By Lyle Fitzsimmons, Contributing NFL Editor -- (Sports Network) - They might just get it done after all.

Though initial giggles mentioning the "Detroit Lions" and "0-for-16" were similar to those heard every season until the final winless team secures its first victory, it's becoming more serious.

Not only did the Lions fall to 0-12 with an every-bit-as-one-sided-as-it- sounds 47-10 loss to Tennessee on Thanksgiving Day, the fact that they did so in a nationally televised holiday game gave the entire country a glimpse at just how bad things have become.

Detroit couldn't stop the run, allowing the Titans to rack up 292 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. As far as offense, well...it was nearly outscored by Tennessee's defense, which recorded a touchdown of its own in the rout.

And suddenly, the champagne corks in Tampa - home of the last team to lose every game it played in a particular season - seem a little closer to popping.

"We're 0-12. I don't care about anything else," said wide receiver Calvin Johnson, who caught five passes for 66 yards on Turkey Day. "When you are 0-12, what else is there to say?"

Embattled coach Rod Marinelli, who's guided the Lions to just 10 wins in 44 games over three seasons, had little of substance to add...other than admitting Tennessee's superiority.

"We got handled in all areas - coaches, players, offense, defense, special teams," he said. "That's a very good football team. I thought they handled us."

Mean time, things are looking better on the NFC North's other extreme.

Detroit's Sunday opponent - the Minnesota Vikings - finally put some distance between themselves and the rest of the divisional pack by scoring an impressive 20-point win over Chicago and assuming a one-game lead with four remaining.

The Vikings visit the Lions and travel to Arizona over the next two weeks, before wrapping up the schedule with difficult home dates against Atlanta and the New York Giants.

Needless to say, that makes taking care of the seemingly light work - the Lions - a priority.

But first things first.

"I had a vodka as big as your head last night," said Minnesota coach Brad Childress, when asked how he celebrated the defeat of the Bears.

More reason for imbibing, at least temporarily, came Wednesday, when a Minnesota judge blocked the suspensions of defensive linemen Pat Williams and Kevin Williams, whom the NFL banished for four games apiece Tuesday after violating the league's anti-doping policy.

The judge granted a temporary restraining order for the players to rejoin the team, and said a full hearing could come as soon as Thursday.

Still, the players' status for the Detroit game is unknown.

Anchoring the defensive line, Kevin Williams has posted 8 1/2 sacks and 48 tackles, while Pat Williams has recorded a sack and 38 tackles, both in 12 games played.

On Tuesday, the NFL suspended six players for using a banned diuretic, which may potentially serve as a masking agent for steroids.

Among the suspended are the New Orleans Saints' Deuce McAllister, Charles Grant and Will Smith, along with Houston Texans' Bryan Pittman.

Those four players are expected to start suspensions immediately. A seventh player in the probe, Atlanta's Grady Jackson, was not suspended by the league pending a delay on his appeal until next season.

SERIES HISTORY

The Vikings hold a 62-30-2 lead in the all-time series with the Lions, including a narrow 12-10 victory when the clubs met in Week 6. The teams split last year's home-and-home, including a 20-17 Vikings triumph at Ford Field in Week 2 and a 42-10 rout in the Vikings' favor when the teams met at the Metrodome in Week 13. The former contest snapped a 10-game losing streak in the series for Detroit. Minnesota swept home-and-homes over Detroit in five straight seasons, from 2002 through 2006.

Vikings head coach Brad Childress is 4-1 against the Lions as a head coach, while Detroit's Rod Marinelli is 1-4 against both the Vikings and Childress.

WHEN THE VIKINGS HAVE THE BALL

Quarterback Gus Frerotte, who's experienced one of the league's most unlikely resurgences, is 3-0 as starter against the Lions and has won seven of 10 starts this year. Running back Adrian Peterson aims for a third straight game against Detroit with 100-plus rushing yards after averaging 113.5 in the last two. He has 859 rush yards and six touchdowns in his past seven outings this year, and, since entering NFL in 2007, has logged a league-best 102 rush yards per game. He leads the NFL with 1,311 yards through 12 games this season.

In his lone career start against the Lions, fellow running back Chester Taylor rushed for 123 yards. He aims for his third game in a row with a TD. Big-play wideout Bernard Berrian had an NFL record-tying 99-yard scoring catch last week, and, including playoffs, 14 of his 20 career TD catches have been for 30 or more yards. Last time against the Lions, he had five catches for a career- high 131 yards and a score.

Defensively, well, the Lions haven't been good. They surrendered the aforementioned windfall on the ground against the Titans and, overall, are being gashed for 394.3 total yards per week through 12 games. In addition, opportunity hasn't knocked enough to offset a minus-9 turnover margin.

End Dewayne White has a team-high 5.5 sacks and is one of just two Detroit players - along with cornerback Leigh Bodden - to record an interception. Elsewhere, rookie end Cliff Avril had a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery to set up Detroit's lone touchdown last week. And kicker Jason Hanson is 7-of-7 on field goal attempts of 50-plus yards this season, the most in franchise history. He tied an NFL record with his 40th successful attempt at that distance against the Titans.

WHEN THE LIONS HAVE THE BALL

The game provides reunion time for reclamation quarterback Daunte Culpepper, who was the 11th overall selection by the Vikings in the 1999 draft and spent seven seasons with the team, including an appearance in the 2000 NFC Championship game. In 2004, he set single-season franchise records in passing yards (4,717), touchdowns (39), passer rating (110.9), completions (379) and completion percentage (69.2).

On the ground, rookie running back Kevin Smith leads the team with 621 rushing yards and five touchdowns. He's one of three rookies to lead their teams in both categories and can become the sixth rookie in franchise history to do so. Smith had a career-long 50-yard run in the teams' initial 2008 meeting on Oct. 12. Among the receivers, Johnson leads the team with 53 receptions, 971 yards and eight touchdowns. The eight touchdowns are tied for second in the NFC, and he can join Herman Moore as the only Lions to post 70 catches, 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns in a season. Moore did it in 1995. Johnson is also tied for first in the NFL with six catches of 40 or more yards.

Stinginess has been a signature of the Vikings throughout a season in which they've allowed less than 20 points in six of 12 games. Minnesota's rush defense leads the NFC with a 73.1-yard per game average, and its total-yard average is in the league's top half at 293 per week.

Defensive end Jared Allen has an NFL-best 54 sacks since 2004 and has recorded nine in his last seven games, including three last week against the Bears. He had a sack and a safety in the 12-10 defeat of Detroit earlier this season. Elsewhere, safety Darren Sharper has 11 career interceptions against the Lions, including two returned for touchdowns. Those 11 are his most against any opponent. Additionally, Sharper had one pick last week against Chicago.

FANTASY FOCUS

For the Vikings, two things scream out - play Adrian Peterson and play the defense. Peterson had 111 yards rushing the last time the Vikings played the Lions and he could easily top that total this time around against a team with even less left in the emotional tank than in October. As for the defense, the Vikings had three interceptions and three sacks against Chicago - a first- place team as opposed to an 0-12 one with a mistake-prone quarterback. For the Lions, it's pretty much start Calvin Johnson and hope for the best. While Kevin Smith might be a play in most weeks, against the top rush defense in the NFC it doesn't make a lot of sense. Culpepper will be forced to throw the ball and figures to look for Johnson on most of those attempts.

OVERALL ANALYSIS

Not much to discuss here other than, if Brad Childress wants to stay in the good graces of Vikings fans and hold onto his job for the long term, he'd better not lose to an 0-12 team while Minnesota is on the verge of winning a division and clinching a playoff berth. It just can't happen. No matter what.

And it says here that it won't.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Vikings 24, Lions 10