The Minnesota Vikings would be the team to beat if only their passing game were to improve. While they are ranked number one in the league for rushing, they are ranked last in defense passing. When compared to their components from the 2007 season, their rushing yards demolished totaling more than double the rest. As for passing, the Vikings amounted for about half the yards. Part of the rushing success can be attributed to rookie Adrian Peterson who finished the season as the NFC leading rusher. He became the first rookie to accomplish this feat since Barry Sanders did it in 1989. His NFL debut against the Atlanta Falcons gave him 19 touches for 103 yards. In his game against the Chicago Bears, Peterson had 361 all purpose yards, the third highest in NFL history. He set a single-game NFL record for rushing yards with 296 against the San Diego Chargers, which also gave a club single-game record with 378 rushing yards. He was held to just three yards against the San Francisco 49ers. And by the game against the Washington Redskins, he had been held to three straight games under 100 yards. However, his efforts throughout the season shot him to the top of the NFC. The Minnesota Vikings had an even season at 8-8, attributing most of the losses to penalties, errors, and a poor passing game. One loss came against the Detroit Lions where they had five turnovers, one coming at the beginning of overtime, resulting in the loss. The team’s struggles also were with conversions, converting on third down only 69-200 and fourth down 7-13. In the loss against the Green Bay Packers, the Vikings did not convert a third or fourth down the entire game. There was also not one complete pass thrown until the end of the third quarter, but backup quarterback Brooks Bollinger still threw 16-26 for 176 yards. The Minnesota Vikings had a big win against the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants towards the end of the season. Giants QB Eli Manning had one of the worst games of the season, if not his career, throwing four interceptions. The Vikings were able to capitalize on his mistakes and converted three of those interceptions into touchdowns. It was only the 10th time in the league that a team returned three interceptions in one game for a touchdown, a first for the Vikings. Starting quarterback Tarvaris Jackson went 58 percent on the season and made some noteworthy plays. If third-year head coach Brad Childress wants to lead the Minnesota Vikings into the playoffs, he needs to maintain the rushing efforts and focus most on improving the passing game. Once this can happen, the Vikings will be the team to beat. Grab your tickets now so you can cheer on your purple, white and gold onto victory!
