Well, here we go again. That's what Vikings players must have said to themselves after Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo threw a touchdown pass to give the Cowboys a 27-23 lead with 35 seconds left. After a ghastly showing on Sunday night, the Vikings were a very pleasant surprise for most of Sunday, playing the Cowboys tight and even holding a lead late despite fielding a secondary missing almost all of its opening day starters outside of Josh Robinson. It was assumed the Cowboys would be able to exert their will through the air, but this secondary played tough and physical and gave a much better effort than anyone could have expected. Adrian Peterson, a Texas native, gave his friends and family at the game something to cheer about, having his best game since week four in London. Another Texas native for the Vikings, Christian Ponder, had perhaps his least disastrous outing of the year, but he still failed in the same areas he always has to show why he should remain on the bench. This was an encouraging game to see after three games that could only be described as disasters, two of them in prime time, but the Vikings know they aren't getting any brownie points for this loss. The team has now dropped to 1-7, and if they lose their Thursday night match-up with the Redskins they will officially have the worse start to a season in franchise history.
Offense: B-
After pretty putrid showings the last few weeks, the offense was able to have some success Sunday, and came ever so close to giving this team a win. The Vikings ran a no huddle offense for most of the day Sunday, and the result was a clear increased comfort level for Christian Ponder. The offense also made it a point to feed Adrian Peterson the ball, as AP had been getting the ball an inexcusably low number of times the past two weeks. The offense still has a lot of work to do though, as two turnovers by the Vikings ended up being crucial by the end of the game, one of them being a strip sack for a touchdown. This offense showed a lot of heart though, heart that had been absent the past two weeks, as receivers and backs were fighting for the football and extra yards. At least this team was able to make this game entertaining, but failures to produce first downs near the end of the game led to this team coming up short.
Quarterback: C+
Ponder was not awful on Sunday, but there's no question the Vikings will still be looking for help at the quarterback position this offseason. Ponder fared a lot better running a no-huddle today, making quick decisions for the most part and leading some nice drives. That said, there were times where Ponder also held onto the ball too long, such as the play that led to his strip-sack, and some of his throws were just way off of the marker. Ponder did some of the things he's become known for, scrambling early on some plays and leaving open receivers stranded on the field. He produced today though, and kept this team close throughout the game, so it's likely we'll see Ponder again Thursday night against the Redskins.
Running Backs: A
The Vikings decided to actually give the ball to #28 today, and he did not disappoint when they did. Peterson looked like his MVP self again, beating defenses even with multiple people in the box and taking off for some big gains, including a 52 yard run. His most impressive run though, came on 4th and one at the 11, where Peterson found a hole and fought off multiple Cowboys defenders on his way to a touchdown. Surprise surprise, this offense is at its best when AP gets the ball, as his 25 carries today were more than his past two games combined.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: A
Once again, the Vikings' weapons didn't have a quarterback that was really able to take advantage of their talents, but they played hard regardless. Recievers fought for balls, as Jerome Simpson and Jarius Wright made some extremely tight catches in traffic. Greg Jennings and Kyle Rudolph had some serious yards after the catch on the day, especially when Rudolph fougth off multiple defenders to find the end zone for a 31 yard score. Finally, the most underrated play of the game came from tight end Chase Ford, who was just activated from the practice squad, who helped push AP into the end zone for a touchdown. The Viking weapons were balling today, which makes the prospect of above average quarterback play in Minnesota all the more enticing.
Offensive Line: C
The Vikings offensive line is in the midst of a pretty disappointing season, and they did nothing to change that perception in Dallas. The Cowboys' defensive line was the clear winner at the line of scrimmage, often finding Peterson in the backfield or applying pressure to Ponder. The line was able to open up enough holes for Peterson to allow him to have an exceptional day, but too many times Peterson was met in the backfield by white jerseys. Ponder's strip-sack was a game changing play that the offensive line is at least partially responsible for, as backup right tackle J'Marcus Webb was beat around the edge and let the Cowboys get the heat on Ponder.
Defense: C
Well the Vikings defense wasn't atrocious, but another last minute touchdown drive spoiled what could have been a triumphant day for this team. The defense did play hard despite not having starting safeties JaMarcus Sanford and Harrison Smith, as well as corners Chris Cook and Xavier Rhodes by the end of the game. The defensive line stepped up to help out the secondary, getting good pressure on quarterback Tony Romo and shutting down the Dallas run game. The Vikings will have to settle for a moral victory though, because in the end Romo still led the Cowboys down the field at the end of the game. At this point of the season though, moral victories may be all this team has left.
Defensive Line: A-
The defensive line for the Vikings had one of its better days of the year, totaling three sacks against the Cowboys while also shutting down their runnning game and forcing Dallas to take to the air almost the entire day. The Cowboys threw the ball 51 times compared to just nine runs, and those nine runs just went for 36 yards. The defensive line was able to pressure Tony Romo often, and their three sacks helped kill two Cowboy drives that looked promising. This defensive line still isn't the dominating unit the Vikings hoped that it would be, but they played a very solid game at Jerry World.
Linebackers: D
The linebackers on this team continue to disappoint, as when they are forced to cover they find the task nearly impossible. Erin Henderson, Chad Greenway and Marvin Mitchell were caught out of position several different times on the day by Tony Romo, and without a running game for the Cowboys the three really had little use in the defense. An Erin Henderson personal foul penalty also kept a Dallas drive alive after the Vikings had just stopped them on third down. The biggest mistake the linebackers made was being fooled on play fakes, which seems perplexing because the run game shouldn't have been a concern for the Vikings at all. The Vikings probably would have taken more linebackers off the field if only they had more members of their secondary healthy.
Secondary: B-
This secondary did not look like the worst unit in the NFL on this day, and that actually constitutes as an improvement for the Vikings. Romo threw 51 times on this secondary, but was only ("only") able to come up with 337 yards. The Vikings cornerbacks actually got their first interception of the season on the day, as AJ Jefferson of all people cut off a Terrance Williams route and picked off the pass. This was also one of the better days we've seen by young players like Xavier Rhodes (before leaving due to injury), Josh Robinson and Andrew Senedjo, though the three still weren't always in perfect position. There were still some clear weak efforts by Marcus Sherels and Mistral Raymond, as Sherels struggled in the nickel role and Raymond missed several tackles in limited action. The only question is: why can't these guys play this close when they're healthy?
Special Teams: B-
The Vikings special teams' unit had another interesting day, as they always seem to come up with a couple big plays but also make a few weird mistakes. Today, those big plays came in the return game, as Cordarrelle Patterson showed that he's still perhaps the best kick returner in the game right now with some solid returns, and Marcus Sherels had a big punt return as well that set the Vikings up in Dallas territory. The issues for the Vikings came in a few different places. Patterson couldn't handle one kickoff and set the Vikings up at their own five. The next play was the deadly strip-sack. Blair Walsh also missed an extra point, the first time in his career he has done so. The miss could have been a big break for Dallas, as it put the Vikings only ahead three points instead of four, meaning a field goal by Dallas could tie the game. While Romo's touchdown made the miss a non-factor in the score, it may have given Leslie Fraizer cause to pause when the Vikings had a shot at a long field goal later that could have made it a six point game. Instead, Fraizer opted to punt, and the Vikings needed a touchdown instead of a field goal to win the game.
Coaching: C+
The Vikings coaches clearly tried in this game. They mixed things up, letting Ponder run the no-huddle to give him confidence and making sure they fed Adrian Peterson the ball. The defense looked prepared and ready to execute, more than they have in recent weeks. It still wasn't enough, and there were still some questionable in-game decisions that will have fans and players scratching their heads. Fraizer punting instead of kicking a field goal or going for the first down late opened up the door for a Cowboys' comeback. I've said it before: you have to play for the win in the NFL, not leave the fate of the game in your opponent's hands. The Vikings have done that multiple times this year. The two-minute defense still stinks, and after the game players openly questioned the calls that were made. That's not a good sign. The coaching staff has at least done well not to create a dsyfunctional locker room situation despite a bad record, but it looks like frustrations are finally starting to boil over, which is very bad news for the fate of these coaches.
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