Vikings recap

Written by Justin Harken Friday, 23 October 2009 08:00

I am, like many other fans, still in shock at how Sunday’s game at the Metrodome ended.

It was another crazy game, as the Vikings narrowly escaped in a 33-31 victory over a good Ravens team after Steven Hauschka missed a 44-yard potentially game-winning field goal.

The Vikings had a 17-point lead with only 10 minutes left to play in the game. I figured with our “D” that this one was well in hand. Joe Flacco and running back Ray Rice, however, had other ideas.

With three and a half minutes to go, the Ravens had come all the way back to take a 31-30 lead. With the Vikings down, they turned to their veteran quarterback Brett Favre and hoped he would do what they signed him to do. Favre did not disappoint and drove the Vikings’ offense down within field goal range with a perfect 58-yard pass to Sidney Rice.

Head Coach Brad Childress decided to run three plays in a row after that pass. I guess he figured channeling Denny Green from 1998 was his best plan of attack. 

Ryan Longwell knocked down a 31-yard field goal to put the Vikings ahead 33-31 with 1:49 remaining. 

Flacco was not fazed and again picked apart the Vikings defense while he drove down the field into field goal range. Hauschka lined up to kick with two seconds left in the game and Childress called a timeout to “ice” the kicker. This may have been a good call on his part because Hauschka missed the somewhat easy field goal.

So the Vikings keep their perfect record and move to 6-0. However, they have not played their best football. They have yet to put together four quarters of solid football.

They either just kept pace with their opponent in the first half or quickly jumped out on top, then played conservatively in the second half. There had to be a sense of relief in the locker room after the game that saw their defense completely melt down in the fourth quarter and allow the Ravens to come back into the game. 

This weekend the Vikings go to Pittsburg to face a very good Steelers team. Pittsburgh is picked to win by 3.5 points, the same margin the Vikings were picked to beat the Ravens, and will be a true test for the Vikings. 

If they can get over this hump, the rest of the season will look good for them, as they will gain the confidence needed to beat the Packers in Green Bay the following week.