ARI@MIN Recap

Head coach Brad Childress' job was on the line Sunday as two struggling teams, the Minnesota Vikings and the Arizona Cardinals, faced each other in an afternoon contest. The Vikings wanted to take out their frustrations after two close, extremely disappointing losses to the Packers and Patriots, respectively, while the Cardinals were trying to stay afloat in an NFC West division they were slowly falling behind in. In what has to be the signature win of the season so far, the Vikings erased a 10-24 deficit within four minutes to send the game into overtime, where kicker Ryan Longwell nailed a clinching 35-yard field goal.

The Vikings offense had several long and time-consuming drives Sunday, yet only managed to put up 10 points in the first half against a below-average Cardinals defense. For most of the game it seemed like the Vikings had no trouble getting to the red zone, yet they were unable to capitalize on the opportunities, with drives either ending in turnovers or field goals. Despite an early first quarter interception that was almost taken back for a touchdown, Favre did a nice job managing the Vikings offense in the first half. It didn't seem as if Randy Moss was missed too badly, as Favre connected at least four times with six different receivers. Receiver Percy Harvin and the almost-forgotten Bernard Berrian combined for 18 receptions and 215 yards. Even little-known receiver Greg Camarillo, who the Vikings picked up earlier this season from the Dolphins, had 66 yards and a crucial touchdown-saving tackle of Kerry Rhodes after Favre's interception in the first quarter. The offensive line showed it still has plenty of work to do, letting Favre get sacked three times and allowing nine hits on him. However, even with lackluster protection Favre was able to set his career record in passing yards, with 446. Much of those yards came with under 4:00 to go when the offense finally decided that scoring touchdowns would be the best way to win the football game. The Vikings cut the deficit to a touchdown with a 4-yard Adrian Peterson run, who himself had trouble finding a rhythm during the first three quarters of the game. After holding the Cardinals offense to a three-and-out, the Vikings were on with 2:24 on the clock to try and tie the game. Favre sliced through Cardinals pass defense on the final drive, and with :27 left he magically guided the ball past a defender to tight end Visanthe Shiancoe for a 25-yard touchdown. The Vikings offensive theatrics continued into overtime, where Adrian Peterson started off with a 30-yard blast to the Arizona 39 yard line. Favre followed that up a few plays later with a beautiful 22-yard throw to Berrian. Well within their kicker's range, the Vikings left the rest to Ryan Longwell, who sank the game-winning field goal right down the center of the goal posts.

Much like the offense, the Vikings defense took a little over three quarters of the game to find itself. The Cardinals offense really awoke the beast that was (at least last year) Jared Allen and the defensive line in the last two minutes of the game. Despite being invisible for most of the game, the pass rush squandered Arizona's hopes of a game-winning field goal by sacking quarterback Derek Anderson twice in the last drive of regulation. The defense was not done there, as they sacked Anderson two more times in overtime, forcing a Ben Graham punt to a Vikings offense that had just scored 14 points in under two minutes. End Jared Allen had his first noticeable game of the season, recording 2.5 sacks to go with a tackle for loss and a pass deflection. Opposite end Ray Edwards also contributed two of his own sacks. Needless to say, if the defensive line can play the rest of the season the way it did in the last part of Sunday's game the Vikings will find themselves winning the game coming into the fourth quarter, rather that trailing it, allowing the Jared Allen and the rest of the pass-rushers to pin their ear backs and at least force the opposing quarterback out of the pocket. A menacing defensive line that puts constant pressure on the quarterback will certainly help the Vikings forget about the loss of cornerback Cedric Griffin and the rest of the coverage issues the Vikings secondary has experienced this season.

Whether Sunday's game against the Cardinals was an apparition or the real start of a run, the Vikings have been given something to build on the rest of the season. The end of the game showed that the Vikings have not packed it in yet this season and is still playing hard, regardless of whether or not they believe in their supposed leader Brad Childress. The team travels to Soldier Field next Sunday to face the division rival Chicago Bears, who are 5-3.