Editor: Joe Bryant. Game Recap Contributors: Mike Anderson, Michael Brown, Chris Burtt, J.D. Caldwell, David Dodds, Bobby Elder, Jim Enochs, Joel Faulhaber, Michael Flynn, Kevin Goldblum, Clayton Gray, Bob Harris, Fred Hebert, Jesse Hilsenrad, Drew Kendall, Jeff Lewis, Joey Matusek, Justin Oliver, Steve Prosapio, David Shick, Cody Smith, Scott Smith, Jeffrey Stout. Detroit 24 at Minnesota 31 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Detroit Lions: QB Joey Harrington had an excellent outing despite losing the game, completing 25/41 passes for 309 yards and two TD's. He looked very good, making few mistakes and throwing very accurately. He spread the ball around, hitting nine different receivers while targeting Az-Zahir Hakim the most. A very nice performance from the rookie QB, although it was against a rather poor Viking secondary. TE Mikhael Ricks started off the game on fire, catching 3 passes for 79 yards and a TD, but left the game soon afterwards with an injury to his left groin area. He got taped up and attempted to return to the game, but was yanked after one play as he was in obvious pain. He then went to the locker room and did not return. When healthy, Ricks can put up good fantasy numbers. The Vikings completely shut down the Lions running game. James Stewart carried the ball only ten times for 42 yards... 27 of which came on one run. The Lions continue to struggle with their running game, which will put pressure on their young QB. The Lions defense once again started out well and then proceeded to fall apart as the game progressed. They had a lot of trouble containing Daunte Culpepper, who had several nice runs, including a QB draw that went for a TD. The run defense played little better, allowing Daunte Culpepper to score on a QB draw and giving up another to Moe Williams. Minnesota Vikings: Daunte Culpepper had a good game, both through the air and on the ground. He had several nice runs, including a QB draw for a TD. Culpepper also threw for 295 and a TD while completing 27 of 36 passes. The Viking secondary played poorly, allowing rookie Lion QB Joey Harrington to throw for over 300 yards for the first time in his career and two TD's. The Viking run defense played well, however, and shut down the Lions rush attack, allowing James Stewart only 42 yards and holding him out of the endzone. WR Randy Moss had a decent game, catching 9 passes for 83 yards, but he was held out of the endzone. He still remains Culpepper's go-to guy, and caught a nice 23 yard pass on third and long to bring the Vikings to the Lion two yard line, where Moe Williams plunged in for the score. RB Michael Bennett had a very good game, rushing for 68 yards on 16 carries and going 4/70 receiving, including a very nice run on a screen pass that went for 45 yards and a TD. This was the first week where Bennett was used as the clear # 1RB for the Vikings, and he apparently made the most of his opportunity, although it did come against a poor Lion defense. WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW Detroit Lions QB: Joey Harrington had a very good day, throwing for over 300 yards for the first time in his career. He also threw for two TD's. Harrington got good protection form his offensive line, and made the most of the time they gave him by making good throwing decisions and throwing the ball very accurately, including one 20 yarder to Az-Zahir Hakim that Harrington threaded through heavy traffic for a TD. The only mistake he made was on the Lions final drive of the game when he was intercepted in the endzone trying to complete a corner route to Hakim to win the game. On the previous play, he just missed completing a pass to a wide open Scotty Anderson which would most likely have been a TD and won the game... the pass fell short after being slightly tipped by Chris Hovan at the line of scrimmage. Over all, Harrington played extremely well... although he might not put up such great numbers against a good pass defense. RB: James Stewart had a tough day on the ground, touching the ball only 10 times for 42 yards and no TD's. Twenty-seven of these came on one run. Stewart has not been getting many carries a game this year, partially because the Lions are usually playing catch-up. Cory Schlesinger also did not fare very well on the ground, having only three rushing attempts for -1 yards, but he did add 6 receptions for 46 yards. Aveion Cason also was not a factor, rushing only 2 times for 2 yards and adding 2 receptions for 34 yards. WR: Az-Zahir Hakim continues to be Harrington's top target, catching 5 passes for 70 yards and a TD. Hakim continues to get a lot of looks from Harrington in and out of the red zone, and looks to be Harrington's 1st read on most plays. Bill Schroeder caught only 2 passes for 29 yards, one of which was a nice twenty yard rope from Harrington. Harrington also took a couple shots down field to Schroeder, but Schroeder was well covered. He also missed an important and catchable 3rd down pass to keep a drive alive. Schroeder is coming off an ankle injury. Scotty Anderson (2/20) and Larry Foster (2/15) both played but were not factors in the game. TE: Mikhael Ricks started out on fire in the beginning of the game, catching a 31 yarder up the middle on the Lions' very first offensive play, and then catching a 45 yarder for a TD just two plays later. Not long afterwards Ricks left the game with an injury to his left groin. He got taped up and attempted to return to the game, but was yanked after one play as he was in obvious pain. He then went into the Lion locker room and did not return. There was no word on how serious the injury was. Ricks can put up good numbers when healthy, so the situation bears watching. John Owens replaced Mikhael Ricks after Ricks left with an injured groin. He caught one pass for 5 yards and was not a factor in the game. K: Jason Hanson was 1 for 1 on FG's and 3/3 on extra points. Hanson's value will increase if Harrington continues to be able to move the Lion offense. Pass Defense: The Lion pass defense started off pretty well early in the game, but softened up as the game went on. They managed to pressure Daunte Culpepper, but when they did Culpepper took off running and turned the loss into gains. The Lion secondary remains vulnerable, especially in the second half of games. Rush Defense: The Lion rush defense wasn't a heck of a lot better than the pass defense, allowing Daunte Culpepper to score on a QB draw, and Moe Williams also scored form the one. They allowed 68 yards to Michael Bennett on 16 carries. You should avoid using the Lions defense. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/** Minnesota Vikings QB: Daunte Culpepper played well, throwing 27/36 for 295 yards. He threw one TD and ran another in untouched on a QB draw. Culpepper's main target remains Randy Moss, although he did throw to six other receivers in the game. Culpepper took few shots down the field. He was pressured by the Lions pass rush, but ran the ball out of trouble, including a nice 22 yarder when flushed from the pocket on one play. He had one interception that was not his fault... Derrick Alexander mis-handled a perfectly catchable ball which the Detroit Lions ended up intercepting and returning for a TD. RB: Michael Bennett had the best day of his career, putting up 138 all-purpose yards and a TD. He ran the ball well and showed great speed once he got loose, breaking a short screen pass into a 45 yard TD. Coach Mike Tice had said last week that Bennett would be the primary RB. That was the case except Moe Williams did the get the 1 yard TD. This was against the poorly performing Lion defense, and it remains to be seen how he performs against a quality defense as the Vikings try to establish a running game. Moe Williams carried the ball only twice, but scored on a plunge from the one. Since Bennett will apparently be the number one RB, Williams will most likely not be a factor, but might vulture TD's if the Vikings continue to use him in goal-line situations. WR: Randy Moss continues to be Daunte Culpepper's number one target, catching 9 passes for 83 yards, including a nice 25 yarder on a third and long that set up a Viking TD. Culpepper took a couple shots downfield at Moss, but Moss was well covered. Derrick Alexander caught two passes for 31 yards. He got some looks from Culpepper, however, he dropped a couple passes that should have been caught. Including one on second down deep inside Viking territory that bounced off his hands and into the hands of Detroit LB Chris Claiborne, who ran it in for a Lion TD. Not a good performance form Alexander. D'Wayne Bates played, but caught only 1 pass for five yards and was not a factor in the game. TE: Byron Chamberlain got a fair number of looks from Culpepper, catching 5 passes for 54 yards, but was held out of the endzone. Culpepper did not target Chamberlain in the red zone, however. Jimmy Kleinsasser caught 4 passes for 34 yards and a TD. Culpepper threw a very high floater in Kleinsasser's direction from the two yard line, and he was lucky Kleinsasser came down with the ball. Kleinsasser and Chamberlain got about the same number of looks from Culpepper. K: Gary Anderson was 1/1 on field goal attempts and 4/4 on extra points. Anderson is a good choice for kicker because of the Minnesota offense. Pass Defense: The Viking pass defense remains vulnerable, allowing Lion rookie QB Joey Harrington the first 300+ yard game of his career. Lion TE Mikhael Ricks torched the Viking secondary twice in 4 plays before leaving with an injury. They did manage to save the game by intercepting Harrington in the endzone with about 20 seconds left in the game. The Vikings pass rush was non-existent, and Harrington had all day to throw in the pocket, though they did bat a few balls down. A very poor performance. Rush Defense: The Viking rush defense performed much better than the pass defense, allowing James Stewart only 42 yards. Over all, the Vikings vulnerability in the secondary makes them a defense to avoid.