The situation was very similar seven years ago. The Lions were 0-12. Their next opponent was Minnesota. People were laughing at them across the country and talking about the possibility of the NFL's first 0-16 season.

The Lions who were on that team, too, have vivid memories.

"It's the same as it was in 2001," running back Aveion Cason said. "Nobody wanted to be a part of history. Every team wants to come out with at least a win during the season. That was always our focus, to go out and get a win."

The Lions beat the Vikings, 27-24, and celebrated wildly. The players dumped a Gatorade cooler on coach Marty Mornhinweg. Wide receiver Johnnie Morton threw his helmet into the air and told comedian Jay Leno, who had been making the Lions the butt of jokes, to kiss his you-know-what.

"It was like we won the Super Bowl," Cason said.

Kicker Jason Hanson remembers just feeling relieved that the Lions finally won.

"It was the first time we had ever faced anything like that," Hanson said. "You dig a big hole for yourself and you've got to fight just to get a win. You get to the end of the year and teams are scrapping for playoffs and teams are turning it up a notch, and so you put yourself in a tough spot. Just about the time you feel like, 'Oh, OK, what a season,' you've got to play your best football just to get a win."

Center Dominic Raiola doesn't remember it fondly.

"It was frustrating, just like this," Raiola said. "It was good to get the monkey off our back. But at the same time, it was 1-12. So you get excited, but you're still disappointed. You know what I'm saying?"

We know. Speaking of disappointment, the Lions had plenty the last time they faced the Vikings. Their 12-10 loss Oct. 12 at the Metrodome was their closest loss of the year.

Had quarterback Dan Orlovsky not lost his bearings in his first NFL start, run out the back of the end zone and taken a safety, things might have been different. Had cornerback Leigh Bodden not taken a questionable pass interference late in the game, setting up the winning field goal, 0-16 might not be a topic of conversation today.

The Lions limited running back Adrian Peterson in the game and put pressure on quarterback Gus Frerotte. Though Peterson had 111 rushing yards, his longest run was 13 yards and he fumbled twice. Though Frerotte threw an 86-yard touchdown pass, he was sacked five times and threw an interception.

"I still think that was our one victory, for sure victory," Bodden said. "We did give up a big play, which was our fault, but I think we still played good enough to win and I feel like at the end that call was the deciding factor.

"Who knows if we had gotten that one win how we would have felt and how things could have went after that? It just didn't go for us."

It hasn't all year.

SERIES HISTORY: 95th regular-season meeting. Vikings lead, 62-30-2. Lions' closest loss this season came Oct. 12 at Minnesota, 12-10. Lions have lost 12 of past 13, 16 of past 18 and 19 of past 21 against the Vikings. Last time the Lions started 0-12, in 2001, they beat the Vikings for their first victory.