Vikings WR Sidney Rice racked up 201 more yards in Sunday’s 27-10 win over the Lions, giving him the NFC lead in receiving yards through nine games.
With top CB Antoine Winfield (foot) sitting out again, the Vikings started Benny Sapp at left cornerback against Detroit.
Benefiting from the absence of Lions top S Louis Delmas (tooth), Brett Favre shredded Detroit for a season-high 344 passing yards in the victory.
The Vikings overcame 13 penalties and three red-zone turnovers to keep pressure on the Saints for the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
The Lions benched RB Aaron Brown, DE Cliff Avril, and DT Landon Cohen for Sunday’s game.
Some silver lining for Detroit: WR Calvin Johnson looked completely over his knee injury en route to eight catches for 84 yards on Sunday.
Lions CB Phillip Buchanon ran down Vikings RB Adrian Peterson and forced him to fumble at the Detroit 18-yard line, allowing Lions LB Jordon Dizon to recover in the end zone for a touchback.
CB Jack Williams, making his Lions debut after being claimed off waivers last week, suffered a season-ending knee injury in the loss.
Mike Florio has more on the Lions-Vikings game in his Monday Morning Aftermath article.