Long before the word "steroids'' became commonplace, the Minnesota Vikings used their own form of PEDs.

Performance-enhancing Detroit.

The strange thing about the Vikings' game in Detroit on Sunday is that it gives them a chance to beat a good team for the first time this season. Historically, the Lions have been the Vikings' Creatine.

If not for the Lions, Bud Grant might not be in the Hall of Fame, and the Vikings might be known for avoiding Super Bowls instead of losing them.

Sunday, the Vikings will play at Detroit as marked underdogs. That's troubling if you invest importance in the last few regular-season games of a rebuilding season. It's even more troubling if you consider that Detroit represents the pivotal roadblock to future Vikings playoff berths.

The Lions have a chance to beat the Vikings twice in the same season for the first time since 2011, and for only the third time since 1962.

The Vikings have a chance to go winless in the division for only the third time in franchise history, following oh-fers in 1962 and 2011. The Lions have kept even mediocre Vikings teams afloat in the past.

Overall, the Vikings are 69-34-2 against Detroit. The Vikings went 17-3 against Detroit in the 1970s, and 18-2 in the 2000s.

The Vikings were the worst team in the NFC North in 2013. In 2014, even while breaking in a new coach, quarterback and several replacement running backs, they have looked more competent and promising than the Bears. Like most of the NFL, the Vikings won't be able to feel superior to the Packers as long as Aaron Rodgers remains healthy and ineligible for senior discounts.

That leaves the Lions as the team blocking the Vikings from wild-card berths and the right to call themselves Rodgers' primary antagonists.

Considering the Bears' inability to capitalize on spectacular skill-position players, there are two divisional impediments to the Vikings becoming annual contenders: Rodgers and the Lions' defensive front.

Rodgers may torment the division for another 10 years. Ndamukong Suh may not.

The Lions' dominant defensive tackle is likely to leave in free agency this winter. If the Lions find a way to keep him, they will continue to feature perhaps the two most unusually gifted athletes in the division in Suh and receiver Calvin Johnson.

When the Lions won 17-3 at TCF Bank Stadium earlier this season, Johnson was injured. Suh and his linemates punished the Vikings' offensive line, pushing into the backfield so far that Teddy Bridgewater, who previously had been praised for his composure, looked helpless.

Sunday, there is a high probability Bridgewater will be introduced to Suh again. If he's lucky, he may also get to say goodbye.

This season, the Lions rank second to only Seattle in the NFL in yards allowed per game. They are tied for eighth in sacks and third in interceptions.

Most remarkable is that the Lions rank first in rushing defense by a wide margin. They are allowing just 62.8 rushing yards per game, 10 yards better than second-place Denver. They are allowing 3 yards per carry, a half-yard better than anyone else.

With Suh, the Lions are favored today to complete a rare sweep of the Vikings, which would leave Minnesota needing a victory over Chicago in the last week of the regular season to avoid a rare winless season in the division.

Who causes Vikings coach Mike Zimmer more sleepless nights, Johnson or Suh?

"The great receivers that can go up and make plays like he can keep you up a lot,'' Zimmer said. "But in today's NFL, the way that there is so much throwing going on, guys that have really good inside pass rushers are usually pretty good on defense. Usually guards aren't as good of athletes as the tackles that [defensive] ends are playing against.

"I've always felt in a 4-3 defense, especially if you've got a great inside pass rusher, you have an advantage on a lot of teams. You can find ends. But those inside guys can create a lot of havoc in there.''

Wishful thinking and survival instincts might prompt Bridgewater to buy Suh a going-away present this weekend. Maybe a nice New York Giants fleece.

Jim Souhan's podcast can be heard at souhanunfiltered.com. Jim Souhan can also be heard weekdays at noon and Sundays from 10 to noon on 1500 ESPN. @SouhanStrib • jsouhan@startribune.com