And the Vikings’ game ball goes to…

By Krupka  |   Wednesday, September 13, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Minnesota Vikings
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After every win head coaches give the game ball to a player they feel sparked the victory. Every week, yours truly, win or lose, will look over candidates from the Minnesota Vikings and give away a "game ball."

Monday night's 19-16 victory over the Washington Redskins was truly a complete team effort; however, the three top candidates all come from the offense -- quarterback Brad Johnson, running back Chester Taylor and left guard Steve Hutchinson.

Brad Johnson- The 14-year veteran was phenomenal, engineering the offense with great efficiency in a raucous environment against a stifling defense. He was calm and cool in the pocket, converted numerous third downs to keep the chains moving, and played mistake-free football. On the night, the Vikings' signal caller completed 16-of-30 passes for 223 yards and a touchdown. His numbers could have been better as receiver Troy Williamson dropped three passes, two of which were catchable, and one a possible touchdown. Still, though, Williamson had a solid game and seemed to be the go-to guy as he routinely got open down the field. Johnson completed passes to seven different receivers.

Steve Hutchinson- The $49 million man showed the world why the Vikings doled out the cash, taking $13 million of this year's salary cap up to pay probably the best guard in the NFL. Hutchinson proved why he is among the elite at his position and maybe the top offensive lineman in the NFL when he continually kept the Redskins' defense away from Johnson, opened up holes for running back Chester Taylor and paved the way for Taylor's four-yard touchdown run on the team's opening drive of the season. Safety Adam Archuleta thought he was going to come in and make a play, but "Hutch" crushed him, opening up a hole for the back to scamper through into the end zone. Anyone else think Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander misses Hutchinson a little?

Chester Taylor- Well, the question has been answered. Taylor can carry the load. Although the former Raven's yards per carry average still resembled his unimpressive preseason total, that doesn't matter. He carried the ball effectively, got positive yards, found the end zone and added 43 yards on just three receptions. Early in the game there wasn't much room for the fifth-year pro to run, but he still grinded out positive yardage against a tough defense. As the game wore on, Taylor got stronger, racking up his best carries in the fourth quarter and bleeding the clock out, helping set up the game-winning field goal by Ryan Longwell with one minute remaining. The 26-year-old running back showed a combination of speed, power and vision throughout, racking up 131 total yards on 34 touches. He was a workhorse, which therefore means he wins the game ball.

Honorable mentions:

LB E.J. Henderson
CB Antoine Winfield
CB Fred Smoot
SS Darren Sharper

Check back tomorrow for Week 1 grades

Eric Krupka can be reached at ekrupka@realfootball365.com

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