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Rolling into January Vikings knock Batch from game, win third straight
Posted: Sunday January 02, 2000 07:38 PM
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Randy Moss sounds as if the Minnesota Vikings are stumbling into the playoffs like the Detroit Lions. "As far as the momentum and the desire and being hungry to go out there and fight for a championship, I don't think we're there yet," Moss said after the Vikings sent the Lions to their fourth straight loss, 24-17 Sunday. "But, we've got this week ... it's just about how bad we want it," added Moss, who caught five passes for 151 yards and a touchdown. Lions quarterback Charlie Batch reinjured his broken right thumb and was replaced by Gus Frerotte just before halftime. His status for the wild-card playoff game at Washington next Saturday was uncertain. Minnesota (10-6) earned the NFC's fourth seed and a home playoff game next Sunday against Dallas, which captured the final playoff spot by beating the New York Giants 26-18. The Vikings beat the Cowboys at the Metrodome 27-17 on Nov. 8, but had to rally from a 17-0 deficit following two TD runs by Emmitt Smith, who was having a career night until he broke a hand. "I think a lot of hype is of course going to be on myself and Deion, along with Cris Carter," Moss said of the matchup with Cowboys cornerback Deion Sanders. Detroit beat the Redskins 33-17 on Dec. 5, the Lions' last victory before their four-game slide. The Vikings and Lions already had clinched playoff spots coming in, but Minnesota failed to repeat as NFC Central champion because Tampa Bay won 20-6 at Chicago. A Buccaneers loss would have given Minnesota a first-round bye and the NFC's second seed behind St. Louis. "We feel great about playing at home," Vikings coach Dennis Green said. "And that's really the only thing that we can go with. If we lost, we were going on the road." After Leroy Hoard's 3-yard TD run made it 24-10 with five minutes left, Johnnie Morton's second touchdown catch, a 36-yarder from Frerotte, pulled Detroit to 24-17 with 2:16 left. But the Lions didn't try an onside kick, and Robert Smith (97 yards on 22 carries) and the Vikings ran out the clock. Making his second start since fracturing his right thumb Nov. 7, Batch was hurt when he hit center Eric Beverly's helmet on a follow through. "I couldn't believe it," said Batch, who was 17-for-24 for 161 yards and a touchdown. X-rays were negative, but he won't be able to practice until the swelling subsides. "There's no further damage to it," Lions coach Bobby Ross said. "But it's really puffed up big." Frerotte was intercepted by Robert Tate near the goal line on his second throw in place of Batch, behind whom the Lions converted eight of nine third-down chances. But Tate and Randy Moss kept Detroit's dreams of an upset -- and a first-round home playoff game against Minnesota -- in check. Tate had kickoff returns of 37 and 47 yards in addition to his touchdown-saving interception. And Moss had four catches for 147 yards and a touchdown in the first half, as the Vikings scraped together a 17-10 lead. Moss, whose 53-yard catch set up the Vikings' first touchdown, hauled in a 67-yard TD pass over cornerback Robert Bailey from Jeff George to break a 10-10 tie. Smith, who entered the game with 363 consecutive touches without a fumble, lost the ball on his first carry and Tracy Scroggins recovered for Detroit. But the Lions gave it right back on Batch's fumble at the Vikings' 35. Smith, who surpassed 1,000 yards rushing for the third straight season, reeled off runs of 8 and 4 yards after Moss' 53-yard grab to give Minnesota a 7-0 lead. Batch responded by driving the Lions 80 yards in 14 plays, hitting Morton with a 6-yard TD pass that ricocheted off Herman Moore's hands. Gary Anderson's 44-yard field goal made it 10-7. Jason Hanson's 39-yarder tied it at 10 before Moss broke free for his big score. The Lions took solace in playing well Sunday. "The loss is a loss. But this showed a little character is coming back for us," Lions safety Ron Rice said. Conversely, Moss wasn't thrilled about going 8-2 behind George, who replaced an ineffective Randall Cunningham in Week 6. "The hell with eight games out of 10," Moss said. "We should be 16-0." Notes: Vikings middle linebacker Ed McDaniel sprained his right knee and will undergo an MRI on Monday. Special teams ace John Henry Mills ruptured his right biceps. ... Detroit's Desmond Howard (muscle spasms) didn't play after the first quarter. ... The Vikings drew a team-record 513,051, besting last year's attendance of 510,741. ... Chris Doleman's 1 1/2 sacks gave him 151, making him the fourth player to surpass 150 career sacks since the league began keeping track in 1982.
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