Action Jackson

Tarvaris Jackson and his Minnesota Vikings had a very good game yesterday at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, as they defeated the Oakland Raiders 29-22.

Tarvaris Jackson played his best game all season. Jackson completed 17 of 22 passes for 177 yards, threw no touchdowns and one interception. Although those numbers are not impressive, for Jackson it's an improvement. Tarvaris is a very young and talented athlete, who has been put in the unfortunate situation of guiding an NFL team to victory with less than two games under his belt. Tarvaris was drafted in the second round of 2006, from Alabama State. He was not projected to go until much later in the draft if at all. Head Coach Brad Childress has decided that Tarvaris Jackson is the franchise quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings, and has given him the role of starter and leader. Since his inception as the Vikings starter, Tarvaris has been less than stellar. He has one of the lowest quarterback ratings in the league among starters, and has been chastised by Vikings fans everywhere. However, Jackson has not been negative, and comes out every week ready to play.

This week against the Oakland Raiders, Jackson gave it it all and succeeded. Tarvaris had his best week of the season, with a pass completion ratio of 77.2%. Jackson's best game prior to yesterday, was against Atlanta in week one. In that week, Jackson completed just 56.5% of his passes. Yesterday was a good step forward for Jackson, and hopefully the sign of good things to come.

Receiver Sydney Rice had a career game for himself as well. Rice caught two passes for 18 yards and no touchdowns, but also showed he can throw the ball. Rice connected with Visanthe Shiancoe for a 79 yard strike on the first play of the game, to set up the Chester Taylor 10 yard touchdown. Rice also completed a second pass to Troy Williamson for 15 yards in the fourth quarter. Rice's second completion gave the Vikings a first down and allowed Chester Taylor to score one play later to give the Vikings a 29-19 lead. The remainder of the receiving corps rounded out with Bobby Wade catching five passes for 45 yards, Visanthe Shiancoe catching two passes for 94 yards, Chester Taylor catching three passes for 38 yards and Troy Williamson catching three passes for 34 yards.

Running back Chester Taylor was put back in the role of work horse again, and thrived as I said he would. Taylor has been the Vikings workhorse since joining the team in 2006. Last season Taylor had 303 rushing attempts for 1,216 yards and an average of 4.0 yards per game. Yesterday, Taylor carried the ball 22 times for 164 yards and three touchdowns. Taylor scored the first points of the game rushing for a 10 yard touchdown. Taylor also scored from 38 yards out in the second quarter, and six yards out in the fourth quarter. Chester Taylor also caught three passes for 38 yards, and received the game ball. Troy Williamson carried the ball one time for 26 yards, while Tarvaris Jackson rushed three times for 19 yards. The remainder of the backfield consisted of Naufahu Tahi who carried the ball four times for 10 yards, and Mewelde Moore who carried the ball two times for nine yards.

The Vikings defense was stellar. They held the Raiders to just 61 yards rushing on 27 carries, one touchdown, and sacked Daunte Culpepper for a safety in the first quarter. They also forced Culpepper to fumble the ball once and throw one interception. Their only downfall was that Daunte Culpepper threw for 344 yards. However, Culpepper completed only 23 of 39 passes, for a 58.9% completion ratio. With 344 yards passing, the Raiders offense reached the end zone once, and had to settle for five field goals from Sabastian Janikowski. Minnesota's defense held the Raiders to 41% on third down conversions, and forced five punts. The Viking defense also held the Raiders to a dismal 25% red zone efficiency (1/4), and allowed the Raiders to be in the goal to go situations only twice all game.

This was a much better game for our Vikings than was last week. Minnesota's offense was 1/7 on third down efficiency, but had 25 first downs, three touch downs and gained 478 yards. The Vikings offense completed 19 of 24 passes, was 2/4 (50%) on red zone efficiency, and 2/3 (60%)on goal to go efficiency. The Viking defense only allowed one touchdown, and forced two turnovers. The Vikings will now play the Detroit Lions, and have a score to settle. Minnesota lost to the Lions in week two 20-17, and have only beaten the Chicago Bears in their division this season. The Vikings are a dismal 1-4 when facing the NFC North. Good Luck and....

SKOL VIKINGS!!!!