18 straight losses and counting for Lions

The last time the Detroit Lions won a game, Jared Allen played for the Kansas City Chiefs and his team was the opponent. That came in the second-to-last game in the 2007 season.

Reminded of that, Allen recalled that he had two sacks and caught a touchdown pass. The Pro Bowl defensive end also remembered that his team lost.

"Yeah, that stinks," he said.

Since then, the woeful Lions are 0-18, including a historic 0-16 last season. They were thrashed 45-27 by the New Orleans Saints in the season opener last week.

The Lions have lost 24 of their past 25 games, but the Vikings predictably sounded anything but overconfident while talking up the Lions as they prepared for Sunday's game.

"They're not going to lose 16 straight [again]," Allen said. "It's just not going to happen. They're going to win. They've got some talent."

Said cornerback Antoine Winfield: "We don't think about [the record]. They're a very talented team. We can't go in there with the mindset that we're just going to throw our helmets out there and win the game. They always play us tough. They could have easily beat us twice last year."

Those memories should help keep things in perspective this week. The Vikings needed an iffy pass interference penalty on Detroit on the final drive to pull out a 12-10 victory at home on Ryan Longwell's 26-yard field goal with nine seconds remaining. The Vikings played sluggishly at Detroit later in the season before winning 20-16.

The Vikings have won three consecutive games against the Lions, 13 of the past 14 meetings, and 17 of 19.

"You have to thrown it out the window," linebacker Chad Greenway said. "It's the NFL. They can get you any week. They almost got us both times last year. We simply didn't play good enough football. We know they're an improved team."

The Lions at least look different. They have a new coach (Jim Schwartz) and 33 new players, including quarterback Matthew Stafford, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.

"It's not the same team obviously," Allen said. "You don't have a 0-16 team and keep the same guys. They have some of the same guys there, but they're running different schemes. I'm excited to go there. I'm coming for you, Gunther."

That was a joke directed at Lions defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham, who held the same post in Kansas City when Allen played for the Chiefs.

Of course, the same sentiment also might hold true for Lions right tackle Gosder Cherilus, who last season injured Allen's left knee on a low blow while Allen pursued down the line. Allen charged after Cherilus and had to be restrained.

Asked if he's excited to face Cherilus again, Allen said, "Ah, we'll just see what happens out there."

"Yeah, it stinks," he added. "My knee still clicks, but it is what it is. It's a division game. You don't really need any extra motivation to go over and try and whip someone's butt."