Turnovers, penalties cost Vikes in Tennessee

By Eric Krupka  |   Tuesday, September 30, 2008  |  Comments( 2 )

Minnesota Vikings
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Winning on the road in the National Football League isn’t easy, especially when you turn the ball over. Unfortunately for the Minnesota Vikings, giveaways were the story in last Sunday's 30-17 loss to Tennessee.

The Vikings, who are now 1-3, lost three fumbles and threw an interception against the 4-0 Titans. Those four turnovers led to 21 points for Kerry Collins-led Tennessee.

“I’m not going to pass away the penalties,” said head coach Brad Childress.

His team was also flagged seven times on the day, including five in the third quarter -- three of which were pre-snap fouls.

“The turnovers are particularly disturbing. You can’t spot people that many points and beat a good football team,” commented Childress.

And the Titans are a good football team. In fact, Jeff Fisher’s squad is one of only two teams with a 4-0 record (the other is Buffalo).

Surprisingly, even though the offense failed miserably, the Minnesota defense has blamed itself for Sunday's loss.

“That’s just the way the ball bounces,” said Vikings linebacker Ben Leber. “We got to step up as a defense.”

All three Titans touchdown drives -- from 33, 11 and 6 yards out, respectively -- were set up by Minnesota turnovers.

“Defensively we didn’t play well [in the first half],” said Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield. “Anytime you go on the road, you want to start fast. We gave up too many points in the first half.”

The Vikings fell into a hole early. Tennessee took the opening possession all the way down to the Minnesota 2 before settling for a field goal.

On the ensuing Viking possession, fullback Naufahu Tahi fumbled after a reception, giving the ball to the Titans just 33 yards from Minnesota's end zone. The Titans would capitalize on a 1-yard plunge by running back Chris Johnson, taking a 10-0 lead before the visitors could blink.

“We had some turnovers that first half in scoring position and they scored some touchdowns. We need to hold them to three points,” said Winfield.

The second half was certainly a different story. The Viking defense blitzed more and only allowed 68 yards even without playmaking linebacker E.J. Henderson, who had to leave the game after injuring his foot.

Still, the Vikings' stop unit was unable to amass any takeaways in the second half; through four games this season, the 'D' has only forced five turnovers.

“We expect [more takeaways]; we just aren’t making those plays," added Winfield. "I think we had a few opportunities with our hands on the ball didn’t come up with them. E.J. recovered a fumble, but that was it."

The Vikings didn’t catch any breaks in the first half, either. Trailing 13-7 after Adrian Peterson’s fumble gave the Titans the ball at the Minnesota 11, it appeared as though the Viking defense had stopped Tennessee short of the first down on fourth down. The ball was spotted well beyond the first-down marker, though, and Childress opted to challenge the play.

Replays seemed to clearly show that receiver Justin Gage never made the yard to gain. However, the ruling on the field stood. On the next play, Titans bruiser LenDale White scored on a 1-yard run.

“It was a tough situation. I wish we would have got the call, but unfortunately we didn’t,” said Winfield.

The Vikings -- who are 6-12 on the road under Childress -- will shift their focus to another tough away game next Monday night at New Orleans, which is 2-2 after beating the 49ers, 31-17.

“The penalties and turnovers are all very correctable things; we're going to do that this week and get ready for New Orleans,” said Leber.

Two games below .500, the Vikings are lucky to be right behind Chicago and Green Bay, two teams that are tied atop the NFC North at 2-2. A winning streak would obviously put the Vikings in the thick of their division race, but it won't be easy.

“I think that’s what were going to be talking about now -- trying to run off four or five in a row and just try to jump ahead in this schedule and give us our best chance later in the season,” said wide receiver Bobby Wade.
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About Eric Krupka

Eric Krupka joined RealFootball365 as a Vikings columnist in November 2005.
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