On the Minnesota Vikings' first offensive play of Sunday's game, Detroit Lions defensive end Cliff Avril got around the edge and hit Christian Ponder to force a fumble. The ball bounced into the end zone, and Lions linebacker Stephen Tulloch quickly fell on it for a touchdown. Video of the play is after the jump.
Both Avril and Tulloch are in contract years and have been having exceptional seasons, especially Avril. He leads the NFL with six forced fumbles and now has eight sacks on the year as well. If Avril records one more sack, he will set a career-high. Last year, he had 8.5 sacks in 13 games, and now he's got 8.0 sacks in 12 games and less than one quarter.
The strip-sack touchdown gave the Lions an early 7-0 lead. Later in the first quarter, Matthew Stafford hit Titus Young in stride for a 57-yard touchdown to make it a 14-0 game.
UPDATE: Avril just recorded another sack, meaning he has set a career-high with nine on the year.