The Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions are going to duke it out for first place in the NFC North at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday.  Both teams are coming off impressive victories over pathetic football teams.  The Lions beat the Raiders 36-21 in Oakland and the Vikings punished the Falcons 24-3 at home.  The Vikings won’t likely change anything this Sunday as they will try to run the football and play defense.  The Vikings will give the rock to Adrian Peterson until the Lions prove they can stop him.  Peterson rushed for 103 yards (5.4 ypc) and he caught a 60-yard TD pass in a dazzling NFL debut last week.  The Lions defense will have their hands full with him.  QB Tavaris Jackson can also run the ball and he didn’t get sacked at all last week as his line did a good job blocking for him.  Look for the Vikings to run some play action after they establish the run and take a few shots down the field to Troy Williamson and Sidney Rice. 

The Lions will try to attack the Vikings defense down the field to take them out of their running game.  The Lions must do a good job blocking for Jon Kitna who is prone to make mistakes when pressured and the Vikings sacked the QB six times and they returned 2 interceptions for a TD last week against the Falcons.  Still, look for the Lions to spread the field with Calvin Johnson, Roy Williams, Mike Furrey and Shaun McDonald all on the field at one time.  The Vikings have a great run defense but they better keep an eye on Tatum Bell who rushed for 87 yards (5.8 ypc) and a TD last week against the Raiders.

PREDICTION:  The Vikings have history on their side as they have beaten the Lions 10 straight times, outscoring them 270-200.  They also pushed them around last season outscoring them 56-37 in the sweep.  This game could go either way but I have a hunch that the Vikings are in the Lions heads and will beat them by a field goal.