Detroit Lions vs Minnesota Vikings Match Player Stats On Sep 25, 2011

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 25, 2011

Jason Hanson kicked a 32-yard field goal 1:53 into overtime and the Detroit Lions ended a 13-game road losing streak to the Minnesota Vikings with a 26-23 victory on Sunday.

Matthew Stafford threw two touchdowns to Calvin Johnson for Detroit, which erased a 20-point halftime deficit and improved to 3-0 for the first time since 1980.

The Vikings, meanwhile, are 0-3 for the first time since 2002 after blowing a double-digit halftime lead for the third straight week. They are the first team in NFL history to lose their first three games after leading by 10 or more at halftime in each.

Detroit outgained Minnesota 308-119 in the second half and overtime after being held to 50 yards in the first half. In overtime, Johnson made a spectacular 40-yard, over-the-shoulder catch that set up Hanson’s fourth field goal of the day.

The Lions took their first lead on Hanson’s 40-yard field goal with 2:35 left. After squandering another huge lead, Minnesota tied the game on Ryan Longwell’s 49-yard field goal with 1:16 left.

Detroit trailed 20-0 at halftime, but Johnson’s 32-yard touchdown catch midway through the third began the Lions’ huge comeback. He added a 5-yard score at the start of the fourth quarter that made it 20-17.

Perhaps the biggest play of the game came early in the fourth, when Detroit stopped Minnesota on fourth-and-short in its own territory. The Lions then drove 51 yards for the game-tying field goal.

While the Lions sputtered early, the Vikings were busy building another big halftime lead. Donovan McNabb’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Visanthe Shiancoe made it 20-0 with 9 seconds left in the half.

Adrian Peterson (17 carries, 78 yards) also scored for Minnesota.