Sentinel contributor Brian VanOchten grades the Detroit Lions following their 34-28 victory against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday afternoon at Ford Field.

OFFENSE

You start to think perhaps the Lions were meant to reach the NFL playoffs after all this season. The breaks all fell to them in a lackluster win against the Vikings, including nearly blowing a 31-14 lead at the half. Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, who finished 20-for-29 passing for 227 yards and a pair of touchdown passes in the first quarter, got off to a fast start for once. Detroit scored 24 points off turnovers in the first half. The offense sputtered to a halt in the second half. The running game was nothing to brag about with the loss of Kevin Smith to a high-ankle sprain last week. The Vikings limited Calvin Johnson to three catches for 29 yards, but Titus Young and Brandon Pettigrew came up with scoring receptions. The Detroit offensive line put forth another mediocre effort, surrendering five sacks. Vikings pass-rushing terror Jared Allen had three sacks and probably wishes he could line up every game against left tackle Jeff Backus. Right tackle Gosder Cherilus never gets cheated on his false starts and holding calls.

Grade: D+

DEFENSE

You are sure the Lions were meant to reach the NFL playoffs after linebacker DeAndre Levy didn’t get flagged for a facemask personal foul on the final play of regulation. The wild finish brought Minnesota to the 1-yard line with nine seconds left and the fate of the Lions resting in the hands of Vikings backup quarterback Joe Webb. The ball got moved up to the 1 after a silly encroachment flag on Lions end Cliff Avril, whose penalty stopped the clock. Levy stripped the ball and grasped Webb’s facemask, but the officials missed it. Ironically, it was Avril who ended up recovering the ping-ponging football after it got kicked halfway down the field. The Lions scored a pair of defensive touchdowns. Stephen Tulloch recovered a fumble in the end zone on Minnesota’s first play of the contest when Avril stripped rookie quarterback Christian Ponder, while Alphonso Smith later returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown. The Lions let Webb scramble 65 yards for a third-quarter TD and nearly let him steal it at the end.

Grade: D+

SPECIAL TEAMS

Stefan Logan had a 28-yard punt return in the first quarter that set up the Lions’ third touchdown in the first quarter. He also had a 42-yard kickoff return, but fielded another kickoff on the run and stepped out of bounds at the 16. Jason Hanson made a pair of short field goals. Aside from allowing a 47-yard kick return to Minnesota’s Percy Harvin, it wasn’t a complete disaster for the Lions on special teams for a nice change.

Grade: B

COACHING

The person breathing the biggest sigh of relief is Lions coach Jim Schwartz after his team played just well enough at home to defeat a bad opponent. The Lions are 8-5 and in playoff position after the Chicago Bears succumbed to some more Tim Tebow magic and lost in overtime on the road in Denver. It’s a daunting finish with matchups against Oakland, San Diego and Green Bay, but Schwartz did lead the Lions to a 4-0 finish last season.

Grade: B

Listen to VanOchten on The Huge Show on WHTC-AM (1450) and WBBL-FM (107.3) every Tuesday and Thursday from 3-6 p.m.

Looking at a game where the Detroit Lions are hosting the Minnesota Vikings, I would expect that the Lions would easily win. The Vikings were 2-10 coming into this game. The Lions were 7-5, but without their powerhouse defense with Ndamukong Suh and with a recent history of shooting themselves in the foot with dumb penalties. A strong start to the game gave false hope of an easy win. And then in the second half, the Vikings made some serious adjustments. The Lions barely held on at the end of the game, literally winning in the last few seconds.

First Half

Alfonso Smith managed to intercept a throw in the first quarter, giving the Lions a needed charge. This interception led to the Lions’ second touchdown within just over five minutes in the game. On their very next drive, at 9:06 into the game, the Lions scored their third touchdown. Minnesota finally answered with a touchdown with just under two minutes left in the first quarter. Another interception by Smith gave the Lions their fourth touchdown of the game. They led at the half 28-7.

Second Half Turnaround

Christian Ponder again threw an interception early in the third quarter and was benched. Joe Webb took over quarterback duties for the Vikings and quickly changed the tone of the game. His best play was at the end of the third quarter, with a 65-yard carry into the end zone. The Detroit defense seemed nonexistent. A half quarter later, Webb led the Vikings to another touchdown, bringing the score to 34-28 in favor of Detroit.

The Lions couldn’t hold onto their drive and allowed the Vikings one last chance at winning the game. A wild finish to the game kept all of us on the edge of our seats. The Vikings drove down the field. At two yards away from the end zone the Lions jumped into the neutral zone, inching the Vikings even closer. In the subsequent play, DeAndre Levy forced a fumble. Webb briefly recovered the ball and then fumbled it again. Cliff Avril recovered it on the 50-yard line, clinching the Lions’ win.

Penalties

The Detroit Lions continued to get a bunch of penalties throughout the game, costing them probable points. Their wild behavior seemed to be more under control, although Levy apparently got away with a facemask in that final play of the game. Jim Schwartz laid down the law this week, implementing a zero-tolerance policy on post-whistle personal fouls, at least.

Their next game is at the Oakland Raiders on Sunday, December 18, 2011 at 4:05 p.m.

Andrea Coventry is an NFL fan who follows many teams. Her loyalties lie with her hometown teams of the Detroit Lions and the Buffalo Bills.

More from this contributor:

Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears Rack up $62,500 in Fines: A Fan’s Commentary

What Needs to Happen to Ndamukong Suh?: A Fan’s Commentary

Ndamukong Suh’s Apology and Probable Suspension: A Fan’s Commentary

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

Read More: Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions, Dec 11, 2011 12:00 PM CST

The Minnesota Vikings are starting a rookie at quarterback in Christian Ponder. Sometimes, rookie quarterbacks make throws that they shouldn’t. That was clearly the case early in the second quarter at Ford Field against the Detroit Lions.

On a second down play, Ponder dropped back to pass and once again found a wide open Alphonso Smith. As we intimated earlier on this afternoon, Smith still plays for the Lions and not the Vikings, so that’s a bad thing. Smith went untouched into the end zone for a 30-yard return, and the Lions had pushed their lead back to three touchdowns at 28-7.

It has been a rough afternoon for all three phases of the Vikings’ team thus far. The sad part? We’re only two and a half minutes into the third quarter. A long afternoon has the potential to get even longer for fans of the purple and gold.

As it stands now, we have 12:33 left in the first half of play, and the Minnesota Vikings trail the Detroit Lions by a score of 28-7, with 21 of Detroit’s points coming directly off of Minnesota turnovers.

Read More: Stephen Tulloch (LB – DET), Cliff Avril (DE – DET), Phil Loadholt (OT – MIN), Toby Gerhart (RB – MIN), Christian Ponder (QB – MIN), Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions, Dec 11, 2011 12:00 PM CST

Once again, the Minnesota Vikings have given up an early touchdown when the defense was nowhere to be found.

After allowing one first down to the Lions on their first series, Minnesota forced a punt that was taken at the 9-yard line. On the Vikings’ first play from scrimmage, Christian Ponder faked a handoff to Toby Gerhart and dropped back to pass, and Lions’ defensive end Cliff Avril beat Phil Loadholt like a drum around the right edge. Avril got to Ponder and forced a fumble that wound up bouncing into the end zone. Stephen Tulloch jumped on the fumble in the end zone, and the Lions had an early touchdown.

This is the second game in a row that the Vikings’ offense has surrendered a touchdown early, as last week the Denver Broncos got an interception for a score for their first score in Minneapolis.

We have 12:56 left in the first quarter, and the Detroit Lions have already staked themselves to a 7-0 lead.