The Minnesota Vikings beat the Minnesota Vikings 31-28
The Minnesota Vikings beat themselves last night 31-28. A 40 yard field goal in overtime may have sealed the deal for the Vikings, but they decided their own fate much earlier. In a game where the stats suggest it could’ve been, would’ve been and should’ve been a dominant performance by the Vikings, the Vikings beat themselves on key and frequent turnovers.
Adrian Peterson led the implosion with 3 gigantic fumbles, one of which he was lucky enough to recover. One of his fumbles was charged to Brett Favre on a hand-off blunder but I’ll be generous and leave it with AP.
Favre did his part in the effort throwing two interceptions, one that eliminated the Vikings opportunity to kick a game winning field goal nearing the end of the fourth quarter. Bernard Berrian also fumbled away some momentum when the Vikings were charging down to the Saints ten yard line.
The Minnesota Vikings dominated nearly every offensive category but the 5 turnovers (3 fumbles, 2 INTs) spelled disaster. In a flashback to Favre’s last appearance in the Championship game against the New York Giants he threw a key late pick that eventually led to an opposing game winning field goal. This is the 5th Conference Championship game in a row the Vikings have unfortunately lost.
Offensive Stat Comparison
TEAM 1st Downs Passing Yards Rushing Yards Total Yards Time of Possession Turnovers
Vikings 27 310 165 475 36:49 5
Saints 12 189 68 257 27:56 1
Those that are so quick to jump off the bandwagon and search for blame look to Brett Favre and Adrian Peterson. Obviously this was not the ending to the fantastic season we were hoping for but it doesn’t take away from one of the best Vikings season in a long time. Favre had a remarkable year, one of the best of his career, and he put the team in a position to win.
AP has his struggles with hanging on to the ball but keep in mind the Saints are an extremely aggressive team that thrives on ripping the ball out at any given chance. Some times turnovers are a matter of right place right time and there is probably no one more upset than Adrian. He is still an incredible, explosive player that has had an extraordinary impact on the Vikings. Here’s to looking forward to an incredible 2010 season!
Minnesota Sports Blog
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