Vikings Fall to Lions; Joe Webb Impresses as QB

The Minnesota Vikings lost to the Detroit Lions 34-28.

The game began with a fumble recovery run back for a Lions touchdown, giving the Lions a 7-0 lead. Later in the 1st quarter, Titus Young caught a 57 yard touchdown pass, giving the Lions a 14-0 lead. Shortly after, Matthew Stafford threw a 12 yard touchdown pass, giving the Lions a 21-0 lead. Christan Ponder answered back by throwing a 7 yard touchdown pass, maing the end score at the end of the 1st quarter, 21-7 Lions. To begin the 2nd quarter, Christian Ponder threw an interception that was run back 30 yards for a Lions touchdown, giving the Lions 28-7 lead. Following that, Christian Ponder threw an 8 yard touchdown pass to Percy Harvin, making the score 28-14. With less than 2 minutes left in the 2nd quarter, the Lions kicked in a field goal, making the score 31-14 Lions. After Ponder's awful 1st half, the Vikings put in Joe Webb as QB, a former wide receiver from University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB). Webb sparked the offense by running 65 yards for a Vikings touchdown, making the score 31-21 Lions. Early in the 4th quarter, the Lions kicked in a 26 yard field goal, giving the Lions a 13 point lead. With a little less than 8 minutes left, Joe Webb threw a 2 yard touchdown pass, making the score 34-28. With less than 1 minute left, the Vikings were attempting a comeback to win the game. With less than 10 seconds left the Vikings had the ball at the Lions 1 yard line. Unfortunately, the ball was knocked out of Joe Webb's hand and fumbled, giving the Lions a thrilling 6 point victory.

Chistian Ponder played very badly on Sunday. He went 11/21 on pass attempts for 115 yards with 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Ponder ran 2 times for 13 yards. The offensive line of the Vikings is not very good and Ponder was having to make most throws under pressure.

The Vikings then put in Joe Webb as QB and he sparked the whole team! Webb went 12/23 on pass attempts for 84 yards and 1 touchdown. Webb ran 7 times for 109 yards, leading the team in rushing! Webb looked very poised and undaunted by the Lions pass rush.

With Adrian Peterson out for the 3rd straight week, Toby Gerhardt was the starting running back. Gerhardt ran 19 times for 90 yards. He also caught 1 touchdown pass.

The Vikings defense recorded 5 sacks and 8 QB hits.

Right now, Joe Webb gives the Vikings the best chance to win. His ability to scramble and run for touchdowns is incredible. Joe Webb gives the Vikings team a spark and defenses do not know how to stop him.

Next week the (2-11) Vikings take on the (10-3) New Orleans Saints in Minneapolis.