The Vikings come in almost an 8 point underdog on the road and add in if Houston wins they wrap up home field advantage in the AFC. If there ever was an incentive Houston had it was Sunday. The funny thing is for Houston that Minnesota played as complete game as they have had all year. The home game against San Francisco might be the only other to compare it to for this purple team.
I do not know what next week brings but one fact we are facing is these young guys lead by Leslie Frazier are getting invaluable experience. The win at home against the 49ers and then on Sunday on the road sure helps build a very nice resume. The fact that both these opponents, 49ers and Texans have been discussed as being Super Bowl contenders only to see the Vikings take them down.
The opening drive by Houston had me concerned but when the end result was a field goal gave me a much better feeling.
I really credit Christian Ponder for playing the game of his life. Yes, there was some hold your breath moments but all in all I loved what I saw.
I love and wish he would do more rolls outs finding tight end Kyle Rudolph. It seems when Ponder does roll out Rudolph seems to have success at being open.
The fact that Ponder was able to avoid a sack machine in the Houston Texans was incredible. Yes, Houston got 2, but it could have worse. I will even go as far as saying I feel the offensive line should get an A for their pass protection.
I tell you with the talk all week of why Ponder got married on Monday in a court in Wisconsin. He came Sunday and I believed he has quitted talkers for at least today.
The incredible catch by high leaping Jerome Simpson was just another part of the recipe for a successful win. The guys that were called on to make plays came through. I would also like to point out early in the game who threw 2 huge blocks on 2 different passing plays, yes Jerome Simpson. He may not have had the best stats today but I thought he played his best game as a Vikings.
I loved the contribution made by Jarius Wright today making some much needed catches and his run after getting the ball from Ponder on the end around.
As far as Adrian Peterson and breaking his streak of 8 consecutive 100 yard games I was disappointed for him. The amount of his family he had would have been nice to see him get his 100. The fact that the Vikings won despite not getting 100 I am sure is ok with Adrian. It was just a few weeks ago that AP had over 200 yards against Green Bay in Lambeau only to watch the Vikings lose.
No matter what Peterson ends up with it has been such a successful year for him and I for one appreciate his not quitting even when things did not go right at times this year.
One more guy that deserves a pat on the back is Toby Gerhart. He does not play much but Sunday got a chance at the end of the game and gave the team some great runs and helped kill the clock. I really liked his contributions and just another example of being a good teammate. He does what he was asked to do and even got rewarded with a great power run ending up in the end zone. Way to go Toby!!!!
The defense today I could write a blog just about the defense alone. The play of Harrison Smith really stood out. It was nice to see 2 of the 3 sacks today were by the secondary.
Two things that were great to see was one, the amount of quarterback Matt Schaub shaking his head in disbelief on what was happening to his high power offense. The other sight that was fun to see was the Texans fans sitting in sadness. This was to be the day that home field was wrapped up. It is nice to see another team at home sit looking in shock. The amount of booing I could hear through the TV was awesome.
I like maybe most of you was concerned when Houston had first and goal. The game would have drastically changed for emotion wise in favor of Houston I believe. This was just simply an exclamation point on a game well played.
The run defense I believe was the best the team had played all year. Arian Foster comes in as a top notch NFL runner and what do the Vikings do? They stop him all day. This game brought back memories of the Williams Wall days when very few teams could run if at all.
The hustle today was as good as I have seen all year. The team tackling gets an A+.
I really loved the game Everson Griffen played. He got the start in Brian Robison’s absence and Griffen did not disappoint. He was a hustling machine all day.
It was nice to see Chris Cook on the field after missing the last six weeks.
Blair Wash, what can we say? The 6th round draft choice out of Georgia is now an NFL record holder. He now has 9 field goals of 50 yards. The thing is these field goals were banged with authority and right down the middle.
I am playing in my fantasy league Super Bowl and I have the Vikings defense and Blair Walsh. My opponent had the Texans defense.
The Vikings came in to the bye with a 6-4 record. There were so many people wondering if a 0-6 to the end the year would happen. The Bears and Packers twice, Rams and Texans have been the opponents. The fact that the Vikings are 3-2 with one left is incredible. December is the month to get hot and well the Vikes are 3-1 and almost 4-0 only if we could have won in Lambeau.
It is a great day to be a Vikings fan. This win was a great early Christmas gift to all fans that bleed purple and believe. I hope the Vikes give Frazier his extension he so badly needs. The fact that Percy Harvin went down and there was concern on how the team would react. Well, 3 game winning streak in December. Does it get any better?
Happy Holidays
Thanks for reading
Purplestick
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