DETROIT -- The Minnesota Vikings must have been salivating when they watched how the Detroit Lions covered kicks. Or, more accurately, didnt cover them. Percy Harvin returned the opening kickoff 105 yards, and Marcus Sherels ran back the first punt of the second half 77 yards for a score, boosting the Vikings to a 20-13 win Sunday -- and sending the underachieving Lions into a dubious category all their own. "It was slow-motion, especially today," Harvin said. "That hole opened up, and you probably could have walked through there. The blockers did a great job. They told me all week they were going to do everything they could to get me in the end zone. Special teams was huge today." Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said he and his staff pointed out Detroits deficiencies and predicted Harvin would score if everyone held their blocks. "It was obvious," Frazier said. When Sherels scored, Detroit became the first team since at least 1940 to give up a kickoff and a punt return for touchdowns in consecutive games, according to STATS LLC. The Lions allowed scores on a kickoff and punt in last weeks 44-41 loss in overtime at Tennessee. "Were good, but were garbage right now and were killing our team," kicker Jason Hanson said. Lions coach Jim Schwartz, though, shot down any chance of him firing special teams co-ordinator Danny Crossman. "No, thats not a consideration," Schwartz said. "Theres physical plays we have to make." The surprising NFC North-leading Vikings (3-1) have already matched the number of wins of 2011, when they got off to an 0-4 start. Second-year quarterback Christian Ponder said that is huge. "Thats a good mark of improvement," Ponder said. The Lions, meanwhile, seem to be regressing quickly. Detroit (1-3) goes into its bye wondering what has gone wrong with a team that began 5-0 last season and ended with 10 victories to snap the franchises 11-game post-season drought. The Lions have lost three straight -- surpassing their longest skid last year -- to turn cheers into jeers at Ford Field. "We didnt start off the way we wanted to," Schwartz said. "Thats not to say we cant get it back. Thats s our challenge right now to dig our way out of this." Beginning with special teams. Harvin fielded the first kick toward the back left of the end zone, cut across the field, sprinted up the sideline and into the other end zone 12 seconds into the game. "We always talk about starting fast, and thats the fastest start you can get," Ponder said. As soon as the Vikings got the ball in the second half, they went to work quickly as well. Sherels took the punt in the middle of the field and made Kassim Osgood miss right away before wiggling through traffic and pulling away to put the Vikings ahead 20-6. Ponder was 16 of 26 for 111 yards for Minnesota. Jerome Simpson had four receptions for a team-high 50 yards and drew a pair of penalties to help set up scores. Simpson missed the first three games serving a suspension for violating the leagues substance abuse policy. Adrian Peterson had 102 yards rushing on 21 carries -- running for more than 100 yards for the first time since Oct. 23, 2011 -- and added more proof his surgically repaired left knee is just fine. "It just seems like that was the Adrian that we were hoping to see," Frazier said. Minnesotas defence wouldnt let the Lions look good on the ground for the second straight week. Mikel Leshoure ran for just 26 yards on 13 carries after having 100 yards rushing and a TD in his debut last week. Matthew Stafford was 30 of 51 for 319 yards without much help from Lions teammates -- the ones that dropped passes and those that allowed him to get sacked five times after giving up just four sacks combined in the first three games. "We got our butts kicked up front with sacks and we couldnt run the ball," Schwartz said. "Physically we have to be better." Mentally, too. Pettigrew dropped a potential TD pass one play after Calvin Johnson had the football jarred loose in the end zone, forcing Detroit to settle for a field goal and a 13-6 halftime deficit. Just when the Lions looked as if they were going to break through offensively, safety Jamarca Sanford forced Leshoure to fumble and recovered at the Vikings 29 late in the third quarter. Detroit drove to the Vikings 7 early in the fourth, but unblocked defensive end Everson Griffen sacked Stafford to end the threat. The Lions got right back down in scoring territory and Stafford scored on a 1-yard lunge with 2:56 left. Vikings punter Chris Kluwe pinned Detroit on its 2 with 1:42 remaining. Stafford was sacked on the last snap at his 33, a fitting end to a game dominated by Minnesotas defence and special teams, ending an 11-game losing streak to division opponents. If Chicago cant beat Dallas on the road Monday night, the Vikings will be alone atop the NFC North going into Week 5. "We want to embrace it," Frazier said. "It was one of our goals when the season began, to win the NFC North." NOTES: Detroit DE Cliff Avril left the game in the fourth quarter with a back injury. ... Vikings WR Michael Jenkins had a rib injury during the game. ... Minnesota avoided its first four-game losing streak against the Lions since losing five in row 1961-63. wholesale jerseys free shipping . - The New England Patriots signed first-round draft choice Donta Hightower on Thursday to a four-year contract. cheap jerseys free shipping . - The New England Patriots signed first-round draft choice Donta Hightower on Thursday to a four-year contract. http://www.cheapjerseysusfromchina.... . The 18th-ranked Nishikori retired from his semifinal match with eventual champion Andy Murray at last weeks Brisbane International with the same injury. After training at Melbourne Park, he felt he was not fit enough to compete at Kooyong and will use the remainder of the week undergoing intensive treatment to try to play in the Australian Open. [url=http://www.cheapjerseysusfromchina.com/]cheap jerseys from china .Y. -- Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Marcell Dareus has been excused to be with his family after his younger brother was one of three people shot and killed in a suburb of Birmingham, Ala. wholesale jerseys china . IOC spokesman Mark Adams says Luiza Galiulina has been kicked out of the athletes village after the second test confirmed the initial finding for use of the banned diuretic furosemide. Galiulina — a lesser-known name with no medal hopes — tested positive in a pre-games urine control in London last Wednesday.MONTREAL -- Hockey fans were holding onto the possibility over the weekend the NHL lockout could come to a quick end, despite little sign of progress in the negotiations. The NHL closed its doors at midnight Saturday and there were no formal talks between the league and its players in the final three days before the previous agreement expired. Its the second lockout in seven years and the fourth work stoppage in two decades. "Its a shame, because in the end its the fans that are the biggest losers," said 54-year-old Jean-Pierre Lacombe outside the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. William Gainsbury, who works at the parking lot across from the Montreal Canadiens arena, the Bell Centre, remains optimistic both sides will step up and work out an agreement before games get cancelled. "Hopefully the players and the owners, with all their lawyers and personnel, can work it out," he said. Gainsbury said his job is safe, but other staff will see their shifts trimmed back if the lot ends up empty during the normally bustling hockey season. Thats just the tip of the iceberg. An extended lockout would hurt the bottom line in businesses across the country, from hotels to merchandise stores. Cleophad Lobnson, a Montreal taxi driver, said he depends on Habs games for much of his business during the winter months. "On game nights it brings in a lot of people from the city, and from outside the city,&quuot; he said.dddddddddddd. Katharine Galaher, a fan in Toronto, said the league should remember people who work in bars and restaurants that make their money off hockey games. "They need to think of the well-being of everyone else thats losing their jobs for the season," she said. The prospect of having the regular season start as scheduled on Oct. 11 is less and less likely with each passing day. The first exhibition games could be scrapped next week. Brandon Bryant, a 41-year-old in Toronto, said he usually hosts special gatherings to watch hockey games. Thats in jeopardy now. "It hurts a lot," he said. "We live for hockey season and look forward to it during the off-season and the owners are putting that at risk now." Gainsbury said his appreciation for the NHL has gone sour in recent years as salaries and ticket prices have continued to climb. "Its become too corporate," he said. "I dont think that people these days really feel that their team appreciates them as much as they appreciate their team." A lockout in 1994-95 forced the cancellation of 468 games, delaying the seasons start until Jan. 20. The 2004 lockout began Sept. 16 and wasnt settled until July 13 -- making the NHL the first North American sports league to ever cancel an entire season over a labour dispute. An 11-day strike in April 1992 also caused 30 games to be postponed. ' ' '