VIKINGS HAVE NO TROUBLE WITH HAPLESS LIONS

Even with rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford back in the lineup the Detroit Lions had no answer for Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings.  Favre threw for 344 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions, while Adrian Peterson ran for 133 yards and two scores as the Vikings made short work of the Lions with a 27-10 home victory.  Minnesota led 10-3 at halftime and the Lions never really threatened after that.  The Vikings improved their record to 8-1 while the Lions slipped to 1-8.
 
For NFL pointspread players, however, the game amounted to a ‘whole lot of nothing’ as the margin of victory resulted in a push against the number.  The Vikings had been a -17 home favorite, and their ATS record now stands at 5-3-1.  The Lions have only taken the money twice this season, and their record against the spread stands at 2-6-1.  The 37 points scored went UNDER the posted total of 47.  The Vikings have gone UNDER in three of their nine games this year, while the Lions have played UNDER in five of nine.

Former University of South Carolina standout Sidney Rice has become Favre’s favorite receiver since arriving in Minnesota, and he had another solid game on Sunday with 201 yards receiving.  After the game, running back Adrian Peterson praised his teammate:

"Sidney never surprises me.  I have a nickname for him, and it's 'Showtime.' He's got it tattooed on his arm. It fits him well."

Offensive lineman Brian McKennie echoed Peterson’s praise:

"It seems like each game he's getting better and better. Some of those catches are definitely Randy Moss-esque."

Detroit linebacker Julian Peterson tried to take a positive from the Lions’ decent defensive effort:

"You see the progress and see that we're improving. We just can't get over that extra hump."

DeAndre Levy explained the difficulty of matching up with the multi-dimensional offensive threats posed by the Vikings:

"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. It throws off everyone, from the D-line to the cornerbacks."

Detroit’s rookie quarterback Stafford had another decent game, and then commented to reporters that he’s the least of his worries:

"I'm not worried about Matt. Good gracious. We don't need to sit there and worry about him every single time. It's about this team, and we didn't handle their pressure well."

The Vikings will host the Seattle Seahawks next Sunday, with Minnesota a -10’ point home favorite and the total set at 46’.  Chicago will pay a visit the following Sunday, with a road game against the Arizona Cardinals the week after that.  Detroit will host the Cleveland Browns next Sunday, with no line currently on the game as the Browns play on Monday night.  They’ll then play the Green Bay Packers at home on Thanksgiving Day before traveling to Cincinnati on December 6.