McCarthy becomes Childress

In what has become standard for the Vikings, Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers featured some high highs and low lows. The Vikings played incredible defense. They ran the ball at will. They also turned the ball over four times, one of those an interception that was returned for a touchdown, and gave up a punt return touchdown. They needed a Mason Crosby missed field goal with under 30 seconds remaining to finally seal the win, 28-27. 

The day started with the two overarching themes that would carry out through the entire game. First, on the Packers' opening drive, the Vikings defense harassed Aaron Rodgers and forced a punt. With good field position, the Vikings used running back Adrian Peterson extensively on a scoring drive. Red-zone-only threat Sidney Rice scored on a three yard pass from Gus Frerotte. 

Unfortunately, just minutes later, the other major theme of the game emerged.

After another Packer punt, Frerotte was picked off by Charles Woodson. The Packers turned the short field into seven points to tie the game. Frerotte would throw two more picks, one of them returned by Nick Collins for a touchdown. In the midst of these mistakes, two Vikings asserted their will over Green Bay, refusing to let the turnovers tank the Vikings playoff chances.

Jared Allen, playing with a shoulder injury, dominated Chad Clifton. As Trent Dilfer pointed out on ESPN, the Vikings went with a number of inside blitzes by linebackers Chad Greenway and Napolean Harris. Each had one sack, and free of double teams, Allen chased Rodgers all day. (Kevin and Pat Williams also continued to play at All-Pro levels.) The entire defensive line was typically stout against the run, and Rodgers has not seen that much pressure this season. He looked frazzled the entire game, and his stats (15-26, 142 yards, no touchdowns) tell that tale.

Adrian Peterson, meanwhile, was simply unstoppable. He did have one error: On a 4th and 1 in the fourth quarter, after he appeared to convince Brad Childress to go for it, he fumbled before reaching the line to gain. It didn't matter. Peterson finished with 192 yards, and never was stopped for a loss. Throw in a huge receiving day from Chester Taylor (84 yards and a touchdown), and the Vikings running backs carried the offense. Peterson is simply the best running back in the NFL. With the ball in his hands, there is nothing he cannot do. He is a decent receiver and decent blocker, to boot. Only Randy Moss was a more electrifying Minnesota Viking, but Peterson might dethrone him if he stays healthy over the years.

Maybe the most interesting part of this game was Packer coach Mike McCarthy's decision to run the ball on their final three offensive plays. After a fortunate bounce of the ball put the Packers at the Vikings 40-yard-line with 2 minutes remaining, Green Bay ran the ball three times, moving just six yards and running the clock down to 31 seconds. Mason Crosby then missed a 52-yard field goal, and the Vikings knelt on the ball to run the clock out. It is no secret that the Vikings are near impossible to run against. The only conclusions to be drawn from this are that a) McCarthy is very confident in Crosby's kicking, and b) McCarthy didn't want the ball in Rodgers' hands. Rodgers nearly threw the game away when Greenway batted a pass in the air. Luckily is went right to Donald Driver, who pulled it in and was tackled at the 40. The Vikings were all over Rodgers, and maybe McCarthy was worried Rodgers would be sacked, or worse, would turn the ball over. Either way, interesting play calling.

The Vikings will travel to Tampa Bay next week. The Buccaneers are coming off their bye, and should present a challenge to the Vikings. Minnesota has played their two best games the last couple weeks, and if they can carry that over, and win the turnover battle, they can bet anybody. Enormous "ifs."