Sunday night was, without a doubt, the worst all-around performance and outcome we've seen from the Vikings this season. There were numerous troubling developments. The most notable:
*Brett Favre threw two very bad interceptions and could have been picked two other times. It was his worst game of the year in terms of ball security. This is two weeks in a row that he's been seen flexing his right hand (the previous week came late in the game, perhaps on the last series he was in, if memory serves, and there was another shot of him doing it against Arizona). Truth be told, we were a lot more worried about it during the course of an inaccurate game before he gunned that late TD to Percy Harvin. It was of no consequence to the outcome, but it might have been the cleanest ball he threw all night. It certainly restored some confidence and made us hope we were overthinking the hand flexing.
*The vaunted front four was abysmal. Jared Allen was a non-factor going against a player making his first start of the year as an injury replacement. Kevin Williams had one tackle. Ray Edwards was off-sides twice, including the penalty that might drive us more insane than anything: lining up in the neutral zone. Pat Williams was pretty good against the run, but Arizona still averaged 4.5 yards a carry. The front four is the key to the secondary, especially against a team with an immobile QB and very good receivers.
*Adrian Peterson had 13 carries for 19 yards. And the Vikings at times abandoned the run. Not sure which one was the cause and which one was the effect, but neither sit well. Minnesota still needs to have a good run-pass balance and use Peterson as more than a mere decoy.
*Injuries. E.J. Henderson will be a huge loss. Antoine Winfield missed another game and this time was really missed. There was a time when both Phil Loadholt and Bryant McKinnie had limped off the field. Thankfully, both came back and finished the game.
All of that said, these types of games -- where everything goes wrong -- happen. When the schedule came out, the game at Arizona figured to be one of the two or three toughest, and it was. The Cardinals are a very dangerous team capable of beating anybody and losing to almost anybody. They run hot and cold, and last night they were red-hot.
So there is absolutely no need for the Vikings or fans to panic after one loss. While it's true that the loss, combined with the soul-crushing, Mike Tice-era style loss by Washington to New Orleans which might have helped us set a personal record for foul language in a voicemail related to a non-Minnesota game, puts a huge damper on any home field advantage hopes, Minnesota is still in prime position to claim the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye. Next week's home game against the Bengals will be key. A win would restore order, while another loss with some of the same elements we saw Sunday would push us a little closer to the panic button. But at 10-2 with a 2.5 game lead in the division after already sweeping the Packers, plus a two-game edge for the No. 2 spot in the conference? That's still something to savor, even if the Vikings seem a little more vulnerable now than they did 24 hours ago.
