Sunday, December 21, 2008

7 Fumbles = 1 Devastating Loss

All I can say right now is something I have rarely ever said in my life: "Let's Go Packers."

The Vikings gave a really putrid performance on Sunday at the Metrodome and got beat by the Atlanta Falcons, 24-17. They fumbled a mind-numbing seven times, and lost four of the them, and Atlanta converted two of them into 10 points.

The Falcons came out smoking, and scored a TD on a long drive to open the game. Matt Ryan was impressive leading the offense. I had a feeling from there it was going to be a long day. Adrian Peterson fumbled three times, Tarvaris Jackson fumbled twice, and the Vikings never led all day long. Peterson was held to 76 yards. Jackson didn't play badly, as he went 22-for-36 for 233 yards and 2 TDs, both to Visanthe Shiancoe. He also rushed for the same number of yards Peterson did, 76 yards on 8 carries.

Atlanta locked up a playoff berth with the win, the first appearance in the playoffs since 2004. And so much for the Vikings avenging the NFC title game loss to Atlanta of nearly ten years ago. The Vikings also saw their chance of a first-round bye go down the drain, and with this loss Chicago is still very much alive. If they beat Green Bay tomorrow night, both teams will be 9-6, and if they both lose or win next week, the Vikings will win the NFC North, as they own the tie breaker. Chicago plays the Texans at Houston next week, while the Vikings will host the Giants at the Metrodome next Sunday.

The Vikings loss gives the Giants and Panthers both first round byes, so the only bright side of today's loss is that next week's Vikings game means nothing to the Giants, as their playoff seed will be determined tonight with their game against Carolina. So with nothing to play for, it gives the Vikings hope to win the North outright next week (if the Bears also win tomorrow).

In a matter of one game, the Vikings have gone from a possible first round bye to possibly missing the playoffs. If the Vikings go into the tank and miss the playoffs, it might really be time to search for a new head coach.

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