Good news/Bad news- Vikings fall to Bucs

With any good news there's usually bad news that follows. With that said we're gonna start with the bad news today.

Bad news: Minnesota fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 19-13. That drops the Vikings to 5-5 on the season while Tampa Bay improves to 7-3. Minnesota actually led throughout most of this game, taking a 13-6 lead into halftime, but the Buccaneers' defense stymied the Vikings offensively in the second half. The Buccaneers even used their own offense as a way to stop Minnesota's offense as they put together a drive that lasted for over nine minutes in the 4th quarter. Tampa Bay got a field goal out of it, but Minnesota's offense was cold by then.

Good news: The Bears got obliterated by the Packers, so that means that while there's a three-way tie for first place in the NFC North division Minnesota is still in first place so-to-speak.

Bad news: Adrian Peterson did not touch the ball once in the 4th quarter. This is just plain terrible. Credit goes to the Tampa Bay offense for keeping their long drive going. By then Minnesota had to resort to passing the football, but for some reason Gus Frerotte was just never on in this game. Peterson finished with only 85 yards, which ends his streak of conescutive games over 100 yards rushing at four.
Minnesota also only rushed for 99 yards as a team, which coincidentally is the amount that the Buccaneers have been allowing per game. The Vikings defense also gave up 108 yards rushing, though none of the Buccaneer backs (six players carried the ball for positive yardage) really picked up any guady numbers. Just enought to be effective on offense.

Good news: Peterson still leads the NFL in rushing yards with 1,100. He is on pace to eclipse his total from last year (1,341). he also needs six rushing touchdowns to top his 12-TD performance from his incredible rookie season.

Bad news: Turnovers. Minnesota decided to cough the ball up when the game mattered the most, fumbling it twice in the 4th quarter- once on a kick return and then on Minnesota's last drive when Chestor Taylor fumbled a pass from Frerotte near midfield. Costly mistakes and a stagnant offense continue to haunt Minnesota throughout this 2008 campaign.

Good news: Gus Frerotte did not turn the ball over. He also completed 14-of-20 passes, which is good for your completion percentage, but....

Bad news: Frerotte passed for 111 yards total on the day with one touchdown to Bobby Wade in the 2nd quarter. The Vikings passing game was very limited and ineffective despite only six incompletions from Frerotte. Minnesota was also 5-of-12 on third down conversions, so that factored into Minnesota's staleness on offense as well. The Vikings were also 0-for-2 on fourth down attempts.

Good news: There's always tomorrow.

Bad news: Minnesota gave up 363 yards of total offense, including 255 passing from Jeff Garcia. Minnesota's inability to get the Buccaneers off the field in the 4th quarter is also a big negative that the defense needs to address in the following week.

Good news: Chad Greenway is having a potentially Pro Bowl-worthy season. The third-year linebacker out of Iowa recorded 16 tackles and a sack on Sunday to lead the team. Greenway is actually only in his second full season as a starter as he missed his rookie season due to a knee injury. However, Greenway leads the team with 82 tackles, which is the ninth best total in the NFL.

Bad news: Minnesota will stay in Florida for next week's game as they travel to Jacksonville to take on the Jaguars (4-6). Jacksonville is not a team to be taken lightly either. They have a capable offense and a stingy defense and will provide a very stout test to a very inconsistent Vikings football team. Minnesota is just 1-4 on the road this year, so something is gonna need to change in the next couple of days if the Vikings want to avoid dropping below .500 once again.

Good news: Jacksonville is coming off a tough loss to the undefeated Tennessee Titans, 24-14. The Jaguars have also found the going a bit tougher this year compared to last season's 11-5 outing. Jacksonville is 4-6 with two inexcusible losses to Cleveland and Cincinnati. Jacksonville does have tough wins over the likes of Pittsburgh and Indianapolis to counter though. The good news for Minnesota is that the Jaguars are just as inconsistent. They can play with the best of them every Sunday and have a great QB in David Gerrard, but they also have had more tough breaks than normal this year. They have also had some injury problems, particularly on offense throughout the season.

This game will also be a good measuring stick for Minnesota. If they can get a road win at Jacksonville it could really build some momentum for a huge showdown with the Chicago Bears at the Metrodome on November 30th (a game I just may attend).