Halloween evening produced quite a haunting Sunday for the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings were looking to bounce back after an extremely disappointing outing against the Green Bay Packers the previous week, and the two teams this week were neck and neck at halftime. While it might not be seen on the stat sheet, quarterback Brett Favre had one of the best games of the season and once again did everything he could to win the game for the team. Despite the offensive success, the Vikings plagued themselves with too many mistakes and miscues on both sides of the ball and the Patriots ended up with 28-18 victory at home.
The Vikings offense had a great day statistically Sunday, amassing 410 total yards of offense against a strong New England defense. Both Favre and running back Adrian Peterson were running the offense smoothly through the first quarter, although they didn't end up scoring a touchdown until the second. The underneath route was Favre's weapon of choice as he spread the ball to eight different targets Sunday, his most common one being speedster Percy Harvin. Harvin had a fantastic night with 104 yards on six catches, but a play he was involved in during the third quarter was a game-changer. The Vikings had the ball at the Patriots 41 yard line after a punt and were looking to take the lead when Favre threw a 15-yard pass to Harvin that was seemingly stolen from the receiver by cornerback Devin McCourty. The Patriots then proceeded to stroll down the field and score on a BenJarvus Green-Ellis rushing touchdown, making it 21-10 in favor of the Pats. However, the Vikings were able to bring the game to within a field goal at 21-18 with a Tarvaris Jackson touchdown dump off to fullback Naufahu Tahi. Favre had been knocked out of the game the previous play on what looked to be a late hit by Patriots defensive lineman Myron Pryor. Favre was only sacked once on the evening but was stil hit by the Patriots defense six times. Although the game was out of hand by the time he was on the field again, Tarvaris did a servicable job trying to bring the Vikings back somehow. For the most part the Vikings offense did it's job Sunday, but the defense was unable to stop quarterback Tom Brady and the rest of the Patriots at the most important times.
The credit for the loss Sunday can go straight to the Minnesota Vikings defense. They played quite well through the first two quarters, but at the end of the day the defense could not make the plays they had to. Safety Madieu Williams had an interception go right through his hands in the second quarter, leading to a 32-yard reception for receiver Brandon Tate. Second-year corner Asher Allen couldn't wrap up Patriots Jack-of-all-trades Danny Woodhead on a vital down third down with less than four minutes remaining in the game. The Vikings defensive did nothing to compensate for these errors and ended the game with a no longer shocking zero quarterback sacks. Brady evaded the rush on several plays and went to dump-offs to alleviate and pressure the linemen tried to put on him. The Vikings needed to make Brady quiver in the pocket in order to have any chance to stop him and the rest of the offense, and they could not do it. The run defense was equally unimpressive. Starting running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis was able to rack up 112 yards on 17 carries to go with two touchdowns. It is quite apparent that the line has lost the swagger and talent it had the last few seasons when it was the premier run-stuffing unit of the league. Age can't be used as an excuse, as the only noticeably old player on the line is nose tackle Pat Williams, who has probably been literally the biggest liability in the run stopping corp. The linebackers didn't do anything to help them Sunday, as it seemed the Patriots runners were covered with Vaseline. It sounds simple: get to the quarterback often, and you will likely win the game. Somehow the Vikings have been stumped time after by this formula, and no variable they've tried using has produced the right answer.
After the toughest stretch of the season the Vikings finally have a break of some degree with the just as underachieving Arizona Cardinals coming to town. If the Vikings win Sunday, and they should, they have a decent chance to make a run with the two games after being against division rivals. However, in order for those games to matter they need to focus on Arizona and win in front of a restless crowd that will probably be calling for the head of its coach Brad Childress at any play stoppage.
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