MINNEAPOLIS -- Robert Smith jogged off the field, bouncing all the way up the ramp to the locker room like a little kid. Not too long ago, the Vikings would've made Smith carefully walk to his locker and order security to follow him with a firemen's safety net to catch his brittle body just in case he tripped.

	Robert Smith breaks away and scores a 43-yard TD to cap the scoring for the Vikings in the fourth quarter.

To say Smith has been fragile in his injury-filled, eight-year career would be like saying the Twin Cities gets a little snow in the winter time. A "handle with care" sign should've been affixed to Smith when the Vikings drafted him in the first round in 1993.

"Injuries happen," Vikings guard Corbin Lacina said. "He's gone through it. I've gone through it. You just have to move on."

For the first time, though, Vikings fans are finally seeing the jukes and bursts of Smith without interruption. The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder from Ohio State has yet to miss a game due to injury. Consequently, he's putting quite a hurt on opposing defenses in what is shaping up to be a career year for Minnesota's breakaway back.

With a two-touchdown, 115-yard performance in prime time against Detroit, Smith now has a personal single-season best with seven rushing TDs and 10 TDs overall. His second score, a 43-yard sprint with 3:04 to play, capped a memorable night for the 64,214 at the Metrodome and ended any hopes of a Detroit comeback.

"We've run that play a few times this year, and you could just tell, the way things were going for us today, that it was going to be feast or famine," said Smith, who now holds the league rushing lead with 1,391 yards. "A lot of plays were close to just breaking."

"Robert has always been a big threat," Vikings coach Dennis Green said. "He's had so many touchdowns like that throughout his career. On first down, he's so very sudden and tricks (a defense's) rhythm."

With his 17 rushing attempts, Smith has a new single-season high of 255, surpassing the 249 he compiled in '98. That statistic alone tells how durable Smith has been.

	“	(Smith) has just been very strong this season -- he's playing strong. You've got your good players and then you've got your superstars, your big-time players. He's one of those guys. ”
		— Corbin Lacina, Vikings guard

"I don't think he's doing or done anything different," Lacina said. "He's just been very strong this season -- he's playing strong. You've got your good players and then you've got your superstars, your big-time players. He's one of those guys."

Before this year, Smith's midseason stint on the inactive list had become an annual event.

In 1999, he lasted until Week 6 before hernia surgery sidelined him for three games. In '98, he sprained a knee ligament on Thanksgiving and missed two games during Minnesota's 15-1 run. An ankle injury cost him two games in '97, and torn knee ligaments ended his season in '96, limiting him to just eight games (his 692 rushing yards led the league at the time).

If Smith's welfare was ever in jeopardy, it figured to be this year after Pro Bowl linemen Jeff Christy and Randall McDaniel defected to Tampa Bay via free agency. However, their replacements -- center Matt Birk and Lacina at left guard -- have played beyond expectations.

In a way, so have these Vikings. Just as surprising is the fact that Smith is in the running for a rushing title.

"I'm looking forward to a little time off and rest," Smith said of Minnesota's 10-day break.

Luckily for the Vikings, he won't spend it rehabilitating.

Joe Lago is the NFL editor for ESPN.com.