Vikings 23 - Packers 20 !!!!!!!! SKOL VIKINGS!!!

Vikings 23 - Packers 20!!!

Edinger kicks career long of 56!

To quote a common football cliche', this was truly a tale of two halves. The Vikings offense crashed and burned in the first half, but rose like the phoenix as the team finally gelled to defeat the most hated of foes. Even if it's only for a week, it is the in thing to be a Vikings fan right now. Prediciton : A win to right the ship towards the playoffs.

Sitting in a small little dive bar in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco, my hopes had nearly crashed like guys sitting at the bar drowning thier sorrows in PBR. The guy screaming "STOP EVOLUTION" was beginning to steal my attention as the Vikings fumbled and stumbled thier way through the first half. Anything was better than watching Daunte throw errant passes. My hands covered my face as Moore fumbled the ball on the 25 yard line after a brilliant return from Robinson. My mind burned with confusion as Culpepper fumbled a fourth down sneak attempt. Utter dispair was beginning to set in as the final pass of the half bounced out of 3 Vikings fingers before falling softly to the turf. "When are we going to catch a break" I kept asking myself as Favre drove down the field making perfect passes burning a defense that seemed completly lost. 17-0, then we were treated to a bit of relief as the half guarenteed that we would not make any stupid mistakes for at least the next 20 minutes. I feared what would be in store for us in the second half. I was running out of excuses for the two Packer fans sitting next to me watching the game on the big screen. Home seems infinetly distant when your football team is getting blown out by a divisional rival.

But then the second half arrived. And Thor looked down and saw the injustice being wrought and said to the team, "SKOL." The Vikings responded with the the spirit of Valhalla and proceeded to drive down the field with renewed vigor. Like so many late night Cinemax movies, the Vikings slowly pounded the Packer defense into submission. They drove deep into Packer territory and scored thier first points with a 27 yard field goal. The defense responded promptly with a 3 and out.

Culpepper came out with his running shoes today as he took a designed draw for 18 yards to set up a quick strike to Williamson, only to finish off the drive with a 27 yard burn to Marcus Robinson. The offensive line held strong as the majority of the drive was based upon passing. Culpepper was afforded ample time to find the open recievers, although his passes were still a little off. The Packers thus responded with a long drive of their own covering 51 yards in 5 minutes. The defense held strong though and forced a 42 yard field goal attempt, which was wide left. Down by 7 with the 4th quarter starting, the Vikings were in position to make a remarkable comeback and further heat up the storied rivalry.

The Vikings proceeded to drive from thier own 32 down to the doorsteps of the endzone. Once in the Packer redzone, the offense seemed to die, but further analysis suggests they were just selling the drama. A misplaced pass attempt to Moore fell harmlessly to the ground, forcing another Edinger field goal from 22 yards. Green Bay 17, Minnesota 14.

The Vikings defense stood up to Favre and the Packers after a fumbled kickoff that benefited the Packers with and extra 20 yards. A 5 yard pass, a 2 yard run, and an incomplete pass forced the Pack into another 3 and out as they punted the ball to the Vikings 17. You could feel the electricity in the air all the way down in San Francisco as Culpepper took the ships wheel and attempted to guide the Vikings though the sea of green. A 29 yard pass to Moore essentally launched the ship towards midfield. Followed by a five yard pass to Wiggins and a 10 yard gain to Taylor, Culpepper broke another decent run for 14 yards. On a critical 3rd and 8, Burleson caught a ten yard pass thus saving the drive. Moore came out of the backfield uncovered and open in the middle of the field as Daunte hit him with one of the smartest throws he has made all season. End result, TOUCHDOWN VIKINGS!!! Vikings 20, Packers 17, but there are still 190 ticks on the clock.

Favre used this time effectivly as he drove the field for 56 yards in 11 plays and knocking of 2:46 off the clock. The Vikings defense looked like swiss cheese during this drive, but finaly held thier ground on a crucial 3rd and 2. Forcing the Packers to settle for a field goal thus tying the game. With only 24 seconds left on the clock and 1 time out, the Vikings special teams took to the field for one last ditch effort to win this game before OT.

Green Bay kicked the ball to Koren Robinson, who thus took it, waited for a few blocks and then tried to find a seem to break one loose. And he nearly did. Saved by a shoestring tackle as he was building up steam, Packer fans sighed a breath of relief. Culpepper then hit the field with a mission; Mission to get into field goal range. A quick little dump off to Moore netted 14 yards with 8 seconds remaining. The only plausable play seemed to be one last leave into the endzone. Culpepper didn't see it this way. With wisdom well beyond the arm chair quarterbacks, he hit Marcus Robinson on the sideline with a 12 yard gain, thus leaving the ball at the 38. Enter Edinger. The off-season pickup that many thought was a steal ran out onto the field to kick his longest field goal ever. 56 yards. Attempting to freeze Edinger, the Packers called a time-out. But you can't freeze ice, and Edinger was pure ice cold deadly. 2 seconds remain as the ball is snapped a little low, Brad Johnson does all in his power to set the ball up jsut as Edingers foot sweeps the ball into the air. Viking fans across the nation with fingers crossed pray to Thor for a true kick. Instantly fans recognize that the ball is heading for the space between the posts . . . but does it have the distance? Never has a ball hung up in the air for so long. The only thought running through the Metrodome was "Be long enough, Oh God please be long enough." Eyes are glued upon the refs for the call as the ball sails over the cross bar. The hands shoot up as all the fans in every bar in every city jump from thier seats in jubilation. The KICK WAS GOOD!!! Time has expired, no flags, and the Vikings have a 3 point victory over the worst of all rivals.

All songs are great after a win like this. A man can groove to anything, a smile stretches across his face for hours, and everyone is his friend. This type of win will make the whole week. A man is allowed to wear his jersey all day long in any setting. Life is good after beating the Packers. Life is sweet right now.

After an anemic first half, the Vikings sucked it up and came out as a team in the second half. Culpepper was still throwing his balls everywhere but perfect, but they were catchable. And the recivers caught those balls, refused to be tackled and in the high fashion of this rivalry, never gave up. The sweat of passion was dripping off of every Viking face as they refused to give up on thier season. The defense held strong when they needed to, and the offesnse produced whenever they got the ball. Although we did not play the entire game with this level of competitivness, the Vikings made up for thier first half follies with inspired play to end the game.

The Vikings have finally turned that corner. They came together as a team in the second half and gave ample justification to thier Super Bowl dreams. This was a huge emotional win for the Vikings in the face of recent allegations and off-field problems. A win that solidifies the team under one common goal. A win to propell a long stretch of wins. Detroit may still be a game up on us right now, seeing as they beat the Browns, but we face them head on next week to determine the NFC North leader.

Many people may say that the Packers are not a team to get excited about beating, but lets look at the play of Favre today. 28/36 315 yards and 2 touchdowns. Yet we shut him down in the second half and sent him home crying. We played a team coming off the bye week, and after a huge win against the Saints. We played a game in which records do not matter, only the amount of intesity each team is willing to produce. We won a close game that will be greatly overlooked due to the combined records of the teams. But this was a big win, this was a solidifying victory, this was the corner turned. Look for the Vikings to make a strong run from here on out. SKOL

Players of the Game - Pat Williams, Daunte Culpepper, Offensive line, Koren Robinson, and of course, Mr. 56 yarder Paul Edinger

Goats of the game - no one. This game was played with passion on both ends and thus no one deserves the distinction of being a goat, for either team.

What a game

SKOL VIKINGS!!!!!!! Series tied a 44-44-1. Best rivalry in sports!