Perhaps the Minnesota Vikings were not satisfied with their historic mark of being the first team in the 89-year NFL existence to blow double-digit halftime leads in a team's first two games of a season. The Vikings decided to go one better. This way - by blowing a 20-0 halftime lead to the Detroit Lions on their way to the 26-23 overtime defeat Sunday - the record is now three games to start a season, a record that should be safe for maybe...another 90 years or so. That is of course, unless the Vikings decide to go for additional padding.

There really is no other word to describe a team dominating another team in the first half of a game - only to lose the game by being completely dominated by that exact same team in the second half three weeks in a row - other than the ole "C" word: choke.

Here are the gruesome numbers. The Vikings have now outscored their opponents 54-7 in the first halves, and been outscored a whopping 67-6 in the second halves! The Vikings have been every bit as dominant as the first half scores would indicate, and every bit as woeful as the second half scores would indicate.

Simply baffling.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had never overcome a 17point halftime deficit in their 35-year history, and the Lions had never overcome a 20 point halftime deficit. The Lions have been in the league since 1934!

So what happens to the Vikings in these second halves? The formula has been very consistent. The balanced offensive attacks that look so effortless in the first halves come grinding to a halt in the second halves. In the second halves, running plays are being stuffed around the line of scrimmage, the self-destructing penalties start pouring in, the frequent passing downs these symptoms create are being met by a lack of pass protection and errant tosses, and the coaches are making head-scratching play calls.

Defensively, the suffocating defense of the first halves repeatedly gives way to a defense that cannot get off the field in the second halves. Receivers that are covered in the first halves, for the most part run free and easy throughout the secondary during the second halves, especially in the middle of the field.

Take Sunday against the Lions, the Vikings looked unbeatable in the first half, but as soon as the second half rolled around, the meltdown started on the Vikings first possession, a three-and-out, and the Lions' second possession, a touchdown.

Lions Quarterback Matthew Stafford who looked so flustered in the first half, began picking apart the Viking defense as if he were running a seven on seven passing drill in the second half. With a few exceptions - most notably by Cornerback Chris Cook - the Lions receivers weren't even challenged as they made alarmingly easy reception after easy reception.

Meanwhile, the Vikings racked up six second half penalties, one negating a 14-yard run by Running Back Adrian Peterson, but the clincher being a "what-can-you-possibly-be-thinking-about" late hit called on Linebacker Kenny Onatolu. When it appeared the Vikings might actually avert the humiliation of another historical collapse by getting out of the Metrodome with the win, Onatolu runs out of his way to deliver a block on a Lion player - well after a Viking punt returner was down mind you - not even near where the tackle had occurred!

Instead of the Vikings gaining a possession on the Lion 45 yard line with 13 seconds remaining in regulation - where an eight to ten yard completion and out of bounds to stop the clock could have set up a makeable field goal for Kicker Ryan Longwell - the Vikings began the drive well on their own end of the field where essentially sudden death overtime was the only likely outcome. The Lions won the overtime coin toss, elected to receive this time (who remembers that Thanksgiving game when the Lions elected to kickoff  instead of receive, where-oh-where are those Lions when you need them?) and the Vikings never saw the ball again.

The game did not have to come down to Onatolu's mental lapse however, as the previous Viking possession should have ended in a touchdown pass to a quite open Bernard Berrian in the end zone. Unfortunately, Quarterback Donovan McNabb's pass was well overthrown and sailed out of bounds, with it perhaps the Vikings' hopes for a successful season.

The Vikings also have to lament on a couple of "what ifs" Sunday as well. As the struggle to maintain some semblance of ball control confronted the offense in the second half, on a critical third and one, and later on a critical fourth and one, the highest paid runner in NFL history and the best runner in today's NFL, did not touch the football.

Whoa!

Certainly some will say, and for good reason, that the Vikings should have kicked the easy field goal and gone up by six on that fourth quarter, fourth and one play.

However, given the Vikings' fragile mental state and porous defense, in wanting to actually "finish" a drive and potentially go up by ten, many would also say - including the entire stadium of Viking fans on Sunday - picking up the yard was the right way to play to win, and not play to avoid a loss.

If a coach is going to stray away from the obvious play call though, he has to be right. A bad pass on the third and one situation, and the backup runner being stuffed on the fourth and one situation left the Vikings, and Head Coach Leslie Frazier in particular, looking clueless. How can you take the ball out of the franchise player's hands, twice, with the season potentially being on the line?

The Vikings, having played three potential playoff teams this year, should be standing tall at 3-0. Instead they are lying flat on the canvas at 0-3. Next on the schedule are the lowly 0-3 Kansas City Chiefs. Conventional wisdom would suggest this should be the game where the Vikings finally get off the snide.

Vikings fans, do yourselves a favor, if the Vikings are ahead at halftime, say 24-0 or something of that order, turn off the television, and go outside for a walk.