With even record, Vikings prepare for road

The Vikings were booed at halftime and head coach Brad Childress was the object of a chant in the second half. Maybe going on the road isn’t a bad thing for the Vikings.

The Vikings might be glad to be hitting the road for next Sunday’s game in Chicago.

The Vikings beat the Detroit Lions 12-10 Sunday during a game in which fans in the Metrodome booed the team off the field at halftime and began a chant of “Fire Childress” on more than one occasion in the second half.

This came with the Vikings trailing the Lions — Minnesota won on a 26-yard field goal by Ryan Longwell with nine seconds remaining — and with the offense failing to move the ball against the NFL’s lowest-rated defense.

Childress, the Eagles’ offensive coordinator before being hired by the Vikings in 2006, has incurred the wrath of fans on numerous occasions because of his team’s offensive struggles and the fact that many find his version of the West Coast system to be bland and too predictable.

Sunday’s victory might not have been pretty, but it leaves the Vikings at 3-3 and atop the NFC North along with Chicago and Green Bay. The Vikings have beaten New Orleans and Detroit in back-to-back games with last-second field goals by Longwell serving as the difference.

Childress certainly realized his team did not play well Sunday, but he wasn’t about to turn down the victory. There are, however, many corrections the Vikings need to make before they travel to Soldier Field.

The Vikings’ miscues Sunday included two lost fumbles by running back Adrian Peterson, a 3-for-15 conversion rate on third down, an 0-for-3 performance in the red zone, five sacks given up and an interception thrown by quarterback Gus Frerotte.

Former Bears receiver Bernard Berrian, signed by the Vikings as a free agent during the offseason, has had back-to-back 100-yard receiving performances and caught an 86-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter Sunday.

Berrian knows the Vikings can’t afford to play the same way in Chicago or it could get ugly.

“It is definitely going to be a tough game, hostile environment,” Berrian said. “The Chicago crowd is definitely going to be revved up, especially after they lost today. We definitely cannot go out there and play like we did (against the Lions). They are way too good of a team for that, especially since it is in Chicago. We have to make sure we take care of all of the mistakes and not get ourselves into these positions. This game (vs. Detroit) should have been a blowout.”

Berrian did say he is looking forward to playing against his former team. “I can’t wait,” he said. “I like playing in Chicago. It’s fun and my family is going to be out there. I love the crowd. It is definitely going to be a physical game, so we are going to have to be ready to go.”

QUOTE TO NOTE: “As far as I’m concerned, that’s a great win. There is no such thing as a bad one in the NFL. I told you guys last week that this would be far tougher than I think anybody wanted to make it. Human nature is you want it to be easy, but you know what? It doesn’t happen that way in this league.” — Vikings coach Brad Childress, after his team’s 12-10 victory over the Lions on Sunday.

BY THE NUMBERS: 38 — Safeties the Vikings have recorded in their history, including seven against the Lions.

NOTES

WR Bernard Berrian’s 86-yard touchdown catch from Gus Frerotte against Detroit was the second-longest pass play in team history. The longest was an 89-yarder from Fran Tarkenton to Charley Ferguson against Chicago on Nov. 11, 1962.

QB Gus Frerotte passed for 296 yards against the Lions, the highest single-game total since Brad Childress took over as head coach in 2006. Frerotte was over 300 yards at one point but Adrian Peterson lost five yards on a reception late in the fourth quarter.

MLB David Herron, who has taken over as the starter with E.J. Henderson (foot) out for the season, was shaken up on two occasions in the victory over the Lions. Herron injured his left ankle in the first half and then appeared to suffer some type of head or neck injury in the second half. With Herron coming in and out, veteran Vinny Ciurciu took over at middle linebacker.

DE Brian Robison was used at tackle on passing downs in a handful of situations against the Lions. Robison said the coaching staff approached him about being used in that role early last week and he welcomed the opportunity to get more playing time.

DT Kevin Williams had a single-game high four sacks in the victory. Williams also had a team-high eight tackles, five for loss, and four quarterback hurries in what was the best performance of his six-year career. The four sacks are tied for the second most in Vikings history. Randy Holloway had five against Atlanta on Sept. 16, 1984.