Pro Football : Lions and Cowboys Will Try to Climb Off Floor Today

Minnesota Vikings Coach Jerry Burns and Detroit Lions interim Coach Wayne Fontes hope to have something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving Day (9:30 a.m., Channel 2).

Burns will be trying to keep the Vikings alive in the NFL playoff picture while Fontes tries to erase the interim from his title.

The Vikings are 8-4 and Burns believes at least 11 wins will be needed to get into the playoffs. The Lions (3-9) beat the Green Bay Packers Sunday in Fontes’ first game after the firing of Darryl Rogers.

Club owner William Clay Ford has said the job is Fontes’ to win or lose. Normally, Burns would wish him the best of luck. But not this time.

“He’s a very good friend of mine,” Burns said. “If he got the head coaching job at Tampa Bay (in 1984), I was going to go with him as offensive coordinator. He’s a good, good guy.”

The Vikings trounced the Lions, 44-17, 3 weeks ago at Detroit.

Detroit probably will start former Raider Rusty Hilger again at quarterback, but first-stringer Chuck Long is healthy again and could play.

Minnesota’s Wade Wilson, who has ended any quarterback controversy with Tommy Kramer, is 5-0 against the Lions.

The downtrodden Dallas Cowboys take an 8-game losing streak into today’s game against the high-scoring Houston Oilers (1 p.m., Channel 4).

Dallas (2-10), agonizing through its worst season since 1960, is just 2 losses short of a club record for consecutive defeats.

Despite the record, Dallas Coach Tom Landry rates this season’s team superior to last year’s team, which finished 7-8.

“This team is a lot better,” Landry said. “It just hasn’t been rewarded. It has better camaraderie, quality and morale. There comes a time when winning is not important but how you play is important. When you are out of the playoffs, how you play and how you compete are important.”

The Cowboys have been blown out of their last two games, 43-3, by Minnesota and, 38-24, by the Cincinnati Bengals.