PLAY OF THE GAME
SPRUNG FREE
Score: Vikings led 16-10 with 14:23 left in the fourth quarter and had the ball
Situation: Third-and-6 at the Detroit 20
The play: QB Christian Ponder (7) found TE Kyle Rudolph (82) in the left flat. Rudolph eluded safety Ricardo Silva (39) got a block (OK, a hold) from Michael Jenkins (84) on Detroit's Jacob Lacey (21) before scoring down the sideline.
The result: The Vikings went up 22-10, then converted a two-point conversion.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
Playing without Harvin not as bad as you think
Sunday's game was the fourth that wide receiver Percy Harvin has missed since the Vikings drafted him in 2009 -- and they are 3-1 in those four games, averaging 34 points per game in the three victories. The only game Harvin missed in his rookie season was a 30-10 home victory over Cincinnati on Dec. 13, 2009. In 2010, he missed two games in early December, the first a 38-14 home victory over Buffalo in Leslie Frazier's second game as coach after taking over for the fired Brad Childress. Harvin sat out the following week, too -- the 21-3, Brett Favre-less loss to the Giants that was played on a Monday night at Detroit's Ford Field after the Mall of America Field roof collapsed.
MANO-A-MANO
Vikings CB A.J. Jefferson vs. Lions WR Calvin Johnson
WHO WON?
Johnson. He had 12 catches for 207 yards and one TD.
THE QUOTE
"I've got to give all the credit to Michael Jenkins on that one. He made a huge block."
-- Rudolph
