Vikings Beat Lions for Playoff Spot

M I N N E A P O L I S, Dec. 1, 2000 -- Cris Carter took his place in NFL history.

The Minnesota Vikings gained a playoff spot.

The two go hand-in-hand, because the Vikings ultimately neededthe 1,000th catch of Carter’s career, a 4-yard touchdown reception,to beat the Detroit Lions 24-17 on Thursday night.

“As I watched the sign hit 990 ... 1,000, it was almost like Iwas watching someone else’s life,” Carter said. “It’s hard tobelieve it was me.”

Central Division Title

The Vikings also needed Robert Smith’s 43-yard touchdown runwith 3:04 remaining that gave them a 24-10 lead. Smith’s second TDof the game came on the first play after the Vikings stopped theLions on fourth-and-10 at the 50.

Smith rushed for more than 100 yards for the fifth consecutivegame, finishing with 117 yards on 17 carries.

The Vikings (11-2) will wrap up the Central Division titleSunday if Dallas beats Tampa Bay.

“It’s the greatest accomplishment I have ever had, and the mosthumbling thing I’ve ever experienced,” Carter said. “It’sunbelievable ... unbelievable. It’s a tremendous honor, but topolish it off would be a Super Bowl championship.”

Carter, who finished with seven receptions for 45 yards, neededfive receptions to become the second player in NFL history with1,000 catches. Jerry Rice has 1,259. Carter’s 121 TD catches alsoranks second to Rice.

Carter caught his fourth pass at the Lions’ 4 on the final playof the first quarter. On the first play of the second quarter, hebeat safety Kywin Supernaw in the end zone and caught a 4-yard passfrom Daunte Culpepper to make it 14-0.

“He knows the game of football and understands coverages,”Supernaw said of Carter. “He’s out there calling our coverageswhen we’re lining up. It was a perfectly thrown ball and perfecttiming. He outjumped me for it and caught it.”

Batch Out With Injury

The teams traded field goals near the end of the first half,with the Lions’ Jason Hanson hitting a 52-yarder with 1:12remaining and the Vikings’ Gary Anderson kicking a 40-yarder withfour seconds left.

The Vikings remained in control until Lions linebacker AllenAldridge intercepted a pass at the Minnesota 9. James Stewartscored on a 3-yard run, cutting the Vikings’ lead to 17-10.

The Lions (8-5) faced fourth-and-10 from the 50 on their finaldrive, but Stoney Case was sacked by Talance Sawyer. On the nextplay, Smith scored on the 43-yard TD.

The Vikings needed Smith’s touchdown, because Case completed a40-yard touchdown pass to Larry Foster with 13 seconds remaining.Foster caught eight passes for 106 yards.

The Lions played the final three quarters without quarterbackCharlie Batch, who re-aggravated a rib injury late in the firstquarter. He was sent to the sidelines three times with the injuryin a Nov. 23 game against New England and returned the two times hewas needed. This time, he could not return.

“I thought [Batch] would be OK, I really did,” Lions coachGary Moeller said. “I felt that all week. But he just didn’t havethe velocity on the ball.”

Westbrook Injures Achilles

Case finished the game, completing 23 of 33 passes for 230 yardsand rushing for 62 yards on six carries.

The Lions also lost cornerback Bryant Westbrook for the seasonbecause of a torn left Achilles’ tendon that Moeller said willrequire surgery.

The Vikings’ first touchdown was set up by Troy Walters’ 63-yardpunt return.

The Lions attempted to keep the punt by John Jett from goinginto the end zone, but the ball was batted into Walters’ arms. Withfive Lions already behind him, Walters scooted upfield to theDetroit 34.

The Vikings moved within inches of the goal line on a pass toRandy Moss. Smith dove for the touchdown on fourth-and-goal.

Smith barely crossed the goal line, if at all, but the play wasamong a pair of questionable calls that Moeller decided not tocontest. Replays might also have supported Moeller if he hadcontested the officials’ ruling that Smith did not fumble a carryin the fourth quarter.

“We looked at it and thought it was all right,” Moeller said.“We couldn’t tell if it was fumbled, and it didn’t look likeit.”