2015 DETROIT LIONS MEDIA GUIDE

10-08-06 Min L, 17-26
12-10-06 DET L, 20-30
9-16-07 DET W, 20-17ot
12-2-07 Min L, 10-42
10-12-08 Min L, 10-12
12-7-08 DET L, 16-20
9-20-09 DET L, 27-13
11-15-09 Min L, 27-10
9-26-29 Min L, 32-35
1-2-11 DET W, 20-13
9-25-11 Min W, 26-23ot
12-11-11 DET W, 34-28
9-30-12 DET L, 13-20
11-11-12 Min L, 24-34
9-8-13 DET W, 34-24
12-29-13 Min L, 13-14
10-12-14 Min W, 17-3
12-14-14 DET W, 16-14
SERIES NOTES
‣ ¾The Lions trail 36-69-2 in the series
with the Vikings in a NFC North
Division rivalry that dates back to
a 37-10 Detroit victory November
19, 1961 at Minnesota.
‣ ¾The Lions won the first five outings
and nine of the first 14 games in the
series; however, Minnesota then
won 13 straight contests and 19
of the next 21.
‣ ¾On two occasions, the Lions
have accumulated 45 points in a
single game against the Vikings.
Detroit defeated Minnesota
45-14 December 9, 1978 and
45-7 December 12, 1981, with
both games taking place at the
Silverdome.
‣ ¾RB Barry Sanders scored four
touchdowns in the Lions’ 34-
14 win at Minnesota November
24, 1991. His four touchdowns
established a new Lions’ record
for rushing touchdowns in a single
game. His four touchdowns and
24-point performance also tied
Lions’ single-game marks.
‣ ¾QB Scott Mitchell set a thenfranchise
single-game record for
passing yards, breaking Bobby
Layne’s previous mark of 375,
when he accumulated 410 yards
vs. Minnesota in a memorable
Thanksgiving Day clash November
23, 1995. Mitchell completed 30-
of-45 passes and tossed four
touchdowns. The wide receiver trio
of Herman Moore, Brett Perriman
and Johnnie Morton each reached
the 100-yard receiving mark in
the contest. The Lions won the
game 44-38.
‣ ¾In their final road game and the
second-to-last game of the 1997
season, the Lions claimed a 14-
13 victory over the Vikings at
the Metrodome when QB Scott
Mitchell tossed a 1-yard pass to
WR Herman Moore in the endzone
to claim the come-from-behind
victory with 0:02 remaining to play.
Mitchell engineered the gamewinning
72-yard drive that began
with 1:56 remaining to play and
with only one timeout.
‣ ¾With his opening kickoff return for a
touchdown at Minnesota November
21, 2004, KR Eddie Drummond
became the first player in NFL
history to score three consecutive
touchdowns for his team via punt
and kickoff returns. He became only
the second player in NFL history to
return two kickoffs and two punts
for touchdowns in a single season,
the other being Danté Hall (Kansas
City) in 2003.
‣ ¾The Lions overcame a 20-0 halftime
deficit and roared back to beat
the Vikings, 26-23, in overtime
on September 25, 2011. K Jason
Hanson kicked a game-winning 32-
yard field goal in the extra session
for the victory.
‣ ¾After trailing 20-0 at halftime at
Minnesota September 25, 2011,
the Lions mounted a comeback
in the second half and claimed a
26-23 win in overtime. It was the
Lions’ first win at Minnesota since
1997. WR Calvin Johnson caught
2 touchdown passes for the thirdstraight
game, and had a critical
40-yard over-the-shoulder grab
in overtime to set up the team’s
game-winning field goal.
‣ ¾With a 34-28 win vs. Minnesota
December 11, 2011, the Lions
captured its first season sweep of
the Vikings since 1997 and kept
their playoff hopes alive. Minnesota
came back in the second half
and had possession at the Lions
1-yard line with :09 left to play. LB
DeAndre Levy raced in and forced
a fumble on QB Joe Webb which
caused a furious scramble for
the ball. Eventually, DE Cliff Avril
would recover it at the Vikings 43-
yard line to seal the victory.
‣ ¾In the 2013 season opener, RB
Reggie Bush made his Lions debut
in style as he helped the Lions to
a 34-24 win over Minnesota and
collected 90 yards rushing and 101
yards receiving. He became just
the third player in Lions history
with 90+ rushing yards and 100+
receiving yards (Billy Sims: 119
rush, 103 rec at LaRm 9/19/82;
Barry Sanders: 90 rush, 135 rec at
KC 10/14/90).
‣ ¾In the Lions’ 17-3 win at Minnesota
(10/12/14), the Lions defense
generated eight total sacks against
the Vikings. Eight sacks marked the
most in a game for the Lions since
accumulating eight vs. Indianapolis
November 23, 1997.
‣ ¾With a 16-14 victory over the
Minnesota Vikings in the teams’
most recent meeting (12/14/14),
the Lions claimed their 10th victory
in the season’s first 14 games and
improved to 10-4. The win marked
the first time the Lions reached 10
wins in the first 14 games of the
season since the Lions started10-4
in 1991.
DETROIT LIONS
COACHING & SERIES RECORDS