Minnesota is looking pretty good right now. There was a time there in between the 3rd and 4th quarters that fans may have gotten a little nervous when the Arizona Cardinals cut the lead to 14 after Minnesota posted a 28-0 lead at half. Yet the Vikings settled down and took care of business, picking up a huge win on the road to stay a game ahead of the Chicago Bears in the NFC North division race.
The Vikings dominated in all phases of the game....well except for the passing yardage of course. Kurt Warner has 270 yards passing, 1 TD and 1 INT to lead the Cardinals.
Speaking of which, much-maligned quarterback Tarvaris Jackson got the nod for Minnesota today over the injured Gus Frerotte. Jackson went out and, in my mind, totally redeemed himself with a very solid performance going 11-for-17 for 163 yards and 4 touchdowns. Not bad for his first start since week 2.
Adrian Peterson continued to add to his growing list of accolades with a 28-carry, 165-yard performance. Peterson set franchise records for most 100 yard games in a season (his ninth with today's) and most rushing yards in a single season (1,578) breaking Robert Smith's record set in 2000. Peterson also continues to lead the NFL in total rushing yards. Next week's match-up against Atlanta will be a showdown of the NFL's top two rushers.
The Vikings receivers also had a field day against the Cardinal secondary. Bobby Wade, Sydney Rice, Chestor Taylor and Bernard Berrian all had touchdown receptions. Berrian put the Vikings on the scoreboard first in the 1st quarter when he took an Arizona punt 82 yards to the house and the Vikings never looked back from there.
The Vikings defense really stepped it up today as well. I'll admit I was worried how the secondary would handle Arizona's passing attack, but Minnesota shut the Cardinals out in the first half and that's just the second time that's happened to Arizona this season. Arizona also avoided setting a record for fewest rushing attempts in a game, managing only 43 total yards on the ground on 7 carries.
Chad Greenway and Jarod Allen had strong outings yet again for the stout Vikings' D. Greenway led the team with 7 tackles and Allen had two sacks for yet another multiple sack game this season.
Minnesota has now improved on last year's 8-8 record picking up their ninth win of the season. The Vikings can clinch the NFC North division title with a win over the Atlanta Falcons or a Bears loss next weekend. However, it is easier said than done as Atlanta also boasts a 9-5 record coming from perhaps the toughest division (NFC South) in the NFL. Not only that, but the Vikings close the season against the New York Giants. I would not like the Vikings to be in the position of needing to beat the Giants at the Metrodome in order to not only win the division, but to even make the playoffs all together.
But again, all can be avoided if the Bears would lose to either the Packers or Texans in the final two weeks.
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