Vikings Win on Bye Week

By MikeBullock  |   Monday, November 09, 2009  |  Comments( 0 )

Minnesota Vikings
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How often can a team claim a win when they never even take the field? Well, for Vikings fans who paid attention to the division rival Green Bay Packers this weekend, that’s exactly what happened. While it wasn’t the sort of “W” that adds up in that all important column, it knocked down the Pack in more ways than just a new mark in the “L” slot. That loss translates to a 3.5 game lead in the division for Minnesota, and a sharper edge coming during the bye week.

On a day when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took the field in throwback uniforms that conjure memories of one of the worst teams in NFL history, Green Bay should have been salivating at the chance to get some payback after the beating they took against the Vikings last week.

However, the Buccaneers showed they weren’t the pushovers their record said they were and the Pack let it be known that they were no longer the contenders pre-season predictors made them out to be.

Packer QB Aaron Rodgers hit the turf, with the assistance of a man in a creamsicle outfit, six more times, tossed three interceptions and essentially looked as frazzled as he did in week eight against Minnesota. Is it any wonder Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy are now in the hot seat?

Meanwhile, the chaotic Tampa Bay squad, elevated by multiple miscues from the cheeseheads, looked as if they were clearly the better team, and took a win away from Raymond James Stadium for the first time in new head coach Raheem Morris’s short career. Never underestimate the sting such a loss can have on a team’s psyche. The Packer locker room was most likely a very depressing place to be late Sunday afternoon.

With the Lions playing up to their usual poor standards, the Chicago Bears in apparent disarray, with arguably the worst offensive tackle play in the NFC, Green Bay was the only real threat to the Vikings NFC North Division crown. However, after watching the Pack fold like a lawn chair in Tampa Bay, it’s very apparent Minnesota controls their own destiny when it comes to repeating as division champs.

Granted, there are at least eight more “any given Sundays” in the Vikings future, but it’s readily obvious no one else in the NFC Norse is interested in challenging them.
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