EDEN PRAIRIE  — Consider that dreadful performance by the Minnesota Vikings in their season opener a fumbled handoff.

They’ve quickly recovered.

Their 28-19 victory over Detroit on Sunday could be summed up as such, too. The Vikings trumped an early deficit against the Lions with a commanding finish, again displaying the type of calm confidence in their ability and their strategy that can portend a trip to the playoffs.

“We started off a little slow, but we fought back,” defensive end Everson Griffen said. “Yesterday we became a better team. We found a way to overcome adversity during the game, and that’s what you want to see.”

The Vikings (4-2) overwhelmed the Lions from the second quarter on, limiting them to 139 total yards over the final 45 minutes of the game while sacking Matthew Stafford seven times.

Teddy Bridgewater, despite taking a bunch of hard hits himself, had the best game of his young career. Adrian Peterson reeled off a 75-yard run. Smart clock management allowed Blair Walsh, as time expired in the first half, to kick one of five field goals he made on the afternoon.

“This is a resilient team. We could have easily shut it down being down that quick on the road in a hostile environment,” Walsh said, “but that’s not in our DNA.”

The Vikings have not beaten an opponent with a winning record. Those opportunities will come steadily throughout the second half of the schedule.

Good teams win at least a handful of games on the road, though, and the victory over albeit-sputtering Detroit was step one. Good teams, too, bounce back from bad days and rough starts.

“I think our guys have a lot of confidence as we continue to move forward,” coach Mike Zimmer said on Monday.

The Vikings hadn’t won on the road against a division foe since beating Detroit on Sept. 30, 2012, and were 1-15-1 against the NFC North away from home since the victory at Green Bay on Nov. 1, 2009, until vanquishing the Lions.

“This team is very hungry. We work our tails off. From Monday to Sunday, we’re always working. We’re always in the lab trying to get better,” cornerback Captain Munnerlyn said.