After the Green Bay Packers took a 24-3 lead on a touchdown drive to open the second half, they seemed to put it on autopilot. It was understandable because the Vikings did little on offense with QB Joe Webb. But they made their offense hard to watch with five punts on their final five possessions. On defense, a late-game blown coverage left Vikings WR Michael Jenkins wide open for a 50 yard touchdown pass. However, the Vikings never mounted a serious charge and the win was a big relief after a tough loss last week in Minneapolis.
As for why QB Christian Ponder couldn't gut it out with an arm injury, read what Judd Zulgad tweeted.
One player I was glad to see have a big game was FB John Kuhn. He didn't play as well this season, after making the Pro Bowl in 2011, and his fumble last year against the Giants really hurt them. So for him to come out and score two touchdowns was a big bounce-back performance.
The offense was outstanding, QB Aaron Rodgers in particular, until their second half swoon converted only one first down in their final five possessions. Part of the reason was their run-heavy play calling, as they apparently tried to run some clock after going up by 21 points. The offensive line had some shaky moments, but they also gave Rodgers a lot of time to throw and he made plays when they did.
The defense did a much better job of bottling up RB Adrian Peterson with DT B.J. Raji's stout inside presence and LB Erik Walden's monster game on the outside. Webb's accuracy was so bad in his first playing time of the season that it's hard to give the secondary too much credit, but they played well except for the blown coverage on Jenkins' touchdown. Overall. it was good practice for next week when they face a run heavy 49ers team with their own mobile quarterback.
2 comments:
I have to tell you. Playing these back-to-back games against this physical Vikings team and the most physical running back of them all (Purple Jesus) is REALLY a blessing in disguise.
I think it's a very good "warm up" for facing Frank Gore and the physical Niners.
And boy do I feel so much more relieved and less anxious seeing Woodson back there instead one or the other inexperienced youngsters!
It's like it "calms" our defense -- solidifies it in ways that are difficult to quantify.
Love the fact Woodson has fresh legs now too.
My concern is that both teams' defensive lines seemed to be winning the physical battle.
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