The Vikings have found the secret formula.
The blueprint for success in this most volatile of seasons now is clear: Go retro. With an offensive game plan right out of the 1950s and a quarterback-hounding, old-school defense, the Vikings were able to surprise the Chicago Bears.
"I like that kind of football," defensive end Jared Allen said. "That's the kind of football I grew up watching and grew up loving to play. If it's a recipe for success, then let's keep doing it!"
Oh, I'll bet they keep trying to. They ran the football on offense and tackled people on defense. No tricks, and very few of those newfangled forward passes. As a result, Christian Ponder was taken out of the equation. The Vikings worked around him, so to speak, and ended up being successful.
There was more good news, too. The Metrodome roof held up nicely under the first heavy snowfall of the season. Plus, Jerome Simpson caught a pass. Honest, I saw it. So it was a terrific afternoon for the home team -- full of surprises.
Ponder, the much-maligned quarterback, had one job and one job only: Avoid catastrophic screw-ups. For the most part, he did just that. The only blip came near the end of the first half on one of his rare downfield attempts. That's when he tossed one to Bears safety Major Wright, short-circuiting any chance of one last drive before halftime. But after that he was flawless, handing off to Peterson and getting out of the way nicely.
Peterson carried a career-high 31 times. He was especially impressive in the
first quarter, when he fired out of the starting blocks and pushed the Vikings to a 14-0 lead. On Minnesota's first drive, he gained 69 of the 80 yards covered.
"He was just electric the way he took that first drive under his wing and went the whole way," linebacker Chad Greenway said. "That just gets our crowd set up, gets us into it and changes the whole landscape of the game."
The defense, meanwhile, was really good, picking off a couple of passes, defending the run and harassing Bears quarterback Jay Cutler. Basic football.
"That's the thing with him," cornerback Antoine Winfield said of Cutler. "If he's on, it's going to be a long day. If he's off a little bit, you have opportunities and the guys cashed in today."
"I mean, if that's what it takes, let's keep doing the basics," defensive tackle Kevin Williams said.
Peterson gained 104 yards in the first quarter. After that, the Bears got wise. They could see Ponder wasn't going to hurt them and concentrated on Peterson, who gained just 50 yards the rest of the way. After that first quarter, it was very clear that Minnesota's offense was through for the afternoon.
From there, it was up to the defense to hang on. But the defense did better than that, scoring a
touchdown on an interception by Harrison Smith. That allowed the Vikings to proceed even more blandly on offense for the remainder of the second half. They were able to keep handing off to Peterson while keeping one eye on the clock.
Once in a great while, when there really wasn't much choice, Ponder would flip a little shorty out there. Nothing tricky or risky, though. And nothing that had him holding on to the football for very long. All that was missing was the Statue of Liberty play. Or maybe Lou "The Toe" Groza kicking an extra point for someone.
Whether this is the formula for long-term success, I don't know. Probably not. But with this group of players, it worked perfectly. Heck, after grabbing that 14-0 first-quarter lead, it was almost as if the Vikings went about trying to run out the clock for the final three quarters. The offense never seriously mustered another drive.
Cutler, like Minnesota Twins pitchers, kept missing high. Part of it, no doubt, was the result of Vikings defenders swarming around him. But part of it, too, might just have been that he had a lousy day. Cutler was terrible.
"I thought our pressure was valuable pressure today," Allen said. "Instead of him just running around and making plays, we were able to make him uncomfortable."
Ponder never even reached 100 yards passing, but that was just dandy. He did exactly what he needed to do: not mess up. And the Vikings were able to come away with an old-school victory.
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