Vikings running back Adrian Peterson and their defence gave
the Vikings a vital win for their play-off push against the Chicago Bears, with
a 21-14 victory at the Metrodome.
Peterson gave the Vikings a great start on the very first
play of the game with a 51 yard run from the Vikings own 20 yard line. He
finished it off later on in the drive with a touchdown.
Bears quarterback Jay Cutler tried to respond to this on
the next drive but failed to do so, as his pass was picked off by Vikings cornerback
Josh Robinson. Robinson then ran the ball to the end zone but was ruled out at
the five yard line.
Peterson added another touchdown to the Vikings score on
the resulting drive, with a simple but effective one yard run into the end
zone. Vikings were 14-0 up by the end of
the first quarter.
Cutler was able to find one of his own players this time
around, as he completed a 23 yard touchdown pass to Bears wide receiver Alshon
Jeffery, giving the Bears their first points of the game.
This made the half time score 14-7 to the Vikings.
Vikings safety Harrison Smith earned his second ‘pick six’
of the season in the third quarter, with a 56 yard interception from a Cutler
pass.
Cutler was only sacked twice on the day, but a hard helmet-to-helmet
hit by Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen during one of these sacks resulted
in Cutler leaving the field later on in the fourth quarter. He finished the day
with 260 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Bears backup quarterback Jason Campbell stepped in for
the remaining of the game. During this time, he completed a 16 yard touchdown
pass to Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall making the score 21-14.
To try and get back into the game, the Bears went for the
onside kick on kick off, but this was recovered by Vikings tight end Kyle
Rudolph, which allowed them to win the game.
Peterson finished the day with another 100+ rushing yard
game, tallying up 154 yards with two touchdowns in 31 attempts.
However, Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder failed to
perform again as he threw for only 91 yards and one interception, his longest
pass being for only 16 yards.
Next up for the Vikings is an away game at the Edward
Jones Dome against the St Louis Rams. With two final games against the Houston
Texans and the Green Bay Packers after this one, this is a must win game if the
Vikings want to gather some momentum in their play-off push.
It would be wise that Ponder starts to perform as well as
Peterson will not be able to carry the team to the play-offs on his own. The
absence of Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin is clearly hitting him hard.
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| Adrian Peterson celebrating |
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