photo courtesy of vikings.com
The Minnesota Vikings’ defense pounded Philip Rivers with four sacks and held the San Diego Chargers to just 3.2 yards per carry. Adrian Peterson stiff armed, bounced and pounded his way to 126 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries as the Vikings took care of business for the second consecutive week at TCF Bank Stadium.
A relentless defensive effort slowed the Chargers passing attack and held River to 21 of 34 for 246 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. The defensive performance was so dominate that River was pulled from the game after a hit from Anthony Barr knocked the wind out of him. Eric Kendericks led the team with 9 solo tackles and Barr contributed a good game with 6 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble.
For the second strait week, the Vikings’ defense intercepted a fourth quarter pass that helped ice the game. This time it was Chad Greenway that stepped up and made the play picking off Rivers as the Chargers were in the red zone trying to cut a 24-7 deficit. Actually, it was Hodges who made the hit on the receiver that sent the tipped ball into Greenway’s hands. And, it was the entourage of defenders that formed a convoy to insure Greenway found pay-dirt that should also get credit for the big play and score.
Blair Walsh connected on 2 of 2 field goal attempts, and Jeff Locke had a good game punting downing two inside the 20 yard line giving him 7 on the season.
However, for the second straight week, the game ball goes to Adrian Peterson. His second touchdown run of the day is a must see highlight clip that the sports networks will be replaying all week. Peterson’s ability to bounce a run to the outside, use a stiff arm, run over a tackler, and out-sprint a defender to the goal line is still a spectacle worthy of admiration. Peterson’s big play happened early in the third quarter with the Vikings up 10-7. On 1st-and-10 from the Vikings 43, Peterson takes the inside handoff from Teddy Bridgewater and cuts outside. In typical AD fashion, he goes the distance sending defenders to their knees with his combination of power and speed.
Two plays before Peterson’s highlight run, it was Tom Johnson’s 11-yard sack on 3rd-and-7 that help set the tone for the Vikings strong second half.
Bridgewater didn’t need to be anything more than a game manager connecting on just 13 of 24 for 121 yards on the day. That’s ok with me because defense wins championships. I also believe the deep threat of Bridgewater to Wallace is the real deal that can strike on any given Sunday.
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Victory! A lot of positives here...game ball? AD is deserving, no doubt. Have to think about that, I'm leaning towards giving this one to the defense. With the exception of the end of half TD (which needs to stop), this unit was suffocating. Chargers couldn't get anything going! DEFENSE!
I'm with you CC. Hitting Philip Rivers 12 times and shutting down the run is a great way to stymie the Chargers. However, the Chargers did have 369 total net yards and controlled the time of possession with 33:29. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the way the defense is stepping up and making plays at the right moments over the last two weeks... But if Peterson continues to average over 5 yards per carry and top the 100+ yard mark, I won't be shy to give him the game ball honor.
Peterson could have had 3 touchdowns today if Z Line didn't get his Christmas present early this year with the 1 yard TD gift.
CC, I will say having a debate about who gets the game ball is a fun way to enjoy a football season. Thanks for the comment!
Yes it is Carl. You're right, had he got that 3rd one then yeah...3 TD's is great stuff.
Tough choice, it is.
I agree that the end of half TDs need to stop,it was the one real disappointment for me.When watching the replay,it was Sherels on the coverage.While I love the kid on Special Teams,he is a liability on Defense!
Nice win, now about those road games
Matt, Blair Walsh and Jeff Locke will certainly be excited traveling to Mile High Stadium next week to help the Vikings find a road win.
You threw me off there Carl....Matt Blair. For a moment I was back in 1980!
Game ball should go to Zack Line
1 carry ......... for one yard............ and one TD
These stats are positively Duganesque
...... plus he wears number 48 which is almost but not quite number 83 backwards
I was thinking about Mr. Universal meta himself when that happened today. Some rare company there!
was he the one that pushed zim into the ref, too? maybe they should hire jeff as a coach
Eerie similarities. Zack Line scores from one yard, the Pope is in America, some sort of rare lunar eclipse tonight, Dugan is in Nepal giving stock tips to the Dalai Lama. Zimmer runs into the ref. All of these events cannot possibly mere coincidence.
oh... almost forgot to add that Peterson had another kid. All signs point toward Zack Line being Dugan reincarnate.
Oh damn. It's happening
I think serious consideration should be granted for Mr. Greenway. Hey man...respect where it's due.
Agreed, being at the game in person Greenway looked great, our entire front 7 looked good. Which is surprising after how terrible they were week 1
Zack Line looks like Dugan reincarnated on the tube
Watching him in person, did you notice an aura surrounding him?
Gotta give some love to the Special Teams unit,which has been good in all 3 games.
Curious how the dline does against the Broncos front which is better than any we have faced. Also curious how Clemmings does against Ware, and Kalil against Miller. Afraid it could look like the 49ers game.
I grew up in Mankato, but I live in Denver now. The Denver O-line is really not that good. The LT is rookie, the RT and Center are just guys. Mathis at LG and Vasquez at RG are good, but Vasquez is the only one of the five who started for the Broncos last year. Their running game is close to last in the league, and the entire offense is close to last in the league. Owen Daniels is a step down from J. Thomas, and the slot guy is nowhere near Welker. (Sanders is #2 now.) The Vikings D has a real shot at shutting down their O. However, as good as their D is, it might be underrated. The offense hasn't sustained a lot of drives, so the D is on the field a lot. If the Bronco's O gets going, the D will get even better. The backups to Ware and Miller would start on most teams. Nobody has really thrown on them. The pass rush is insane, and any team that falls behind them is doomed. But, Jamaal Charles ran pretty well against Denver. If we can get AD rolling, we have a shot at an upset. The national media are underestimating the Vikings right now, and hopefully the Broncos are too.