Vikings win in spite of themselves

Like most Vikings fans, I was dreading yesterday's game. The last time the Detroit Lions were 0-12, it was Minnesota which gave them their first win of the season . . . the parallels were too close. But, thank goodness, it didn't happen this time:

The ingredients that made up the Vikings' game Sunday against the hapless Detroit Lions point to the possibility that a major upset took place.

Among them: Quarterback Gus Frerotte was forced to leave late in the first half because of a bruised lower back and did not return. Running back Adrian Peterson fumbled the football three times and nearly had four. And after a week of telling everyone that they weren't about to take the winless Lions lightly, the Vikings appeared to do just that as they fell behind after the first 30 minutes.

But no matter how generous the visitors tried to be, the winless Lions were unable to take advantage. Backup quarterback Tarvaris Jackson was able to rally the Vikings to a 20-16 victory, extending the team's winning streak to three games and maintaining its one-game lead over Chicago in the NFC North.