Game 08: Vikings Defeat Chargers 35-17

NFL Single Game Rushing Record 296 Yards

While the NFL media machine was hyping the Colts / Patriots game (And with good cause) there were other games being played today. And no matter what the outcome of that game, I cannot believe it could match the excitement or NFL records set during the Vikings / Chargers game.

In the first quarter, L. Tomlinson scored from the 1 yard line and surpassed the legend Jim Brown for fourth all TD rushes in the NFL with 107.

Late in the second quarter, as Viking kicker Longwell attempted a 58 yard field goal, Charger Antonio Cromartie fielded the short field goal and returned the kick for an NFL record 109 yards.

For the Vikings side, Adrian Peterson rushed for 296 yards setting an NFL record for most rushing yards in a single game.

Adrian Peterson, with his 296 yards today and his 224 yards against the Bears several weeks ago, sets an NFL record for a rookie with most 200 yards rushing games in a season.

Adrian Peterson with his 1036 yards rushing, is the most yards gained by any player in his first eight games in the history of the NFL.

And one more. Adrian Peterson tied a Minnesota Viking record of 50 plus yards play from scrimmage with his 7th in 8 games.

Adrian Peterson has 1036 yards rushing in eight games with a 6.6 yard per carry average. He is on pace to surpass the rookie rushing record of 1800 yards set by Eric Dickerson in 1983 and the NFL single season record also set by Dickerson in 1984 of 2150 yards.

Is that not enough highlights and records for a football game?

Now to the game itself, as the Vikings defeat the Chargers 35-17 in a wild NFL record setting day. Even the Vikings won, they made some blunders.

For starters, Childress allowed precious seconds tick off the clock at the end of the first half when the Vikings were driving for a score. He allowed over 20 seconds to tick off and then called a time out. A few plays later, he settled for a long FG attempt with only 5 seconds left. We know what happened on that attempt. it was returned 109 yards for a TD and a 14-7 half time lead for the Chargers.

If Childress had better clock management, (Any clock management) the Vikings would have had an additional 20 plus seconds to run two maybe three more plays to move the ball closer for Longwell.

Penalties still plague the Vikings as they committed 11 today killing several drives on offense including a 20 plus yard run by Peterson and allowing the Chargers to sustain scoring drives.

I have been preaching that penalties need to be addressed as a priority to the team for reducing them increases their win total.

Staying atop my preaching podium, I have been calling out Childress all season questioning why he doesn’t keep Peterson in the game and utilize the best runner in the NFL. Perhaps Chilly has been reading the Viking Thunder for he kept Peterson in, and he touched the ball 31 times rushing for 296 yards and catching one pass for 19 more and three TD’s. And look, the Vikings won the game.

Continuing on the podium, all year I have been preaching pressure for the defense. Each and every week, the opposing quarterback had career days against the Vikings. And I know why! They don’t get enough pressure with their front four and need to blitz to apply pressure. Today, the Vikings blitzed and pressured Phillips all day forcing him into bad throws and bad decisions. Phillips was under 200 yards passing and under 50% in completions. A win for the Vikings.

I feel that Tarvaris Jackson is injury prone. He was hurt a good portion of last year, and again a good portion this year. Not taking a shot at him, just stating a fact.

Wide receivers!!! Man, we need to go after some quality receivers next year. Bobby Wade, Williamson, Ferguson, Allison, none of them starter quality caliber. Hence, the abysmal passing offense of the Vikings. Just imagine how much better Peterson would be with the threat of a passing offense. Imagine not having 8 men in the box almost every play.

Final Thoughts:

Vikings won, and are 3-5 half way through the season. With Jackson questionable for next week, it looks like Bollinger will get his day in court. Perhaps a little more work with the first team offense in practice will help with his timing a little bit more more. Now if only the receivers would catch the damn ball.

And finally, Peterson caught one pass today for 19 yards. I would love to see him catching a few more per game to open the offense and keep the opposing defense a little more off balance. If you have a weapon like Peterson, use him. He is averaging just under 20 carries a game, which is not excessive. A few pass catches per game would benefit the entire team.

Adrian Peterson, rookie of the year 2007.
Skol Vikings!

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