Metrodome Has Been House of Horrors for Lions

Football Betting Lines

10/10/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - This is not the ideal location for the Detroit Lions to end their losing streak, and it is doubtful that this would be the opponent Rod Marinelli and company would choose as a conduit to getting them over the winless hump on Sunday afternoon.

The Lions' recent history at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome has been dismal, and their exploits against the Minnesota Vikings haven't gone much better.

The last 10 times Detroit has visited the Twin Cities, it has traveled back to Motown as a loser. In fact, the Lions haven't won in the rapidly aging dome since way back in 1997, when running back Barry Sanders, quarterback Scott Mitchell, and head coach Bobby Ross helped pull off a 14-13 victory.

And, when you factor in the three-game losing skid that preceded that triumph, that makes Detroit 1-13 in Minnesota since the 1995 campaign. Ouch.

Not that playing the Vikings at Ford Field, or anywhere else for that matter, would make much of a difference. Since sweeping Minnesota in '97, the Lions are a jaw-dropping 3-17 against their longtime division rival, with the wins coming at home in 1999, 2001, and 2007.

Last year's Detroit triumph, a 20-17 overtime nail-biter, snapped a 10-game Vikes win streak in the series.

True to form, the Vikings exacted their revenge for that indignity with a 42-10 shellacking when the Lions visited the Metrodome in Week 13.

Brad Childress' current club, which is trying to pull itself off the mat following a 1-3 start, is looking for a similar beat-down this Sunday.

The Vikings somehow managed to come away with a 30-27 win at New Orleans this past Monday, outlasting the stumbling Saints in a game that saw running back Adrian Peterson (21 carries, 32 yards) held firmly in check while his Saints counterpart, Reggie Bush, found paydirt on a pair of second-half punt returns.

Four New Orleans turnovers, including a Bush fumble impacted by a blatant face mask penalty that went uncalled by the officials, helped Childress and company emerge victorious, as did two critical field goal misses by the Saints' Martin Gramatica.

Minnesota (2-3) enters Week 6 just a game back of the first-place Chicago Bears (3-2) in the NFC North.

The Lions (0-4), meanwhile, are one of four remaining winless NFL teams, joining the Houston Texans, Cincinnati Bengals, and St. Louis Rams.

Last Sunday's 34-7 home loss to the Bears was the team's 11th defeat in its last 12 games dating back to last season.

SERIES HISTORY

The Vikings hold a 61-30-2 lead in the all-time series with the Lions, including the aforementioned 42-10 rout when the teams met at the Metrodome in Week 13 of last season. As mentioned, in the first leg of the home-and-home a year ago, Detroit snapped a 10-game losing streak in the series with a 20-17 win at Ford Field in Week 2. Minnesota swept home-and-homes over Detroit in five straight seasons, from 2002 through 2006.

Childress is 3-1 against the Lions as a head coach, while Detroit's Marinelli is 1-3 against both the Vikings and Childress.

WHEN THE LIONS HAVE THE BALL

The quarterback trying to lead the Lions into the win column for the first time in 2008 might not be Jon Kitna (758 passing yards, 5 TD, 5 INT). Kitna, who has started all 36 games since coming to the Lions as a free agent in 2006, left the Bears game with back spasms and is listed as questionable on the Week 6 injury report. Dan Orlovsky (103 passing yards, 2 INT), who replaced him last Sunday, is also questionable with knee and ankle injuries. If both are unavailable, rookie and second-year-pro Drew Stanton (Michigan State) would see the first action of his career. Whoever does the throwing will look often to wideouts Roy Williams (15 receptions, 1 TD) and Calvin Johnson (19 receptions, 2 TD), both of whom have had their moments in 2008. Williams had seven catches for 96 yards last Sunday, but Johnson was shut down to the tune of two grabs for 16 yards. The Lions have gotten almost nothing going in the run game so far, with the number of large deficits the team has encountered contributing to that situation. Kevin Smith (133 rushing yards, 2 TD, 12 receptions) and Rudi Johnson (122 rushing yards) combined for 88 yards on 20 total touches versus Chicago.

There was some concern for the much-ballyhooed Vikings run defense when middle linebacker E.J. Henderson was ruled out for the year with toe/foot injuries early last week, though the team's performance against the Saints dispelled much of it. New Orleans rushed for just 55 yards on 22 carries for the night, with tackles Pat Williams (20 tackles) and Kevin Williams (21 tackles, 2 sacks) again dominating at the point of attack while combining for seven tackles. Outside linebackers Chad Greenway (39 tackles, 1 sack) and Ben Leber (16 tackles, 1 INT) combined for 12 tackles behind the two Williams', while David Herron (8 tackles), who started in the middle in place of Henderson, finished with two stops. The Vikings' Achilles' heel has been in the secondary, though cornerback Antoine Winfield (29 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 INT) is the reigning NFC Defensive Player of the Week and safety Tyrell Johnson (19 tackles, 1 INT) and cornerback Cedric Griffin (28 tackles) both had a hand in turnovers in the win. Winfield had eight tackles, a sack, and a fumble both recovered and forced versus the Saints. End Jared Allen (13 tackles) has two of the Vikings' eight sacks on the season.

WHEN THE VIKINGS HAVE THE BALL

Establishing Peterson (452 rushing yards, 3 TD, 10 receptions) will be job number one for the Minnesota offense. The 2007 Rookie of the Year has been held under 100 yards in each of his last three outings, as teams have been stacking the box and daring veteran Gus Frerotte (692 passing yards, 2 TD, 2 INT) to throw. Frerotte was intermittently effective against the Saints on Monday night, completing 19-of-36 passes for 222 yards and a touchdown pass to Bernard Berrian (17 receptions, 1 TD). Berrian finished with six catches for 110 yards in his best game as a Viking, fellow WR Bobby Wade (21 receptions) chipped in with eight grabs for 64 yards, and tight end Visanthe Shiancoe (12 receptions, 2 TD) caught a TD pass from running back Chester Taylor (89 rushing yards, 9 receptions) on a trick play.

Frerotte, Peterson, and company should be licking their chops in the presence of Lions team that ranks last in the league in total defense (429 yards per game), touchdowns allowed (18), interceptions (0), turnovers margin (-6), and is tied for last in scoring defense (36.8 points per game) and takeaways (2). Detroit gave up a career-high 334 passing yards to the Bears' Kyle Orton last Sunday. Cornerback Leigh Bodden (15 tackles) will likely match up with Berrian, and safety Dwight Smith (24 tackles), a member of the Vikings in 2006 and 2007, will lend support against his former team. End Dewayne White (9 tackles) has half of the Lions' paltry total of four sacks. The Detroit front seven did a decent job against the Chicago run last week, limiting three Bears backs to 87 yards on 33 combined carries. Linebackers Ernie Sims (35 tackles) and Paris Lenon (26 tackles) combined for 20 tackles, and Chuck Darby (10 tackles) posted four stops from his defensive tackle position.

FANTASY FOCUS

Anybody on the Lions worth touching this week? Not really, since Kitna is uncertain to start (or at least make it to the end of) the game, and wideouts Johnson and Williams haven't been consistent in the new offense. Start a Detroit running back or the Lions defense this week if you're looking for a chuckle out of your opponent.

On the Vikings side, Peterson remains a No. 1 starter despite his struggles last week, and elements of the passing game like Frerotte, Berrian, and even Shiancoe are worth considering due to the weakness of the Lions defense. The Minnesota defense and kicker Ryan Longwell also deserve a place in starting lineups this week.

OVERALL ANALYSIS

The Lions are a bad football team, but even the worst teams in NFL history have managed to answer the bell once in a while in the course of a miserable campaign. The games those clubs typically fare best in come against division rivals, and though last week's ugly loss to the Bears would certainly suggest differently, this team does have the ability to play better and show some pride. Look for Detroit to hang around here a little longer than they should, before Peterson and the Vikings o-line wears them down and pulls away late.

Sportsbook Betting Lines Predicted Outcome: Vikings 26, Lions 16