Week 9 Thoughts

For the fourth time this season the Minnesota Vikings entered the final 60 seconds of a game with a lead. For the third time this season the Minnesota Vikings defense gave up a score in the final 60 seconds of a game to lose. This time the Dallas Cowboys scored a touchdown with 35 seconds remaining for a 27-23 win. The Vikings are now 1-7 with a visit to the Washington Redskins in four short days.

The Vikings started the game with a no-huddle offense. It was a nice change. Quarterback Christian Ponder seemed to get in a rhythm. Unfortunately, the officials had something to say about that first series. A mystery hold on guard Charlie Johnson erased a 12-yard run by Adrian Peterson. Then a mystery non-call of defensive pass interference on a throw to receiver Jarius Wright. That first Vikings drive ended in a punt. It was the only Vikings punt of the first half. I still think that first drive was a success. The no-huddle was a nice change. Ponder looked comfortable and it gave defenses a little twist.

A lot has been made of the Vikings quarterback confusion all season. Too much has been made of it. There are too many issues to point at only one. The defense has probably been the biggest reason for the struggles. Yesterday was probably their best game. Most expected Tony Romo and the Cowboys offense to move the ball with ease against the Vikings. They couldn't. They couldn't run the ball. Actually, for some reason the Cowboys didn't run the ball. They had some big plays in the passing game but they weren't sustained. In earlier games, the Vikings defense bent and broke. Yesterday, the defense bent but mostly didn't break. Still, the Cowboys did enough to score more points.

It was 3-3 at the end of the first quarter. This might have been the Vikings best first quarter of the season.

Vikings led 10-6 at the half. It was probably the Vikings best half of the season.

The third quarter brought the sequence that may have buried the Vikings. The Cowboys opened the second half with an unfortunately nice drive to take a 13-10 lead. On the kickoff, Vikings rookie Cordarrelle Patterson mishandled the ball and it went out of bounds at the 5-yard line. Ponder dropped back to pass in the end zone. George Selvie zipped by right tackle J'Marcus Webb and knocked the ball from Ponder. Nick Hayden fell on the ball for an easy touchdown and a sudden 20-10 lead. Webb was in the game because starter Phil Loadholt left the game with a concussion late in the first half. Webb struggled the remainder of the game.

The Vikings responded nicely with a touchdown of their own on the next possession. Ponder hit tight end Kyle Rudolph for a 31-yard touchdown. Rudolph injured his ankle on the play and didn't return to the game.

The injuries to Loadholt and Rudolph were significant. The Vikings entered the game without tight end Rhett Ellison. The Vikings are a very tight end-centric team. Ellison's blocking is very important in the run and pass game. The combined loss of Ellison, Rudolph, and Loadholt was brutal.

Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant was kept mostly in check. 6 catches for 64 yards on the day. No touchdowns. Great players still find ways to make impact plays. 34 yards of his total came on one play on the final drive to get the Cowboys in position to win.

Cowboys tight end Jason Witten was a whole other matter. 8 catches, 102 yards, 26-yard touchdown. Every single catch seemed to move the chains.

The Vikings defensive line got nice pressure on Romo in the first half. Romo seemed to have a little more time in the second half.

Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was awesome. Again. 25 carries, 140 yards. 3 catches for 37 yards. His 11-yard touchdown run that gave the Vikings a 23-20 lead with 4:52 remaining was beautiful. It was all power and want-to. Tight end Chase Ford gave him a little help with a nice push into the end zone. At this point it looked like the Vikings might finally win a game on American soil.

Rookie corner Xavier Rhodes left the game with an injury late in the game with a possible knee injury. It looked scary. All possible knee injuries do. He returned later for a play. Hopefully, this isn't something that will keep him out for any length. The Vikings have a short week with a Thursday game.

AJ Jefferson replaced Rhodes and had a real nice interception. It was the first interception by a Vikings corner since about the '70s.

Christian Ponder played better but still had some issues. He threw an interception in the second half. He clearly didn't see the defender underneath receiver Greg Jennings on the play. He can't do that. His hail mary pass at the very end of the game was simply sad. Well short of the end zone. Desperation passes work best when they reach the intended parties. Despite all that, he looked more comfortable. He, again, put his team in position to win a game. In his five starts, he's done that three times. He has to stay away from turnovers. He's not making enough big plays to make up for a single mistake. He's got the rest of the season. If he doesn't shake out his issues, the Vikings will have a very early pick in the draft. That will pick will likely be a quarterback.

I was stunned by the New York Jets upset of the New Orleans Saints. In my opinion, the Saints have been the best team in football in recent weeks. It's difficult to explain the Jets defeat of the New England Patriots and Saints on either side of a 40-point loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Even more stunning was the embarrassment put on the Seattle Seahawks by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Seahawks won in overtime so the standings will show not show that a team with no wins beat up on the supposed best team in the league. The Seahawks are supposed to be untouchable at home. They are real lucky to be at 7-1. They were super lucky against the Houston Texans. They were lucky that the St. Louis Rams offense lost their collective minds at the end of their game. They were taken to task by the worst team in the league. The Seahawks are lucky to not be 4-4. People say that good teams find a way to win. Well, good teams don't routinely play down to inferior competition.

The Houston Texans pulled a similar stunt with the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans had the surging Colts on the ropes but a late rally brought normalcy and another Colts win.

The highlight of Sunday's games was the dandy played by Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles. Michael Vick's backup may be a backup no more. He tossed an NFL record seven touchdowns against the Oakland Raiders. That makes seven quarterbacks that have thrown seven touchdowns in a game in league history. The second this season after Peyton Manning did the deed in week one. Foles joins Sid Luckman, Adrian Burk (also an Eagle), Y.A. Tittle, Joe Kapp, and Manning. Now, will Foles be more like Burk or more like Luckman after this upswing in his career. I've been curious about Foles since his college days at Arizona. I once saw him complete nearly every one of his passes against Cal and there were a lot of passes. Only one of those passes traveled more than five yards from the line of scrimmage. He seemed to have great poise and  terrific accuracy in the short game but you couldn't tell damn thing about his arm strength or immediate to deep accuracy. Seven touchdowns in an NFL game is a serious statement.

Week 9 brought surprises. Certainly the Cowboys pulling one away from the Vikings late was the biggest surprise. The Saints loss to the Jets was simply shocking to me. The Jets have an excellent defense. I like their defensive line a lot. Muhammad Wilkerson is a beast. Near wins by the struggling Buccaneers and Texans over the Seahawks and Colts were surprises as well.

Next week will bring some more surprises. The NFL always does. It starts Thursday with Vikings-Redskins.