Minnesota Vikings facing a gauntlet

The Vikings’ apparently ageless running back shifted outside, sprinted toward twilight and shook a defender the way a giant might swat a bee.

The interception that Derek Carr threw in the end zone was very frustrating, he had the taller Andre Holmes on Terrance Newman but he was rushing it to get the extra play off before the 2 minute warning.

Here’s who the Raiders have lost to this season: The Vikings (now 7-2), the Bengals (8-0), the Broncos (7-2), the Steelers (6-4) and the Bears (4-5, the only current losing team to have beaten the Raiders). They know it’s far too early to consider the Packers done, despite Green Bay’s recent slide. I still have faith that they can do that and continue to grow as a team, even if in the back of my mind I am anxious that the team will fall apart all over again like they have through most of this millenium. The week before, Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger threw for 334 yards, and wide receiver Antonio Brown caught 17 passes for 284 yards.

That starts with Peterson, who turned 30 last March, and who missed most of last season after he was charged with child abuse.

Carr managed to top 300 yards passing for the third straight week, but the offense lacked its typical efficiency and Carr had his first two-interception game of the season. It also would be big in the playoff chances for this team.

There’s little magic in the formula the Vikings have been using to win. It’s the oldest formula to win in football, and that’s not by coincidence. On the ground, Adrian Peterson rushed for 203 yards and one touchdown in 26 attempts. “He’s got that fountain of youth, man”, Diggs said. “I just go and try to find a guy, and I see a guy coming down, so I put my hand up and try to slow him down, and it kind of springed CP down the sideline”. Peterson scored on an 80-yard run on the next play for the exclamation point.

Bridgewater touched on that point after the game, telling media members that the Vikings are a team facing “new challenges” each week. In those contests, Peterson believes Minnesota forged an identity that carried over to this season. “The offensive line was doing a great job”.

“Everything hasn’t been smooth sailing, but this group, we fight”.

“Our players understand this is a big game”, Zimmer said.

“I think this team probably exemplifies the personality of the coach better than any team I’ve been on”, linebacker Chad Greenway said. Check. More than just their record, the Vikings are checking boxes in a number of different statistical categories.

If you’re ever going to get good, first, you can’t be bad. The front of the shirt featured an National Football League logo and the text “NFC North”. What they’re saying is: Don’t peg them simply as a wild-card team anymore. They can be just as formidable as the Packers, who, it just so happens, will visit Minneapolis next weekend. Oakland has allowed 458 yards rushing the past two games after giving up just 453 the previous six.

Blair Walsh kicked three field goals, Cordarrelle Patterson returned a kick 93 yards for a touchdown, and Adrian Peterson ran 80 yards for the definitive touchdown as the Vikings continued rolling at O.co Coliseum. It should be elated that Peterson’s form has not dropped and that the uproar that encircled him last season has died down.