Coming off a close victory at Washington the Vikings were focused on beating the Buffalo Bills and making some sort of run towards the end of the 2010 season. Although the playoffs remain highly improbable, the team from Minnesota looked completely different against the Redskins- a motivated team with something still to play for. The momentum of interim head coach Leslie Frazier's first win carried onto Sunday as the mostly Favre-less Vikings destroyed the Bills by a tally of 38-14.
Quarterback Brett Favre injured his shoulder three plays into the game, leaving Tarvaris Jackson as the man to lead the Vikings to victory and for the most part, he was. Jackson was efficient on the day, completing 15 of 22 passes and throwing for 187 yards. Although he threw three interceptions on the day only one of them had a real impact on the contest, as the other two came long after the Vikings had amassed a sizable lead. The athleticism and scrambling ability of Jackson gave the offense a new advantage, areas where Favre usually found himself in trouble when defenders were near him. The Buffalo Bill's record aside, Jackson showed that he could be more than serviceable in the event the teams 41-year-old quarterback is in the locker room or on the sideline. Receiver Sidney Rice had his first big game of the season, catching five passes for 105 yards and scoring twice. It's ironic Rice broke out with Jackson at quarterback, since Rice was Favre's favorite target most of last season. Running back Adrian Peterson started the game amid injury concerns and enjoyed one of his trademark performances, carrying the ball 16 times for 107 yards and three touchdowns. The ankle he hurt last week seemed to have no effect on Peterson, who ran around, ran past and ran through Buffalo defenders all game long. Even Peterson's backup Toby Gerhart had a nice day against the worst rush defense in the league, getting 54 yards of his own. The Bills defense looked completely helpless against the Vikings, even with the much-maligned Jackson at quarterback. Tarvaris' performance had to have given the coaching staff going into another week of "will he play?" Brett Favre hoopla.
Buffalo's offense appeared equally as outmatched as it's defensive counterpart, and it could manage not a single point against a Vikings defense that was feeling even better about itself after a strong showing against the Redskins. Buffalo quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who had played quite well in the two games before this one, was held under 200 yards and picked off once. Vikings defensive end Jared Allen had a sack for the fifth game in the row, and the rest of the defensive line made sure Fitzpatrick could not get comfortable in the pocket. The running game for the Bills had a little more success, with Fred Jackson rushing for 42 yards and rookie C.J. Spiller racking up 35 yards on only 7 carries. The passing and running game were not the biggest issues for the Bills- the fumbles were what kept them from having any chance against the Vikings. The Bills lost the ball four times on the day, and Fitzpatrick accounted for two of those. The Vikings, a team close to the bottom of the league in the turnover department, had a rare eye for the ball Sunday afternoon and it gave them everything thing they needed to win and bring their record to 5-7.
The New York Giants come to the Metrodome this week, a rematch of a game last year the Vikings won, 44-7. While the starter at quarterback for the Vikings is still unknown, the Vikings should have little less anxiety if their grey-bearded leader is unable to suit up.
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