The Minnesota Vikings (0-1) host the Detroit Lions (0-1) in their final home opener at TCF Bank Stadium with each team coming off a road loss in Week 1. The Vikings return home after suffering a 20-3 loss at the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football while the Lions will play their 2nd consecutive road game after dropping the opener at San Diego, 28-33.
The matchup will be the 108th all-time meeting between the division rivals and the 54th contest played in Minnesota. The Vikings hold a 69-36-2 advantage in the series, including a 38-14-1 mark at home against the Lions. HC Mike Zimmer and QB [Teddy Bridgewater are searching for their 2nd NFC North victory. The Vikings are 31-22-1 all-time in home openers. The last home opener victory came in 2012 when Minnesota defeated Jacksonville, 26-23, highlighted by 2 RB [Adrian Peterson rushing TDs and a game-winning FG by K [Blair Walsh. The Vikings last home opener against Detroit came on September 10, 1995 culminating in a Vikings 20-10 victory.
Peterson enters Sunday's game against the Lions 26 yards from passing WR Cris Carter for the most career combined net yards in franchise history. Carter finished his Vikings career with 12,410 combined yards, while Peterson currently sits at 12,385 combined yards.
NATIONAL TELEVISION: FOX (Ch. 9 in the Twin Cities)
Play-by-Play: Sam Rosen Analyst: Kirk Morrison
Sideline: Peter Schrager
LOCAL RADIO: KFAN-FM 100.3/KTLK-AM 1130
Play-by-Play: Paul Allen Analyst: Pete Bercich
Sideline Reporter: Greg Coleman
Pre-Game Show: Mike Mussman – 10:00 a.m. CT
KFAN and KTLK serve as the flagship stations for the 72-station, 5-state Vikings Radio Network.
NORSEMAN NOTEABLES
• Vikings are 38-14-1 (.726) at home all-time against the Lions which is the best home winning percentage against any NFC North team.
• The Vikings defense allowed only 165 passing yards in Week 1, ranking as the 4th best pass defense in the NFL after kickoff weekend.
• RB Adrian Peterson has rushed for 1,258 yards on 235 carries in 12 career games vs. the Lions. Peterson has also scored 12 TDs (11 rushing, 1 receiving) vs. Detroit during his career.
• In his last outing vs. Detroit, Peterson rushed for 93 yards and 2 TDs on 18 carries and added 18 yards and a TD on 4 receptions on 9/8/13.
• WR Mike Wallace hauled in 6 passes for 63 yards in his Vikings debut at San Francisco in Week 1.
• LB Anthony Barr, who played in his 1st game since 11/30/14, had a team-leading 12 tackles along with 1.0 TFL and 1 PD.
• Vikings special teams flashed in Week 1 with a blocked FG by S Andrew Sendejo and forcing a turnover when LB Audie Cole recovered a muffed punt.
• TE Kyle Rudolph, who caught 5 passes for 53 yards in Week 1, had 7 catches for 69 yards in the last game vs. Detroit, the 2nd most receptions in a game for Rudolph.
VIKINGS-LIONS CONNECTIONS
• Vikings GM Rick Spielman received his 1st NFL personnel experience with the Lions serving as a college scout from 1990-94 before adding pro scouting duties in his final 2 seasons (95-96) with the Lions. Spielman's brother, Chris, is the Lions all-time leading tackler, playing for Detroit from 1988-95.
• Vikings COO Kevin Warren spent 2001-03 with the Detroit Lions as Senior VP of Business Operations and General Counsel.
• Silas McKinnie, a regional scout for the Lions, spent 5 seasons (1997-2002) at the same position with the Vikings.
• Vikings Personnel Consultant Jerry Reichow was a 4th-round pick in 1956 by Detroit and helped the Lions to their last NFL title in 1957.
• Alan Williams joined the Lions coaching staff in 2014 as the DBs/safeties coach after spending the 2012-13 seasons as the Vikings Defensive Coordinator.
• Vikings QB Shaun Hill played in Detroit from 2010-13, starting 10 games and appearing in 15 for the Lions.
• Lions Special Teams Coordinator Joe Marciano served as a Special Teams Consultant for the Vikings during the early part of the 2014 season.
NFL CONNECTIONS
• Vikings Special Teams Coordinator Mike Priefer and Lions Senior Coaching Assistant Gunther Cunningham coached together in Kansas City from 2006-08, Priefer was the ST Coordinator, while Cunningham was the defensive coordinator. Lions RB Coach Curtis Modkins held the same position with the Chiefs in 2008.
• Vikings LB Coach Adam Zimmer and Lions Offensive Coordinator Joe Lombardi coached together in New Orleans in 2009, winning Super Bowl XLIV. Zimmer was the Assistant DB Coach and Lombardi was the QB Coach.
LOCAL CONNECTIONS
• The Vikings roster featues 3 Michigan natives - C Joe Berger (Newaygo), LB Audie Cole (Monroe) and FB Zach Line (Oxford) - and 3 players who attended college in Michigan - Berger (Michigan Tech), WR Charles Johnson (Grand Valley State) and CB Trae Waynes (Michigan State).
• Lions RB Zach Zenner hails from Eagan, Minnesota and attended South Dakota State in Brookings, South Dakota. As a high school senior, Zenner was named to the Minnesota Vikings All State HS Football Team.
COLLEGE CONNECTIONS
• Vikings WR Jarius Wright played at Arkansas with Lions C Travis Swanson from 2010-11.
• Vikings K Blair Walsh played at Georgia with Lions QB Matthew Stafford for the 2008 season.
• Vikings CB Jabari Price played at North Carolina with Lions TE Eric Ebron from 2011-13.
• 7 players from the Vikings and Lions come from Notre Dame: Vikings S Harrison Smith (2007-10), Vikings S Robert Blanton (2008-10), Vikings C John Sullivan (2003-06), Vikings TE Kyle Rudolph (2008-09), Lions
WR T.J. Jones (2010-13), Lions RB Theo Riddick (2009-12), and Lions WR Golden Tate (2007-08).
• Vikings practice squad G David Yankey played at Stanford with Lions CB Alex Carter from 2012-13.
• Vikings S Antone Exum, Jr. played with Lions WR Corey Fuller at Virginia Tech from 2010-12.
• QB Teddy Bridgewater has had 70 completion percentage in 5 of his last 6 games.
• Vikings are opening at home with Detroit for the 7th time in clube history. The Vikings are 4-2 all time against Detroit in their home opener, with all 4 of those victories in the last 4 games.
STAT OF THE WEEK
WR Mike Wallace's 6-catch performance (63 yards) marks the most receptions by a Viking in their 1st game with the team since TE Byron Chamberlain recorded 7 catches (83
yards) in the 2001 season opener vs. Carolina (9/9).
VIKINGS-LIONS SERIES NOTES
• The Vikings are currently 69-36-2 all time against the Lions, including a mark of 38-14-1 in games played in Minnesota
• Minnesota was swept by the Lions in 2014 for the 1st time since 2011.
• Minnesota fell to Detroit 17-3 on 10/12/14 in the first game between the two teams at TCF Bank Stadium on the Campus of the University of
Minnesota.
• The Vikings hosted the New York Giants at Ford Field on 12/13/2010 after a blizzard collapsed the roof of the HHH Metrodome. Minnesota fell to New York by a score of 21-3.
• In 1976, Sammy White established a team-record 210 receiving yards against the Lions in a 31-23 Vikings victory at Metropolitan Stadium.
• In 1985, Vikings LB Scott Studwell established a team-record 24 total tackles in a 41-21 Vikings loss in Detroit.
A WIN WOULD
• Give QB Teddy Bridgewater and HC Mike Zimmer their 2nd NFC North win.
• Improve Minnesota's record to 6-3 at TCF Bank Stadium during their 2-year stint at the University of Minnesota.
• Give the Vikings a 32-22-1 record in home openers all-time.