Brett Favre says he has no regrets about returning to the Minnesota Vikings this season. If he loses this week, he’ll probably change his mind.
The Minnesota Vikings host the Detroit Lions in a battle of winless teams at the Mall of America Field on Sunday. The Vikings have won 15 of the last 16 meetings between the two teams.
Favre and the Vikings (0-2) entered the season with Super Bowl aspirations but are off to a dismal start. Minnesota has scored just 19 points on the season in losing at New Orleans 14-9 and last week at home to Miami (14-10).
While the competition level takes a drop this week, Favre’s options at receiver don’t look any more promising. Still searching for a favorite target with Sidney Rice on the shelf for several more weeks following hip surgery, Favre could be without Percy Harvin, who is questionable for the contest.
Harvin, who was expected to fill a great deal of the void left by Rice’s absence, caught just one pass the first week. He then got off to a great start to last week’s game, catching the first five passes of the game for Minnesota.
He never caught another.
Harvin juggled a ball at the goal line, which was finally intercepted by the Dolphins, and was limited the rest of the game with a bruised hip. An MRI exam on Monday showed no structural damage to the hip but Harvin has since complained of migraine headaches. The recurring malady has kept him off the practice field.
The Vikings hoped to work out a deal for San Diego wideout Vincent Jackson but those talks broke down. Tight end Visanthe Shiancoe leads the receiver corps with 162 yards on 10 catches. With the situation an utter mess, Minnesota finally plucked former Philadelphia receiver Hank Baskett off the waiver wire for Sunday’s game.
A great deal of the problems in Minnesota’s passing game can be attributed to Favre himself. He had completed just 56 percent of his passes and has thrown four crucial interceptions. Favre, who needs two touchdowns to reach the 500 mark, also fumbled the ball into his own end zone last week and the Dolphins recovered it for a touchdown.
Adrian Peterson continues to carry the rushing game. He has 232 yards on 47 carries thus far with one touchdown. But Peterson ran the ball four straight times in the red zone last week as the Vikings tried for the go-ahead score late in the fourth quarter and was stopped every time.
Things should get a bit easier this week. Favre has won his last four starts against the Lions, completing 76.9 percent of his passes. He has eight touchdowns and no interceptions in that stretch for a 128.6 rating. The Lions have not won on the road since 2007.
Their spirited rally against the Eagles last week fell short in a 35-32 defeat. Shaun Hill will start at quarterback again for the Lions as Matt Stafford is sidelined with a shoulder injury. Hill threw for a career-high 335 yards in last week’s setback.
Rookie back Jahvid Best has been a one-man gang for the Lions. He rushed for 78 yards and two touchdowns against Philadelphia while catching nine balls for another 154 yards and a touchdown. He leads the NFL with five touchdowns on the season.