NFL game summary for 10/09/1977:

Sammy White scored twice early in the first quarter and the Vikings then relied on their defense to hold off the Lions late in the game as Minnesota took over the lead in the NFC Central. Fran Tarkenton drove the Vikings 77 yards in nine plays after the opening kickoff for their initial score, which came on a 12-yard pass to White. On the second play of Minnesota's next possession, Tarkenton hit Ahmad Rashad with a nine-yard pass and Rashad lateraled to White, who carried the ball 50 yards for a 14-0 lead with 6:42 gone in the first period. Greg Landry connected with rookie Luther Blue on an eight-yard scoring pass midway through the third quarter. The Lions were turned back in their effort to tie the game with just 16 seconds remaining when Bobby Bryant intercepted a Landry pass at the Vikings' 15.

Team stats coming into this game (NFL ranks in parentheses):

	Rush Yds/Gm	Pass Yds/Gm	Tot Yds/Gm	Turnovers
OFFENSE	204.7 (1)	137.7 (16)	342.3 (4)	3
DEFENSE	145.3 (16)	95.3 (3)	240.7 (9)	4
OFFENSE	151.3 (10)	160.0 (11)	311.3 (9)	8
DEFENSE	105.3 (7)	109.0 (6)	214.3 (5)	4

Line: Vikings by 10

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Detroit Lions (2-2-0)	0	0	7	0	7
Minnesota Vikings (3-1-0)	14	0	0	0	14

( 0- 7) MIN Sammy White 12 yard pass from Fran Tarkenton (Fred Cox kick)
( 0-14) MIN Sammy White 50 yard pass from Fran Tarkenton (Fred Cox kick)
( 7-14) DET Luther Blue 8 yard pass from Greg Landry (Steve Mike-Mayer kick)

                     DET             MIN
First Downs:         19              13
Rushes-yards:        27-59           27-58
Yards/rush:          2.2             2.1
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     26-47-255-1     21-31-269-0
Sacked-yards:        3-33            1-13
Net pass yards:      222             256
Net yards/pass:      4.4             8.0
Total net yards:     281             314
Total plays:         77 (35% run)    59 (45% run)  
Yards/play:          3.6             5.3
Fumbles-lost:        1-0             4-3
Turnovers:           1               3
Penalties-yards:     8-70            6-48

Attendance: 45,860

Passing:
DET: Greg Landry, 25 of 45 for 250 yards and 1 TD (1 int); David Hill, 0 of 1 for 0 yards; Wilbur Summers, 1 of 1 for 5 yards MIN: Fran Tarkenton, 21 of 31 for 269 yards and 2 TDs
Rushing:
DET: Horace King, 16 for 30 yards; Greg Landry, 5 for 22 yards; Dexter Bussey, 5 for 6 yards; Marv Hubbard, 1 for 1 yard MIN: Chuck Foreman, 19 for 42 yards; Brent McClanahan, 4 for 16 yards; Fran Tarkenton, 3 for -1 yards; Robert Miller, 1 for 1 yard
Receiving:
DET: Horace King, 6 for 32 yards; Ray Jarvis, 5 for 59 yards; Charlie Sanders, 4 for 51 yards; Dexter Bussey, 4 for 21 yards; David Hill, 3 for 44 yards; Luther Blue, 3 for 30 yards and 1 TD; Leonard Thompson, 1 for 18 yards MIN: Ahmad Rashad, 6 for 85 yards; Sammy White, 4 for 104 yards and 2 TDs; Robert Miller, 4 for 30 yards; Brent McClanahan, 3 for 20 yards; Stu Voigt, 3 for 20 yards; Chuck Foreman, 1 for 10 yards
Kick returns:
DET: Rick Kane, 2 for 48 yards; Andy Bolton, 1 for 5 yards MIN: Manfred Moore, 2 for 44 yards
Punt returns:
MIN: Manfred Moore, 7 for 44 yards
Interceptions:
MIN: Bobby Bryant, 1 for 0 yards
Punting:
DET: Wilbur Summers, 9 for 302 yards MIN: Neil Clabo, 7 for 251 yards
Field Goals: