Lions can't stop big plays, can't produce any

Minneapolis -- The Lions could've had Adrian Peterson. All day, in fact.

But that's the thing about game-breaking talent in the NFL: You can't have what you can't catch -- or tackle. And the Lions, who fell to 1-8 -- tied for the worst record in the NFL -- after Sunday's 27-10 loss to the Vikings, simply don't have the kind of players that can right now.

"Are we where we need to be personnel-wise? No," coach Jim Schwartz acknowledged. "But we have NFL players. We've gotta find a way to get that done. They have to make the plays that come to 'em."

Sunday, the Lions' offense again failed to produce big plays, while the defense couldn't avoid them, much to the delight of a sellout crowd of 63,854 at the Metrodome.

It's the 12th consecutive loss for the Lions in Minneapolis and the 18th in the last 20 overall against the Vikings. They've now lost 31 of their last 33, something only one other team in league history (Houston Oilers, 1982-84) has done.

Peterson, the All-Pro running back passed over by the Lions in the 2007 draft, broke tackles early and often to pile up 133 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while Brett Favre used play-action fakes to go deep in the passing game. The 40-year-old quarterback was 20-of-29 for 344 yards and a touchdown, while his new favorite target, Sidney Rice, finished with a career-high 201 receiving yards on seven catches.

The Vikings (8-1) outgained the Lions, 492 yards to 297, despite 13 fewer offensive snaps, two turnovers and 13 penalties. Rice, Peterson and rookie receiver Percy Harvin combined for five plays of 40-plus yards, and the Vikings had 10 plays of 20-plus yards on offense Sunday, while the Lions had none.

"We were hanging in. we were putting bad plays behind us and finding a way to make a play," Schwartz said after the Lions' 17th consecutive road defeat. "But we continue to be plagued by the giant play, the big play."

A single minute at the start of the second half proved pivotal again Sunday, much like the first meeting between these teams Sept. 20 at Ford Field. In that game -- also a 27-10 loss for the Lions -- the Vikings capitalized on a Kevin Smith fumble midway through the third quarter, as Peterson broke a 27-yard touchdown run on the ensuing play for the go-ahead score.

On Sunday, Smith (12 carries, 55 yards) fumbled on the first play of the opening drive of the second half. And this time, Peterson, who hit the century mark before halftime, needed two carries to score -- a 27-yard run to the goal line, followed by a 1-yard plunge that made it 17-3 with only 48 seconds elapsed.

"That happened the first game -- that's the type of running back he is," linebacker Larry Foote said. "You can bottle him up and try to contain him and then, 'Boom!' He can hit the home run."

The long ball torched the Lions secondary again, too.

Favre and Rice hooked up for so many explosive plays Sunday that Vikings coach Brad Childress joked, "I asked Brett today, 'Do you both have the same agent, or what?' "

A 43-yarder to Rice, who got away with a push-off against cornerback Phillip Buchanon on the play, set up the Vikings' first touchdown -- a 22-yard run by Peterson, who escaped Jason Hunter in the backfield -- for a 10-0 lead in the second quarter.

"We came in with our first goal, which was to stop Peterson," rookie linebacker DeAndre Levy said. "But with Favre landing bombs like he did, it was kind of hard."

Staying upright was kind of hard for quarterback Matthew Stafford, who was 29-of-51 for 224 yards and was under siege all day. He was sacked three times, and hit 13 times officially, though it was hard to keep count with the rookie shrouded in purple.

"When we're getting hit on three-step drops, that's a problem," Schwartz said.

As a result, the Lions had seven drives of four plays or less in the second and third quarters. But they pulled to within 17-10 midway through the third when Stafford hit tight end Will Heller from 8 yards out to cap a 15-play drive.

That's when Favre went deep again, though, launching a 56-yarder to Rice -- Schwartz sarcastically called it "a javelin toss" -- on the first play of the fourth quarter. Rice got behind safety Ko Simpson on the play, which set up the decisive score that put the Vikings ahead, 24-10.

"Most of our plays were either a missed assignment or a missed tackle," Schwartz said. "I mean, their quarterback just throws the ball up against Cover-2 and they complete a 60-yard pass down the field. That's on us. That's on us as players. We need to make plays."

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