The game seemed to be getting out of hand on the Vikings’ very first play: a defender got past Phil Loadholt to hit quarterback Christian Ponder before Ponder had any idea he was there and stripped the ball away. The ball bounced into the end-zone and Detroit recovered for the touchdown. The Lions continued to build on their lead, getting to 21-0 before the Vikings could put together a scoring drive of their own.
Between interceptions and fumbles, Detroit scored 24 points off turnovers, most of them unforced. Things were going so badly for Christian Ponder that he was replaced with backup Joe Webb early in the second half. That upset the defensive scheme that Detroit had been using (Ponder can run, but is still limited with a hip injury — Webb is an even better runner than Ponder), allowing the Vikings to mount a comeback that almost succeeded. The last play of the game saw the Vikings on Detroit’s 1-yard line, only to fumble away the ball which Detroit finally recovered fifty yards upfield.
When all was said and done, the Vikings threw three interceptions, had a handful of other passes that could have been intercepted, five fumbles and three fumbles lost — shooting themselves in the foot early and late and handing the Lions a win with a fumbling, bumbling, never-ending turning point.
On the positive side (even games as bad as this can have their positive notes), Jared Allen regained the NFL lead in sacks, registering three of them against Matthew Stafford. He now has 17.5 on the season and 100.5 in his career. Joe Webb had the longest running play of the season with his 65-yard TD on a third-down scramble. He also scored his first career passing TD.
Jeremy Fowler, St. Paul Pioneer Press:
Once again, the Vikings were left with little consolation after another high-drama loss because of a disastrous start and a furious comeback.
Only this game came with an unexpected twist: the benching of the potential franchise quarterback.
The Vikings want to avoid a quarterback controversy despite Christian Ponder’s benching in the third quarter.
Ponder, who battled a hip injury all week, will remain the Vikings’ No. 1 quarterback despite Webb’s 109 rushing yards in the Vikings’ new scramble-till-you’re-tired offense.
“No issue,” coach Leslie Frazier said. “Christian’s our starting quarterback.”
There is no quarterback controversy. Christian Ponder is the quarterback of this team, and if you thought he wouldn’t make typical rookie mistakes, and have at least one facepalm game, then I doubt we can have an intelligent conversation about this.
Did he make poor throws? Yeah. Did he have a bad game? Yep. I can forgive the first turnover that was a strip sack for a TD, and those picks were terrible throws. But until he was pulled so he wouldn’t take more of a physical beating, he rallied. He still made throws, and he had a couple of nice TD passes. And Joe Webb rallied this team in a way that I frankly didn’t think was possible. I tip my cap to you, Spiderman. That was a yeoman’s performance out there, and if my vote for game ball of the week is worth anything, my vote goes to you, Mr. Webb.
[. . .]
Every Safety On The Roster: You guys are a black hole from which talent cannot escape. How many weeks in a row have we seen a cornerback release his guy to the safety, only to have the safety in row 6 ordering a dog and a beer? It happened at least three times today, and they went a long way to make Titus Young look like Jerry Rice. Titus Young. Seriously?? Their play makes me long for Madieu Williams.
Every Offensive Tackle On The Roster: Phil Loadholt and Charlie Johnson should be arrested as accomplices in attempted murder, because they damn near got Christian Ponder killed. On the first offensive play of the game, Phil Loadholt put his matador training skills to use, waving a red blanket and yelling ‘OLE!’ as Cliff Avril blew by him, forcing a fumble in the end zone that the Lions recovered for a TD. First. Play. Charlie Johnson wasn’t much better, and by the third quarter Ponder had been TKO’d, and Joe Webb took over. Thank God Webb has some wheels, or he’d be in intensive care next to Ponder.
