Week 8

The Vikings get win number two on the road as they narrowly defeat the Carolina Panthers 24-21.  Both teams had similar records coming into this game, the Panthers with a record of 2 and 5 and the Vikings with a record of 1 and 6.  Both teams also had rookie quarterbacks starting under center today.  The Panthers first overall pick in the 2011 Draft Cam Newton has not let them down this season and is a front runner for Rookie of the Year.  Christian Ponder made his second start of his career. Also a first round pick he was selected twelfth overall by the Vikings.  Things were looking good for the Vikings right away as Marcus Sherels returned the opening kick-off 72 yards to the Carolina 27 the Panthers defense stopped them cold and the Vikings went three and out which resulted in a missed 45 yard field goal by Ryan Longwell.  But the still Vikings took the lead early in the game, in their next possession they drove the ball down the field and ended it with a ten yard touchdown run from wide receiver Percy Harvin.  The defense managed to hold the Panthers to zero points for the rest of the quarter.  The Panthers got it going in the second quarter and scored two touchdowns on back to pack possessions making the score 14-7.  The Vikings got the ball back with two minutes left in the half and managed to march down the field and score with a 19 yard pass to Adrian Peterson making it all tied up 14-14 at halftime.    

The third quarter went back and forth with both teams scoring a touchdown apiece.  It all came down to the fourth quarter with the score tied 21-21. Neither team could find the end zone; finally with about three minutes left the Vikings kicked a 31 yard field goal to give them the lead.  The Panthers got the ball and drove it all the way down to the thirty yard line were they were stopped  on third down and forced to try a field goal.  It was looking like over time but the Panthers kicker shanked the kick wide left and missed it.  The Vikings pulled out another victory 24-21

Border Battle

On October 23 the Vikings took on their biggest rival and the defending super bowl champions the Green Bay Packers.  The Packers are currently at the top of the NFC North division and thet are undefeated.  This was the first start for the Vikings rookie quarterback Christian Ponder.  Christian Ponder was the twelfth overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft.  It was finally after six games that the Vikings decided to bench Donovan Mcnabb.  To me it was six games too late, Mcnabb has played terribly the whole season and it was about time the Vikings tried something different.  They Vikings have struggled at the QB possition for many years, they had one good year with Brett Favre making it all the way to the NFC championship but after that its been all downhill.  The Vikings started off the game hot going seventy three yards on three plays ending the drive with a two yard touchdown pass to the tight end Visanthe Shiancoe.  The Packers answered right away with a long drive of their own and a touchdown pass to John Kuhn.  The second quarter started off great for the Vikings with a touchdown run from Adrian Peterson making the score 14-7 Vikings.  The rest of the quarter was back and forth with a field goal from the Vikings and two from the Packers. The third quarted was all Packers, they scored two touchdowns right off the bat followed by two field goals.  The quarter ended with the Vikings down 33-17. In the fourth quarter the Vikings started to make the game interesting with an unanswered field goal and a touchdown coming within six points. But in the end they just couldn’t pull it out losing 27-33.  There is a silver lining in this loss though, the Vikings may have finally found a solid player for the quarterback position.  Christian Ponder had a solid game going 13/32 with 219 yards passing and 2 touchdowns.  The Vikings play the Carolina Panthers next which should be a very winnable game for them.

Sports Illustrated

It’s been a rough year so far for the old purple and gold and the Vikings are currently sitting at the bottom of the division with a record of 1 and 4. The Vikings chances of making the playoffs this year are starting to get slimmer and slimmer but crazier things have happened. Things are looking up though the Vikings are on a one game winning streak after beating the Arizona Cardinals and they play the Chicago Bears tonight. I’ll be reporting on the latest Viking news every couple of weeks with game analyses and other Vikings news. Go Vikings!