"The first thing I was thinking was chase, tackle, strip -- and that's what I did," said the Lions veteran cornerback who knocked the ball out of Peterson's hand at the 18-yard line.
Peterson's 43-yard gain was all for naught as the ball bounced into the end zone where it was recovered by Detroit's
Instead of trailing 17-0 at halftime, the Lions took advantage of the turnover and ended the half with a 38-yard field goal by
Stripping the ball from an opponent's grasp is nothing new for Buchanon.
"Personally, I've been doing that ever since little league football, Riverdale Wildcats (in his hometown of Ft. Myers, Fla.), so it's definitely nothing new to me," Buchanon said. "I did it in high school and I did it in college (Miami) a couple of times. I learned it at a young age.
"I've been doing it for a long time. In that situation, when he was in front of me, that was the first thing that flashed through my head: 'strip the ball.'"
It's never easy when a defense has to deal with the likes of Brett Favre and Peterson. Then throw in a couple of emerging stars like wide receiver Sidney Rice and the versatile Percy Harvin and it's no question the Lions defense had its hands full Sunday afternoon.
"They did a good job of mixing it up," rookie linebacker
"He throws off the D-line, to the linebackers, to the DBs. We have to get in our zones and put pressure on him."
Levy got the start at outside linebacker in place of the injured
"Basically, we have to give credit to the Vikings," said defensive lineman
"They're definitely a talented team, a veteran team. They have great athletes. With a quarterback like Brett Favre you always have to watch out for the unexpected."
Detroit's front four, led by McBride, did a good job of putting pressure on Favre, but the savvy veteran managed to elude the rush, just like he has against Minnesota's other opponents this season.
"It wasn't just me," McBride said. "You have to credit the other three (in the) defensive line. At certain points we were playing extremely well as a unit, but sometimes we didn't come together as we should and the way that we know how."
McBride, who was quickly snapped up by the Lions on the advice of defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham when he was released by Kansas City earlier this season, earned the praise of Fox analyst Tim Ryan for his efforts in rushing the passer and stopping the run. McBride has become a fixture in Detroit's defensive line rotation.
Peterson finished with 118 yards on 18 carries. In addition to his 43-yard gain that Buchanon ruined for him, Peterson had runs of 27 and 22 yards. Other than that, the Lions kept him in check.
"That's the type of running back that he is," said linebacker
Foote believes that the Lions are on the right track, although the record might not show it.
"Yeah, but we're at a point right now where we just can't get over the hump," said Foote, who played for the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers last season.
"I don't know if you want to call that improvement. We're just kind of stuck right there and we have to make the decision to go there and cross that mountain. We're still fighting and we're not going backwards, no doubt about that."
Buchanon admitted that it can be frustrating at times to make a big play like he did on Peterson, only to have the Vikings come back in the second half with some game-breaking plays of their own.
"I know we're a better team, things just aren't going our way," Buchanon said. "Right now, we just have to keep fighting and try to make it through it. Just try to take it one game at a time, one play at a time and hopefully the ball will start bouncing our way more often."
