• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Hanson lifts Lions to 2-0 start

Sep 17, 2007 - 1:17 AM DETROIT (Ticker) -- The Minnesota Vikings had to be sorry they gave Jason Hanson another chance.

Hanson kicked a 37-yard field goal with 9:12 remaining in overtime to lift the Detroit Lions to a 20-17 victory over the Vikings on Sunday.

Hanson had a chance to give the Lions the lead late in regulation but missed a 48-yard field goal with 45 seconds left.

"To get a second chance felt really good," Hanson said. "The team deserved to win the first time. I should have put it away, but the second time, I had a chance to tell myself, don't do this, this and this, which you did on the first one, put it all together and put a good kick on."

After Hanson's miss, the Vikings narrowly avoided getting the win when Ryan Longwell hit the left upright with a 52-yard field goal attempt with two seconds left in the fourth quarter.

"I knew where we said we had to get to to bang it," Vikings coach Brad Childress said. "I've watched him do it over and over again. Obviously it was a goal post deal."

On Minnesota's first possession of overtime, quarterback Tarvaris Jackson tweaked his groin on the second play. He was replaced by Brooks Bollinger, who had the offense moving.

"I didn't play very well," Jackson said. "I turned the football over four times You don't want to do that. The defense kept us in the game."

But on 3rd-and-8, Bollinger lost a fumble that was recovered at midfield by Lions defensive lineman Shaun Rogers.

Lions quarterback Jon Kitna scrambled for six yards on a 3rd-and-2 play. On the next play, Brian Calhoun broke off a 17-yard run, setting the stage for Hanson, who drilled the 17th game-winning field goal of his career.

"We never did this before," Lions center Dominic Raiola said. "You can't tell me that we've ever played a game like that and overcome those things and won the game. This is big."

Detroit snapped a 10-game losing streak against its NFC North rival and improved to 2-0 for the first time since 2004.

"It's been a long time," said Hanson, who's been a part of all 10 losses. "It's a new year, there's a lot of guys on this team that don't share any history of what happened in the past. But for the organization, the city, everybody, this is a good start. A lot of adversity today and we fought back and won. It feels good."

Kitna, who had left in the second quarter after being knocked woozy, returned to the game with 8:23 left in the fourth quarter after an interception by Idrees Bashir gave Detroit the ball at its own 35.

"I only know one thing and it's to play as hard as I can," Kitna said. "I'm not trying to pull a Willis Reed out there but if I can play, I can play."

Kitna drove the Lions to the Minnesota 19, but Roy Williams fumbled and Antoine Winfield recovered for the Vikings (1-1).

After Detroit had taken a 17-7 lead on a seven-yard touchdown pass from J.T. O'Sullivan to rookie Calvin Johnson with 10:06 left in third quarter, the Vikings rallied to tie the game with a field goal and a fumble return for a touchdown during a 49-second span.

Hanson gave Detroit a 10-7 halftime lead with a 30-yard field goal with 1:06 remaining before intermission. On the first play of the drive, O'Sullivan hit Williams with a 42-yard pass to the Minnesota 25. Williams had his helmet ripped off during the play, but stayed on his feet for another 15 yards.

"I liked that," Lions coach Rod Marinelli said of Williams' play. "This game was about toughness."

The Lions took a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter on a nine-yard pass from Kitna to Williams. The 51-yard drive was set up by cornerback Keith Smith's interception of a pass by Jackson pass. The Vikings tied the game on their next possession on a one-yard run by Jackson.

Troy Williamson brought the kickoff back 56 yards to the Detroit 43. The drive stayed alive on a third-down pass for 10 yards from Jackson to Robert Ferguson. It appeared that the ball bounced before Ferguson grabbed it, but the Vikings snapped the ball before Detroit was able to challenge the call.

A 24-yard run by Adrian Peterson took the ball to the one-yard line, and on the next play, Jackson ran to the right side for the touchdown.