Minnesota Vikings top NFC North with 20-13 win over Detroit Lions - NFL Recap
It’s a typical bottom to top story for the Minnesota Vikings as their 20-13 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday, September 30, 2012 puts them alone at the top of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division.
The victory puts the Vikings at 3-1 with the franchise already matching its previous season’s number of wins and looking like genuine division title contenders.
Last season Minnesota remained at rock bottom and ended up with a poor 3-13 regular season record, this year there will be no repeat of such a dreadful year as the Vikings look highly improved especially on defence and special teams.
Special Teams and Defence were once again responsible for the win.
Minnesota’s defence was exceptional against the Lions which struggled to make big plays while two touchdowns by the special teams showed that Minnesota has vastly improved in that department as well.
It did not take long for Minnesota’s special teams to score with the first kickoff resulting in a scoring play.
Percy Harvin collected the ball on kick off and Minnesota’s special teams worked like clockwork allowing Harvin to rush for 105 yards straight into the end zone to give the Vikings a 7-0 lead.
Head coach Leslie Frazier said about the play after the game that he had worked with his staff on the Lions defence’s deficiencies and told his players that if they did their job they will score on kick off.
It was exactly as he said with Frazier saying after the game that:
"It was obvious,"
Harvin also said about his touchdown:
"It was slow-motion, especially today. That hole opened up, and you probably could have walked through there. The blockers did a great job. They told me all week they were going to do everything they could to get me in the end zone. Special teams was huge
today."
It wasn’t the only play where Minnesota’s special teams shown as in the third quarter Marcus Sherels returned a punt for 77 yards to increase the Vikings lead.
The Detroit Lions on the other did not look at all threatening.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford was sacked five times during the game and passed for 319 yards in addition to scoring a late rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter.
However, his teammates in offence did not help him out much as they regularly dropped catches and failed to protect him.
The Vikings were never threatened and comfortably wrapped up the game with a 20-13 victory.
Frazier said:
"We want to embrace it. It was one of our goals when the season began, to win the NFC North."
Detroit Lions will have to figure out their problems especially on special teams after such an abject display which made them the only team since 1940 to give up a kickoff and punt return in two consecutive games.
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