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Lions preparing for tough battle with a familiar but surging foe: the Vikings

By Carlos Monarrez, Detroit Free Press –

DETROIT — Don’t look now, but the Minnesota Vikings are tied for the lead in the NFC North.

After Seattle and the NFL replacement referees defeated Green Bay on Monday night, Minnesota and Chicago were left atop the division at 2-1. If the Lions were at all in danger of overlooking a Vikings team that finished 3-13 last year, there’s little chance of that happening when Minnesota enters Ford Field on Sunday.

“No, definitely not,” receiver Nate Burleson said. “We can’t overlook anybody with a better record than us. They played us tough last year. But we know how the division is, though.

“It’s going to be a back-alley fight. They know us. We know them. They know our best punches, and we know theirs. It’s just basically going to be one of those matches where execution is going to determine the winner.”

The Vikings appear to be doing everything well suddenly. Second-year quarterback Christian Ponder’s 70.1% completion rate is the second best in the league, and he’s one of three QBs who haven’t thrown an interception.

Is Ponder really the same quarterback who was benched last year against the Lions after he threw three interceptions?

“Ponder’s definitely turned the corner this year,” linebacker Stephen Tulloch said. “He hasn’t thrown an interception all year. He’s playing good ball, he’s scrambling very well out of the pocket, and he creates a lot of problems for different teams with different looks.”

Jared Allen, last year’s sack leader with 22, got his first sack Sunday when the Vikings sacked 49ers quarterback Alex Smith three times. And running back Adrian Peterson looks close to fully recovered from a torn anterior cruciate ligament with a 4.4-yard average.

On top of that, the Vikings’ 24-13 victory Sunday over San Francisco was a watershed moment for a team that entered the season having lost seven of its final eight games in 2011.

Big win or not, Lions coach Jim Schwartz said his team is too familiar with the Vikings to let one game fool or sway them.

“We know them well,” Schwartz said. “We have a lot of respect for them. They have some outstanding players. The sack leader in the NFL. I don’t know where he ended up in rushing last year, but one of the best running backs in the NFL, play-making wide receiver, young quarterback, first-round draft pick at left tackle. You could keep on going for about 20 minutes. They have outstanding talent.

“Our guys know that because we play them twice a year. Regardless of whether they won or lost, I don’t think it changes the perspective we have for the Vikings.”

Maybe one of the most impressive aspects of the Vikings’ victory over the 49ers was their ability to learn from their mistakes. They had only one penalty after committing 11 the previous week.

After committing 10 penalties against Tennessee, the Lions would like to mimic the Vikings in that part of the game.

“We can’t have penalties,” Tulloch said. “We’ve got to eliminate mistakes. It starts in this locker room. It’s not about the Minnesota Vikings and what they have going on over there. It’s about us not hurting ourselves and beating ourselves.”

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