Vikings Win!

Great win for the Vikings on Sunday 28-27 over the hated Packers in the Border Battle. Viking-Packer games always seem to come down to a field goal late in the fourth quarter, and thankfully, Mason Crosby was wide right on his 52-yard attempt to win the game. It's one of the great rivalries in sports and Sunday didn't disappoint. What a crazy game. The momentum seemed to be in our corner after we went up 21-10 early in the third. However, in a matter of minutes the momentum was squarely in Green Bay's corner after the pick six and the punt return TD. It really felt like we were going to lose the game down the stretch, especially after Adrian fumbled on the 4th and 1 play. Luckily for us, Adrian was not going to let us lose that game. He touched the ball on every play of that critical game winning drive. Obviously the touchdown run was huge, but the most important run of that drive came when we were backed up against our own goal line and AD cut back and went up the sideline for a huge gain. That run gave us some room to work with and took the pressure off Gus to make a big throw. Adrian simply imposed his will on the Packers late in the game. As Paul Allen said, we said to them, "If you can stop Adrian, you win. If you can't, we win." We rode Adrian and he came up with the money. Jared Allen was another big reason we won the game. Even with a separated shoulder, he completely over matched Chad Clifton and was consistently wrecking havoc on Aaron Rodgers. The sack he had in the end zone for the safety was awesome. We are seeing more and more why we traded so much to get Jared Allen. He is an incredible talent. Great game plan by Lezlie Frazier to put constant pressure on Aaron Rodgers. He was uncomfortable all day because he never had time to throw the ball. Frazier definitely learned his lesson from the opener at Lambeau, when we didn't get any pressure on Rodgers and he carved us up. This time, in large part because of Jared Allen, Rodgers looked like he was constantly scared for his life and we sacked him several times. So, the positives of the game were Adrian, Jared Allen, the entire defense, and Sidney Rice (caught a big red zone TD). What were the negatives? Gus Frerrotte and the special teams. Gus almost single handedly lost us the game with his three INTs, one of which was returned by Nick Collins for a TD. He has more interceptions than touchdown passes. If this team wants to win the NFC North, Gus cannot keep making stupid mistakes and trying to force throws that aren't there. All three interceptions were terrible throws that should have never been made. I can't stress enough how important it is for Gus to cut down on the interceptions. On any other day, his performance loses us the game. Also, the special teams play is getting ridiculous. We have allowed six special teams touchdowns, which ties an NFL record. That is completely unacceptable and has to end. The tackling on the Will Blackman punt return TD was horrific. Earlier in the game, he disrespected our punt coverage team so badly that he fielded a punt two yards deep in his end zone, something I've never seen done. Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, who were calling the game on FOX, couldn't believe the stupidity of that play. Blackman clearly thought he had a chance against our coverage unit no matter where he was on the field. It is imperative that our special teams coverage get better. It's as bad as it gets right now. Sorry to sound negative after such a big win over our arch rival, but Gus and the special teams must improve if we are to win the division. I think it was a huge win for the Vikings, and a lot of positives came out of it, as I discussed above. If we lose that game, I think we are probably done. Since we won it, we are right in the thick of the NFC North race, and if we take care of business, we should win the division. Good to see Brad Childress get his first win against the Packers. I'm sure it's a big monkey off his back. Very glad to see the ugly five game losing streak against the cheese heads come to an end. Next week, it doesn't get any easier as we travel to Tampa for a big road game. Analysis to come in this spot. Big win. SKOL.