DETROIT - Artose Pinner's recent three-game banishment to the Vikings' inactive list gave the running back plenty of time to think about what he would do when he finally got back on the field.
"I knew once I got that opportunity I was going to take advantage of it," he said.
But not even Pinner could have envisioned just how successful he would be. Playing against the team that jettisoned him near the end of training camp, Pinner ran for a career-high 125 yards on 29 carries and tied a team record held by eight other players by rushing for three touchdowns in the Vikings' 30-20 victory over Detroit at Ford Field.
It was the Detroit native Chester Taylor who was supposed to get the opportunity to rack up the yardage against the Lions' porous defense, but he ended up being inactive because of bruised ribs. The Vikings running game accounted for 172 yards on 44 carries and tied another team mark with four touchdowns. Quarterback Brad Johnson had his first rushing touchdown since the 2001 season.
No one expected Pinner to play the starring role after sitting out games against Miami, Arizona and Chicago. Ciatrick Fason carried the bulk of the rushing load after Taylor left the game in Chicago, and it was expected Fason again would be the main guy. But he gained only 28 yards on six carries. Mewelde Moore had only three rushing attempts.
"We were going to mix it up with those three guys, and [Pinner] had a leading role," coach Brad Childress said. "Different guys take different looks at different plays, and so he had kind of a menu that we wanted to get him started with and he had a hot hand and kept going. I thought he ran extremely hard down by the goal line."
Pinner's previous best day had been a 68-yard, 23-carry rushing performance on Oct. 10, 2004, against Atlanta. Last season, he gained 64 yards on 14 carries in a December loss to the Vikings. On Sunday, he already had rushed for 105 yards by halftime. Pinner also had two receptions for 15 yards and lost a fumble.
"You just always have to be prepared for anything," Pinner said. "I did know Chester wasn't going to play today and somebody had to step up."
Pinner spent his first three seasons with the Lions, and Detroit fans showered him with some familiar chants of "Toose."To get an opportunity like this, it's so weird that it was against my old team," said Pinner, who refused to bad-mouth his former employer. "But when you get an opportunity to step up when the game is on the line and you have an opportunity to stay in the playoff hunt, you have to make plays. This is a 'What have you done for me lately' league and to take advantage of opportunities when Chester's down and just keep us in the hunt. I feel great about it."
Taylor said he expects to return next Sunday against the Jets, meaning Pinner will be relegated to a lesser role, but it's highly likely he will remain on the active roster. He had been active for eight of the first nine games, but fell into disfavor after committing two costly penalties on special teams in the Vikings' loss to Green Bay on Nov. 12.
"When you have 10 guys doing their thing and one guy is not doing his job, it really hurts the team," Pinner said of his mistakes in that game. "I can understand why I could have been in the doghouse."
Pinner did a very good job of getting himself out of that doghouse Sunday.
Judd Zulgad • jzulgad@startribune.com
vikings/nfl
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