Box Score Vikings 27 and Lions 10
Even when Sidney Rice is tightly covered, Brett Favre isn’t afraid to fire a pass downfield.
Favre’s new favorite receiver just keeps fighting through the contact and coming up with the ball, perhaps finally making Minnesota fans forget Randy Moss.
Favre passed for a season-high 344 yards, 201 to Rice, and the Vikings overcame several self-inflicted setbacks to beat the Detroit Lions 27-10 on Sunday.
“Sidney never surprises me,” said Adrian Peterson, who rushed for 133 yards and two touchdowns. “I have a nickname for him, and it’s ‘Showtime.’ He’s got it tattooed on his arm. It fits him well.”
Thanks to Favre’s arrival at quarterback and a summer spent working out with some of the game’s greatest receivers, Rice has emerged as quite a threat for the surging Vikings (8-1). What he lacks in speed he has made up for with precision, position and poise.
“It seems like each game he’s getting better and better,” said left tackle Bryant McKinnie. “Some of those catches are definitely Randy Moss-esque.”
The Lions (1-8) joined the Houston Oilers, from Nov. 21, 1982 through Nov. 4, 1984, as the only NFL teams to lose 31 games in a 33-game stretch, according to STATS.
“You see the progress and see that we’re improving,” linebacker Julian Peterson said. “We just can’t get over that extra hump.”
After a slew of injuries and more poor pass coverage, the Lions dropped their 12th straight at the Metrodome despite keeping another game close for three quarters.
“We came in with our first goal, which was to stop Adrian Peterson, but with Favre landing bombs like he did it was kind of hard,” linebacker DeAndre Levy said. “It throws off everyone, from the D-line to the cornerbacks.” (more…)
December 30th, 2009 
davidstephen 
The Detroit Lions said that rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford had undergone successful surgery on his right knee.
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