Read this newsletter all the way through as it contains what is believed to be a historical moment as we manage to link a piece about the history of the Minnesota Vikings-Detroit Lions series with Jackson County Central golf. Also included are both the 1961 and 2021 West Side Story movies, Meg Ryan, Ed Sullivan and Jerry Lewis. You’re welcome.
Upon entering the NFL in 1961 it took the Minnesota Vikings until their sixth try to beat the Detroit Lions. Since then, the Vikings have dominated the series.
On Oct. 10, Minnesota won 19-17 at U.S. Bank Stadium to extend its lead in the series to 79-39-2.
That means if the Lions were to beat the Vikings on Sunday and continue to sweep the season series every year they would not pull even with Minnesota until their first meeting of the 2041 season.
The Vikings have won eight straight in the series, but have a way to go to match their longest winning streak in the series. Minnesota won 13 straight from Oct. 6, 1968 through Sept. 22, 1974.
Detroit’s longest winning streak was those first five meetings with the expansion Vikings from Nov. 19, 1961 through Oct. 27, 1963.
Each week in this space we highlight one of the past games with that week’s opponent. This time around it’s the Vikings 30-21 win over the Lions in the 1977 regular-season finale on Dec. 17 at the Pontiac Silverdome.
It was a Saturday night edition of Monday Night Football on ABC and the Vikings needed the win to make the playoffs.
Chuck Foreman carried the ball 33 times to a club record. He had 156 yards and two touchdowns, a one‐yard plunge in the first quarter and he went in from five yards out in the third period.
Bob Lee, playing for the injured Fran Tarkenton, was 11-for-16 passing for 206 yards and two touchdowns, 48 yards to Ahmad Rashad and 29 yards to Sammy White.
On the other hand, the Lions’ Gary Danielson (current CBS college football analyst) was 11-30 for 153 yards and had two passes intercepted, by Phil Wise and Nate Wright. Danielson was Detroit’s leading rusher with 16 yards on just one attempt.
Fred Cox added a 26-yard field goal and kicked the PAT after three of the Vikings’ four touchdowns.
Detroit's Eddie Payton, brother of Chicago's running star, Walter Payton, returned two kicks for touchdowns, a 98‐yard kickoff return in the third quarter and an 87‐yard punt return in the fourth.
Eddie Payton would play for the Vikings from 1980-82 and would go on to coach the men’s golf team at Jackson State University, winning 23 Southwestern Athletic Conference championships, eight National Minority championships, and was the first Historical Black College University to make the NCAA Men’s National Golf Championships in 1995.
One of the players he coached at Jackson State was Jackson County Central graduate Brett Benson, who was the state Class A individual champion in 2004.
Stat of the week
Kene Nwangwu has reached two kickoff return touchdowns faster than anyone in the NFL since 1970.
Four of the sixth fastest have done so for the Vikings:
Kene Nwangwu, Minnesota 5 games
Jerome Mathis, Houston 6 games
Brandon Tate, New England 6 games
Cordarrelle Patterson, Minnesota 7 games
Percy Harvin, Minnesota 7 games
Darrick Vaughn, Atlanta 7 games
Notable
QB Kirk Cousins threw two touchdown passes vs. San Francisco, bringing his streak of consecutive with a TD pass to 25 games. He had been tied with Daunte Culpepper at 24.
With his pass completion to RB Dalvin Cook, WR Justin Jefferson has three pass attempts this year, which is tied for second-most passes in a season by a non-quarterback in team history. RB Alfred Anderson threw seven in 1984. Also throwing three were WR Jerry Reichow in 1961 and WR Randy Moss in 2002.
WR Adam Thielen caught two TD passes last week, putting him fifth in career touchdown receptions for the Vikings with 49. Cris Carter leads with 110, followed by Randy Moss (92), Anthony Carter (52), Sammy White (50) and Thielen.
S Harrison Smith is second in games played by a safety in team history with 139. Paul Krause leads the list with 171 from 1968-1979.
TV
Sunday’s game kicks off at noon. Be aware that the game will be televised on CBS even though it is a matchup of two NFC teams.
Spero Dedes will do play-by-play with Jay Feely as analyst. Apparently that crew doesn’t get a sideline reporter.
It would be nice if the pregame show looked something like this:
The first time
This week we’re introducing a new segment in these newsletters: The First Time, a look at what was happening the first time the Vikings and that week’s opponent met.
The No. 1 movie on Nov. 19, 1961 when the Lions beat the Vikings 37-19 at Metropolitan Stadium was West Side Story.
Fun fact part deu: Steven Spielberg's adaptation of West Side Story comes out next week.
Does that make you feel pretty? Oh so pretty? Maybe it would be better if the Vikings were playing the Jets tonight? (See what I did there?)
The No. 1 song in the U.S. was Jimmy Dean’s Big John. Cook up some sausage and give a listen:
Actress Meg Ryan was born on Nov. 19, 1961. By federal law you must play this clip any time you refer to Meg Ryan:
And if you watched the Ed Sullivan Show that night, you saw Jerry Lewis teach Ed how to introduce a guest:
Scores
Vikings lead series 79-39-2
11-19-1961: Detroit Lions 37, Minnesota Vikings 10
12-10-1961: Detroit Lions 13, Minnesota Vikings 7
11-18-1962: Detroit Lions 17, Minnesota Vikings 6
12-09-1962: Detroit Lions 37, Minnesota Vikings 23
10-27-1963: Detroit Lions 28, Minnesota Vikings 10
11-24-1963: Minnesota Vikings 34, Detroit Lions 31
10-11-1964: Detroit Lions 24, Minnesota Vikings 20
11-22-1964: Minnesota Vikings 23, Detroit Lions 23 (tie)
09-26-1965: Detroit Lions 31, Minnesota Vikings 29
12-12-1965: Minnesota Vikings 29, Deroit Lions 7
11-13-1966: Detroit Lions 32, Minnesota Vikings 31
12-11-1966: Minnesota Vikings 28, Detroit Lions 16
11-12-1967: Minnesota Vikings 10, Detroit Lions 10 (tie)
12-17-1967: Detroit Lions 14, Minnesota Vikings 3
10-06-1968: Minnesota Vikings 24, Detroit Lions 10
11-17-1968: Minnesota Vikings 13, Detroit Lions 6
10-26-1969: Minnesota Vikings 24, Detroit Lions 10
11-27-1969: Minnesota Vikings 27, Detroit Lions 0
11-01-1970: Minnesota Vikings 30, Detroit Lions 17
11-15-1970: Minnesota Vikings 24, Detroit Lions 20
09-20-1971: Minnesota Vikings 16, Detroit Lions 13
12-11-1971: Minnesota Vikings 29, Detroit Lions 10
09-24-1972: Minnesota Vikings 34, Detroit Lions 10
11-12-1972: Minnesota Vikings 16, Detroit Lions 14
10-07-1973: Minnesota Vikings 23, Detroit Lions 9
11-11-1973: Minnesota Vikings 28, Detroit Lions 7
09-22-1974: Minnesota Vikings 7, Detroit Lions 6
10-20-1974: Detroit Lions 20, Minnesota Vikings 16
10-19-1975: Minnesota Vikings 25, Detroit Lions 19
12-14-1975: Detroit Lions 17, Minnesota Vikings 10
09-26-1976: Minnesota Vikings 10, Detroit Lions 9
11-07-1976: Minnesota Vikings 31, Detroit Lions 23
10-09-1977: Minnesota Vikings 14, Detroit Lions 7
12-17-1977: Minnesota Vikings 30, Detroit Lions 21
11-05-1978: Minnesota Vikings 17, Detroit Lions 7
12-09-1978: Detroit Lions 45, Minnesota Vikings 14
09-30-1979: Minnesota Vikings 13, Detroit Lions 10
11-18-1979: Minnesota Vikings 14, Detroit Lions 7
09-28-1980: Detroit Lions 27, Minnesota Vikings 7
11-09-1980: Minnesota Vikings 34, Detroit Lions 0
09-20-1981: Minnesota Vikings 26, Detroit Lions 24
12-12-1981: Detroit Lions 45, Minnesota Vikings 7
12-19-1982: Minnesota Vikings 34, Detroit Lions 31
09-25-1983: Minnesota Vikings 20, Detroit Lions 17
12-05-1983: Detroit Lions 13, Minnesota Vikings 2
09-23-1984: Minnesota Vikings 29, Detroit Lions 28
10-21-1984: Detroit Lions 16, Minnesota Vikings 14
11-03-1985: Minnesota Vikings 16, Detroit Lions 13
11-17-1985: Detroit Lions 41, Minnesota Vikings 21
09-07-1986: Detroit Lions 13, Minnesota Vikings 10
11-09-1986: Minnesota Vikings 24, Detroit Lions 10
09-13-1987: Minnesota Vikings 34, Detroit Lions 19
12-20-1987: Minnesota Vikings 17, Detroit Lions 14
11-06-1988: Minnesota Vikings 44, Detroit Lions 17
11-24-1988: Minnesota Vikings 23, Detroit Lions 0
10-08-1989: Minnesota Vikings 24, Detroit Lions 17
10-22-1989: Minnesota Vikings 20, Detroit Lions 7
10-07-1990: Detroit Lions 34, Minnesota Vikings 27
11-11-1990: Minnesota Vikings 17, Detroit Lions 7
10-06-1991: Detroit Lions 24, Minnesota Vikings 20
11-24-1991: Detroit Lions 34, Minnesota Vikings 14
09-13-1992: Detroit Lions 31, Minnesota Vikings 17
10-15-1992: Minnesota Vikings 31, Detroit Lions 14
10-31-1993: Detroit Lions 30, Minnesota Vikings 27
12-05-1993: Minnesota Vikings 13, Detroit Lions 0
09-11-1994: Minnesota Vikings 10, Detroit Lions 3
12-17-1994: Detroit Lions 41, Minnesota Vikings 19
09-10-1995: Minnesota Vikings 20, Detroit Lions 10
11-23-1995: Detroit Lions 44, Minnesota Vikings 38
09-01-1996: Minnesota Vikings 17, Detroit Lions 13
12-08-1996: Minnesota Vikings 24, Detroit Lions 22
11-16-1997: Detroit Lions 38, Minnesota Vikings 15
12-14-1997: Detroit Lions 14, Minnesota Vikings 13
09-20-1998: Minnesota Vikings 29, Detroit Lions 6
10-25-1998: Minnesota Vikings 34, Detroit Lions 13
10-17-1999: Detroit Lions 25, Minnesota Vikings 23
01-02-2000: Minnesota Vikings 24, Detroit Lions 17
10-01-2000: Minnesota Vikings 31, Detroit Lions 24
11-30-2000: Minnesota Vikings 24, Detroit Lions 17
10-14-2001: Minnesota Vikings 31, Detroit Lions 26
12-16-2001: Detroit Lions 27, Minnesota Vikings 24
10-13-2002: Minnesota Vikings 31, Detroit Lions 24
12-29-2002: Minnesota Vikings 38, Detroit Lions 36
09-21-2003: Minnesota Vikings 23, Detroit Lions 13
11-23-2003: Minnesota Vikings 24, Detroit Lions 13
11-21-2004: Minnesota Vikings 22, Detroit Lions 19
12-19-2004: Minnesota Vikings 28, Detroit Lions 27
11-06-2005: Minnesota Vikings 27, Detroit Lions 14
12-04-2005: Minnesota Vikings 21, Detroit Lions 16
10-08-2006: Minnesota Vikings 26, Detroit Lions 17
12-10-2006: Minnesota Vikings 30, Detroit Lions 20
09-16-2007: Detroit Lions 20, Minnesota Vikings 17 (OT)
12-02-2007: Minnesota Vikings 42, Detroit Lions 10
10-12-2008: Minnesota Vikings 12, Detroit Lions 10
12-07-2008: Minnesota Vikings 20, Detroit Lions 16
09-20-2009: Minnesota Vikings 27, Detroit Lions 13
11-15-2009: Minnesota Vikings 27, Detroit Lions 10
09-26-2010: Minnesota Vikings 24, Detroit Lions 10
01-02-2011: Detroit Lions 20, Minnesota Vikings 13
09-25-2011: Detroit Lions 26, Minnesota Vikings 23 (OT)
12-11-2011: Detroit Lions 34, Minnesota Vikings 28
09-30-2012: Minnesota Vikings 20, Detroit Lions 13
11-11-2012: Minnesota Vikings 34, Detroit Lions 24
09-08-2013: Detroit Lions 34, Minnesota Vikings 28
12-29-2013: Minnesota Vikings 14, Detroit Lions 13
10-12-2014: Detroit Lions 17, Minnesota Vikings 3
12-14-2014: Detroit Lions 16, Minnesota Vikings 14
09-20-2015: Minnesota Vikings 26, Detroit Lions 16
10-25-2015: Minnesota Vikings 28, Detroit Lions 19
11-06-2016: Detroit Lions 22, Minnesota Vikings 16 (OT)
11-24-2016: Detroit Lions 16, Minnesota Vikings 13
10-01-2017: Detroit Lions 14, Minnesota Vikings 7
11-23-2017: Minnesota Vikings 30, Detroit Lions 23
11-04-2018: Minnesota Vikings 24, Detroit Lions 9
12-23-2018: Minnesota Vikings 27, Detroit Lions 9
10-20-2019: Minnesota Vikings 42, Detroit Lions 30
12-08-2019: Minnesota Vikings 20, Detroit Lions 7
11-08-2020: Minnesota Vikings 34, Detroit Lions 20
01-03-2021: Minnesota Vikings 37, Detroit Lions 35
10-10-2021: Minnesota Vikings 19, Detroit Lions 17
Points scored: Minnesota Vikings 2635, Detroit Lions 2226