feasted on Jeff Backus...so there is definitely still room for concern.

Advantage: Detroit

Prediction

This is a rivalry game so you "throw the records out the window," but every indicator, prognosticator and trend says the Lions should still win this game despite the injuries and suspensions....and I hope they do...but something still has me really worried.

Minnesota 24, Detroit 21

It was 20-3 with a little over seven minutes left in the fourth quarter.  The Lions were down...again...to the Minnesota Vikings....They'd been completely stymied by the Minnesota Defense for the entire first half...

And then they roared back with 21 unanswered points for an incredible victory....behind Rodney Peete, Barry Sanders, and Robert Clark and Willie Green (the color of money.)

The year was 1991...

Now, I'm not saying the Lions are going to go 12-4 and march on to the NFC Championship game....but do you see any similarities?

I can't say I wasn't worried when the Lions went down 20-0 to the Vikings.  I can say that I do wonder if this victory doesn't have more to do with the Vikings recent history of second half collapses than it does with the Lions playing incredibly well in the second half.

It occurs to me that the Vikings are just really, really poorly coached.  The first week of the season, the Vikings were up 17-7 at the half...and lost.  Last week they were up 17-0 at half and...guess what...lost.  So when they went up 20-0 on the Lions...yes, there was an inkling in the back of my mind that this probably wasn't going to be over.

But I also expected that the Lions would be the team that the Vikings would finally make some second half corrections against and fix their failing problems...but that didn't happen.

The Lions came out strong in the second half...first Matt Stafford hit Calvin Johnson on a 32 yd TD pass that proved that Johnson may in fact be uncoverable one on one.  One of the announcers said that "it just wasn't fair." and that to even things up, "Calvin Johnson should only be able to jump with one foot in the redzone."

Then there was field goal and another Johnson TD catch and another field goal and another and the Lions were up 23-20 deep in the fourth quarter...almost in the blink of an eye...

This was an awesome victory...and it was the kind of victory that coaches love...because there's still a ton of stuff to yell about.

First of all, what happened in the first half? They got down by 20 freakin' points!  They didn't do a very good job stopping the run, special teams was really bad and the Lions gave up FIVE sacks...this was an offensive line that hadn't given up a sack all year...and they didn't provide much of a run game all day. 

So, at least we know that Stafford can take a hit..Jared Allen recorded three sacks....what is Demarcus Ware going to next week at Dallas?

But that's next week...this week the Leo's are 3-0 and bringing back good memories of the greatest Lions season in 50 years...that team didn't even go 3-0...

2-0...and not just 2-0, but impressive national media attention getting wins. The Lions did a lot of ending streaks last year...namely losing streaks....losing in general...losing on the road...managing to win consecutive games...

Now let's end some significant streaks. How about winning in Washington, that hasn't been done since 1937. How about a victory at San Francisco, hasn't been done since 1975. How about a win at the horrid house of Lambeau...hasn't been done since 1991.

And most importantly...What about a victory at Minnesota, that hasn't been done since 1997.

Or how about just winning a road game against a divisional opponent, that hasn't been done in three years.

The Lions can do both of these this weekend as they travel to land of Mall of America to play the 0-2 and faltering Vikings. 

You have to like their chances too, but as long as everything points to another lopsided Lions victory, the Lions have shown throughout history that they'll prove you wrong...in other words...they CAN find a way to lose.

Furthermore, even though the Lions are saying all of the right things about it "only being two games", all of the national media attention has also historically been bad news for the Honolulu Blue. 

Min offense vs Det Defense

In the first half of the blowout victory over the Chiefs, Kansas City showed that they could run the ball on the edge against the Lions.  Jamaal Charles had two rushes for 27 yards...his first rush was for 25 yards and his second, on which he got hurt, was only for two yards...but it was for a first down.

Adrian Peterson is bigger, stronger and faster than what the Lions have seen so far. 

And although, the Lions have ususally done a pretty respectable job in stopping the perennial probowler, he could do some serious damage to the Lions.

On the other hand...Peterson appears to be the only worry that the Vikings really feature.  Donovan McNabb has so far shown himself to be a faint ghost of his former self...there is no longer any Sidney Rice and for some reason Percy Harvin only gets on the field about half of the time.

If the Lions can contain AP...Suh may dismember McNabb...perhaps several times on Sunday.

Advantage: Detroit

Min Defense vs Det Offense

Minneota DT Kevin Williams returns from a two game suspension...DT Pat Williams is out of football...DE Ray Edwards left via free agency....I guess what I'm trying to say is that vaunted defensive front doesn't exist anymore.  The Vikings do feature a couple of good corners though...but not enough to deal with all of Detroit's weapons...

I think this is another...

Advantage: Detroit

Prediction: Lions 28 Vikings 10

I really hate picking the Lions though...especially with their history of playing at Minnesota and their inability to get a road win in the division in THREE YEARS....but I can't help it, once again all evidence points to another nasty, long and embarrassing streak coming to an end.