Greenway back atop Vikings list of leading tacklers

Well, well, well. Look who won't go away.

Sidelined for three games earlier this season because of three broken ribs and a broken hand, linebacker Chad Greenway appeared to have no chance of leading the Vikings in tackles for a seventh consecutive season. Presumably, he would have to settle for a team-record tie with former Vikings linebacker Scott Studwell.

Right, Chad?

"I didn't think I had a chance to get back in it," Greenway said Wednesday. "Not with the quality of guys who were in front of me. But it's pretty cool to be back in the mix."

For the first time this season, Greenway leads the team in tackles with 105, or an average of 10.5 in 10 games. Strong safety Robert Blanton, who has played all but the most recent four snaps this season, is second at 104, while free safety Harrison Smith (101) and linebacker Anthony Barr (99) round out the only players with a chance to unseat Greenway. And two of them — Blanton and Barr — might not play Sunday in Detroit.

Greenway's 115-game streak of consecutive games played ended in Week 4. He had tried to play the previous week at New Orleans "and wasn't myself." A couple of days later, while holding his newborn daughter in the hospital after being checked for a possible collapsed lung, he decided it was time to sit out awhile.

"Otherwise, I would have just ended up on injured reserve," Greenway said. "I think everything healed quicker than we thought it would."

Studwell holds the franchise record of 1,928 tackles. Greenway is fourth with 1,193. Also, according to league stats, Greenway leads all NFL players in tackles since 2007 (976).

"Studwell played the game the right way for so long," Greenway said. "He's got so many tackles and did it for so many years that no matter what I do, I won't be able to live up those standards."

Nice rebound, Alan Williams

Few took more heat for the Vikings' passive and poor defense last season than ­then-coordinator Alan Williams. A year later, Williams has rebounded well as defensive backs/safeties coach on the 9-4 Lions team that will play host to the Vikings on Sunday.

The Lions enter the game with 17 interceptions, good for No. 2 in the league. The defensive backs have 13 picks, including one by safety Glover Quinn in the red zone against Teddy Bridgewater in Week 6.

"He made a great play," Bridgewater said. "He did a great job of reading my eyes."

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer, often praised for his work with defensive backs, said the Lions secondary looks much different this year.

"They're much more aggressive," he said. "It's not so much soft zones. They're on guys pretty close."

Bykowski comes home

Carter Bykowski grew up 5 miles from Vikings headquarters, won two high school state titles at Eden Prairie, played under Bud Grant's son, Mike, and is close friends with Bud's grandson, Ryan. So, yeah, he was OK with leaving the 49ers practice squad to join the Vikings' 53-man roster.

"I was like, 'Yeah, I'm ready. Let's go home,' " the 6-7, 306-pound offensive tackle said Wednesday before his first practice.

Bykowski, a seventh-round draft pick of the 49ers a year ago, will have three weeks to impress the team as a backup. His opportunity came when the Vikings placed linebacker Michael Mauti on injured reserve because of a knee injury.

Four starters miss practice

The first official injury report of the week had four starters missing practice and two limited.

Not practicing: strong safety Robert Blanton (ankle/knee), left guard Charlie Johnson (ankle), fullback Jerome Felton (neck), defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd (knee) and linebacker Anthony Barr (knee).

Limited: free safety Harrison Smith (shoulder), defensive end Everson Griffen (low back).

Full participation: cornerback Jabari Price (hamstring).

Meanwhile, Zimmer said Mauti's move to injured reserve was based on arthroscopic knee surgery unrelated to the three torn anterior cruciate ligaments Mauti suffered in five seasons at Penn State.