Tough Viking Defense Dominates Lions, 10-3 : NFC: Detroit quarterback Mitchell is sacked six times and fumbles three times and Barry Sanders is held to 16 yards as Minnesota’s line controls game.

John Randle and Henry Thomas up the middle, James Harris and Roy Barker around the ends. They were relentless, punishing. They drove Scott Mitchell to the turf and tore the football from his grasp.

“I think Mitchell brings a new dimension to their team. There’s no question they’re more potent,” linebacker Jack Del Rio said Sunday after his Minnesota Vikings beat Mitchell and the Detroit Lions, 10-3. “But today, he met John Randle.”

Randle had two sacks, as did Harris and Barker. Thomas wasn’t in on any of Minnesota’s six sacks, but his pressure from the nose tackle position consistently freed his linemates to attack; he also was the main force that let the Vikings (1-1) hold Barry Sanders to 16 yards in 12 carries.

“We couldn’t block them up front,” Lion Coach Wayne Fontes said. “We resorted to a passing game and our quarterback was running for his life.”

Mitchell, the celebrated newcomer with a three-year, $11 million contract, threw three touchdown passes last week when the Lions opened with a 31-28 victory over Atlanta.

Sunday, he completed 18 of 40 passes for 212 yards, fumbled three times and was intercepted once.

Warren Moon, who ended up here only because Minnesota couldn’t match Detroit’s $5 million signing bonus for Mitchell, completed 22 of 35 passes for 221 yards and a touchdown in his Vikings home debut.

Though he outplayed Mitchell, he wasn’t happy with his performance. Moon, acquired from Houston last April, missed some open receivers and threw a potentially costly interception at Minnesota’s 32-yard line with 4:54 left.

But the defense saved him--again--when Barker sacked Mitchell and forced a fumble that Del Rio recovered with 3:25 remaining.

“It shouldn’t have been as hard as it was, especially the way our defense was playing,” Moon said. “We’re not where we want to be on offense.”

Detroit kicker Jason Hanson missed field goals from 42 and 46 yards.