Minnesota Vikings 14
Green Bay Packers 23
Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was beautiful yesterday. Too bad it was wasted. Not much else worked for the Vikings. Peterson rushed for 210 yards on 21 carries and an 82-yard TD. The announcers were kind enough to mention that teams with a 200-yard rusher were 57-2. Now such teams are 57-3. Terrific.
Peterson's 82-yard touchdown run put the Vikings ahead 14-10. Two other long runs set the team up nicely in the red zone. Both runs were immediately followed by interceptions thrown by Christian Ponder. In Ponder's defense the throws were inches from being touchdowns. That doesn't matter. He forced both. They shouldn't have been thrown. They ended nice, momentum building drives and handed momentum to the Packers. Most importantly they took at least six, and possibly 14 points off the board.
The second interception on the last play of the third quarter was followed by a back-breaking, eleven minute Packers drive that led to a field goal and a nine point lead for the bad guys. The Vikings offense didn't see the ball in the final quarter until there was less than 4 minutes to play.
I'm going to have a heart attack if the Vikings defense doesn't start getting stops on third down. That and Ponder's interceptions were the biggest difference in the game. It wasn't the accuracy and poise of Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. It wasn't even the Packers surprising ability to get yards and move the chains on the ground. The Vikings were unable to take advantage of a brilliant game by Adrian Peterson.
The Vikings were absolutely robbed by the officials late in the first half. Jared Allen intercepted a tipped pass by Rodgers. His short return should have given the Vikings offense possession on about the Packers' 15-yard line. With a 14-10 lead, it was a prime spot and time to take control of the game. But no, the officials called Everson Griffen for roughing the passer on what was a clean act of simply playing football. There was no roughing. Rodgers probably sees more contact in practice. It was a huge break for the Packers and blatant robbery for the Vikings. In a way, this b.s. call can be seen as a third turnover in the red zone. The Vikings clearly struggled with several things but this was a great opportunity that was wrongly taken from them.
Vikings rookie safety Harrison Smith continued his strong play this season with a big interception early in the second half. It was inside their own 10-yard line but it still stopped some Packers momentum. Unfortunately, the offense did nothing and punted the ball right back to the Packers. The Packers may have even gained a few yards on the changes in possession.
Ponder is having some serious issues. A return of receiver Percy Harvin would solve some of those problems. It's hard to get an accurate view of all of the receivers on a given play without "all-22" coaches film. What I can see from the telecast is Viking receivers not getting much separation from the defense. At times the effort by the receivers looks poor. That's not really fair but that's how it looks. Ponder needs to get more help from his receivers. Tight end Kyle Rudolph is the only player getting open often since Harvin's been out. As a result, Ponder is forcing the ball to Rudolph. That was the case on the second interception. It's too bad that Ponder felt the need to force it to Rudolph as rookie receiver Jarius Wright looked to be open on a deeper route on the same side of the field. Ponder has to be perfect on every throw. That's hard to do when you're not playing in rhythm. Ponder often looks uncomfortable in the pocket.
Watching Rodgers and Ponder in the same game reveals many things. Rodgers takes a single step up or to the side in the pocket to gain the time and get the room to make an easy pass. It all looks so smooth. Ponder often looks frantic. Instead of calmly taking that single step he tucks the ball and runs. While it's nice that he has the ability to make plays with his feet, he has to make plays with his arm. I don't think that he has the arm strength that Rodgers has but I think that he can be as accurate. He's a cerebral player that can read defenses before the snap. He can get through his progressions when he feels comfortable in the pocket. That's been the problem. He hasn't looked comfortable. Without Harvin, he's become too dependent on Rudolph. Ponder is the Vikings quarterback of the present and the future. He has to start making plays, even if his receivers are lacking in effort or talent, if the Vikings are to have any kind of future. They can't keep wasting the fantastic effort that they routinely get from Adrian Peterson.
I don't think that anything less than a 10-6 record will get the playoffs in the NFC. If that is the case, the Vikings have to win every single remaining game. That's a tough chore as they have the Bears, Rams, Texans and Packers in their final four games. The middle two are on the road. Go Vikings!!!
I thought that the Vikings defense did a decent job against Rodgers but even a modest game by that guy is a great game for most quarterbacks. He's scary good. As much as I always love watching him play football I sure wish that he played for a team that didn't play the Vikings twice a year.
I've always been impressed with the running of Packers back James Starks. It's a real shame that he impressed again yesterday. I think that injuries are keeping him from being a more dependable runner for the Packers. He's is a physical runner in the Marshawn Lynch/earlier Marion Barber mold.
Alex Green provides some nice running too.
Happy birthday Aaron Rodgers. You'll get yours in four weeks!
The Rams sure are unpredictable. They took the 49ers to task a few weeks ago with a tie but they were shaky in the following weeks. Yesterday, they took the 49ers to overtime again and came out with a win.
I sure do love seeing the Chicago Bears lose. This time to the equally annoying Seattle Seahawks. This was actually a game that would benefit the Vikings no matter the outcome. Pretty convenient but it only helped the Vikings if they won their own game. They didn't so it didn't matter much what anybody else did. I still love seeing the Bears lose.
I really like Tampa Bay rookie linebacker Lavonte David. He'll remember his interception of Peyton Manning but I think that he'll be making big plays like that for a long time.
The New York Jets defeated the Arizona Cardinals in a scintillating game 7-6.
Philadelphia Eagles running back Bryce Brown has done some great things the last two weeks. Despite all the yards and even the touchdowns his fumbles have cost the Eagles two games.
Next week is bad news for the Bears.
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