The Minnesota Vikings had gotten off to a 5-1 start in
the 2004 NFL season but had struggled thereafter. By the time they faced the
Detroit Lions on December 19 they were at 7-6 and trying to stay alive for a
playoff spot. Coached by Mike Tice, the offense featured sixth-year QB Daunte
Culpepper (pictured above), adept at running as well as passing, and highly talented – if also
temperamental – WR Randy Moss. They had beaten Detroit four weeks earlier.
The Lions, under Head Coach Steve Mariucci, were a
rebuilding club with a 5-8 record, having lost six of their last seven games.
There was young talent on offense in QB Joey Harrington, WR Roy Williams, and
rookie first draft choice Kevin Jones, but Harrington was proving to be
inconsistent and the defense was tough but thin on depth.
There were 62,337 fans in attendance at Detroit’s Ford
Field. The home team had first possession and drove 59 yards in 13 plays.
Harrington completed four passes and Jason Hanson kicked a 32-yard field goal
to make it 3-0. The Vikings came right back with a long series of their own,
going 85 yards in 12 plays. Daunte Culpepper completed five throws along the
way, including two to TE Jermaine Wiggins for first downs and a 36-yard
touchdown pass to WR Nate Burleson. It was 7-3 in favor of Minnesota after one
quarter of play.
The teams traded punts heading into the second quarter
before the Vikings struck with a big play. In a third-and-24 situation at his
own 18, Culpepper threw to Randy Moss for an 82-yard TD and, with another
successful PAT, a 14-3 lead. The Lions responded with a long, sustained 11-play
drive that covered 83 yards. Harrington completed a pass to Roy Williams for 24
yards on a third-and-three play and Kevin Jones carried the ball 6 times for 42
yards that included a 16-yard scoring run.
In the final two minutes, Detroit added a 23-yard field goal by Hanson
and it was a 14-13 game at the half.
In Detroit’s first possession of the third quarter, and
backed up deep in its own territory, Harrington (pictured at left) threw to Williams for another
big gain of 37 yards. But the drive ended with SS Corey Chavous intercepting a
pass at his own 37. The Lions got a break three plays later when Culpepper was
picked off in turn by FS Brock Marion, who returned it to the Minnesota 33.
However, three plays after that Jones fumbled and DT Spencer Johnson recovered
for the Vikings to snuff out the threat. The teams traded punts for the
remainder of the period.
Early in the fourth quarter, Harrington was intercepted
by CB Brian Williams and the Vikings proceeded to put together an eight-play,
68-yard drive. Culpepper connected with Burleson for a 37-yard touchdown.
Detroit came back with an 83-yard series that featured a Harrington pass to WR
Az-Zahir Hakim for 40 yards, who then lateraled to RB Shawn Bryson for another
22 yards to the Minnesota 14 and, three plays later, Harrington threw to Roy Williams
for a nine-yard TD. With the successful two-point conversion on a pass from
Harrington to WR Tai Streets, the game was tied at 21-21.
There were just over six minutes remaining as the Vikings
took over for their next series. Culpepper came out throwing, with the big
completion to RB Moe Williams for 28 yards to the Detroit 34. The tenth play of
the 73-yard drive was an 11-yard Culpepper pass to Williams for a TD. Morten
Andersen added the extra point and it was 28-21 with the clock now down to
1:37.
Now it was Harrington throwing on every down as the Lions
took over at their 20 following a touchback on the kickoff. Three consecutive
completions got the ball to the Detroit 40 and, after an incomplete pass,
Harrington hit Streets for 15 more yards to get the ball into Vikings
territory. A 23-yard toss to Roy Williams moved the Lions to the 15 and a
penalty on Minnesota took it to the one. From there, Harrington threw to
Williams for a touchdown and it appeared that the game was going into overtime.
However, on the usually-automatic extra point attempt, a
bad snap by long snapper Don Muhlbach bounced
before reaching holder Nick Harris. Unable to set the ball for Hanson to kick,
Harris was tackled and the PAT was no good. The Vikings recovered the ensuing
onside kick and were able to run out the remaining seconds and win by a score
of 28-27.
The game was close statistically as the Lions barely
edged Minnesota in both total yards (463 to 461) and first downs (24 to 21).
Detroit sacked Culpepper five times, while Harrington was dumped twice by the
Vikings, but the Lions also turned the ball over three times, to one suffered
by Minnesota.
Daunte Culpepper completed 25 of 35 passes for 404 yards
and three touchdowns with one interception. Nate Burleson (pictured above) had 5 catches for 134
yards and two TDs and Randy Moss contributed 102 yards on his four pass
receptions that included the long touchdown. Jermaine Wiggins had the most
receptions for the Vikings with his 6 for 39 yards. RB Michael Bennett gained
51 rushing yards on 13 carries and also had another 51 yards on three catches.
For the Lions, Joey Harrington was successful on 25 of 44
throws for 361 yards and two TDs while two were picked off. Roy Williams,
despite suffering from a hip injury, caught 7 of those passes for 104 yards and
two scores. Az-Zahir Hakim gained 108 yards on four receptions. Kevin Jones (pictured below) rushed for 79 yards and a touchdown on 19 attempts and also made four catches
for 35 yards.
The Vikings lost two close games to finish out the
regular season at 8-8, but they still qualified for the playoffs as a Wild
Card. They defeated the division-rival Packers in the first round but lost to
Philadelphia at the Divisional level. The loss to Minnesota officially
eliminated the Lions from postseason contention and they ended up third in the
division at 6-10. Still, it was still the club’s best record since 2000.
For Daunte Culpepper, it was a year in which he led the
league in passing yards (4717) and completions (379), both career highs, as
were his 39 TD passes, 8.6 yards per attempt, and 69.2 completion percentage.
He was chosen to the Pro Bowl for the third time. It was also the pinnacle of a
career that quickly faded. Culpepper was limited to seven games in 2005 due to
injury and never again played in more than eight during a season as he moved
around to three more teams and, eventually, the UFL.
Likewise, Joey Harrington never lived up to his promise.
He, too, achieved career highs in 2004 in passing yards (3047) and touchdowns
(19) but failed to meet expectations in ’05 and was dealt to Miami – where he
became a teammate of Culpepper.
