Chris Cook injury update: Broken arm sidelines Vikings CB 8 weeks

The Minnesota Vikings clarified defensive back Chris Cook's injury status on Friday, and it turns out the young defensive back suffered a broken arm and will miss an estimated eight weeks of action.

NFL injury report: Vikings CB Chris Cook has broken wrist

Minnesota Vikings CB Chris Cook suffered a broken wrist during the team's 36-17 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Thursday night.

Buccaneers vs. Vikings 2012: Minnesota fans still upbeat despite blowout loss

Despite an ugly 36-17 loss at the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night, Minnesota Vikings fans are still happy about where the team is halfway through the year.

Buccaneers vs. Vikings recap: Tampa takes early lead, closes out for 36-17 win

Doug Martin ran for over 100 yards for the first time in his career as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Minnesota Vikings, 36-17.

A dual-threat back, Martin shouldered much of the Buccaneers offense on Thursday night, finishing with 135 yards and rushing for a touchdown. The first-round rookie wasn't done there, adding another 79 receiving yards and yet another touchdown. Minnesota's defense had no answer for the "Muscle Hamster," whose 64-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter proved to the be the death knell for the Vikings.

Fellow running back Adrian Peterson did what he could on his end, finishing with 123 yards. He had a big play of his own, matching Doug Martin's 64-yard touchdown, but his was a run instead of a reception. Coming off an injury in late 2011, how Peterson would recover was one of Minnesota's biggest uncertainties, but he has been better than anyone imagined, and is now on pace to rush for over 1,500 yards this season, which would be his best total since 2008.

While the running backs were putting on a clinic, the quarterbacks didn't experience the same shared success. Josh Freeman threw for 262 yards and three touchdowns in the win. Christian Ponder struggled, however, as he threw for 251 yards, one touchdown and one interception. It marked two weeks in a row where the second-year QB was unable to complete 55% of his passes, following a start to the season that saw him complete 70% routinely. This was largely due to pass-protection issues as he was sacked three times and was consistently under pressure.

The defensive standout for Minnesota was Jared Allen. The Vikings defensive end finished with four tackles and one sack. Late in the game, he became a little chippy, getting into a fight with offensive tackle Donald Penn, but was a consistent source of pressure off the edge. Meanwhile, Michael Bennett of the Buccaneers finished with four tackles, one sack and a forced fumble.

The Buccaneers now move into sole possession of second place in the NFC South with their 3-4 record. Meanwhile, the Vikings have allowed space to open for the Chicago Bears to seize control of the NFC North with a win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

Fantasy Studs and duds

This game was all about the running backs, and whether you started Martin or Peterson, both RBs gave you a lot of points. Another stud was Freeman-- while he didn't throw for a lot of yards, he did finish with three touchdowns.

Vincent Jackson was a disappointment on Thursday. Despite coming off a 216-yard game against the New Orleans Saints, he managed just two receptions for 40 yards in Minnesota.

Injury report

Late in the game, Vikings linebacker Erin Henderson left with an apparent left arm injury. However, he was able to return.

Did they cover?

The Minnesota Vikings were 5.5-point favorites and obviously did not cover.

What's next?

The Buccaneers head out west to face the Oakland Raiders on Nov. 4.

The Vikings also travel, this time to face the Seattle Seahawks on Nov. 4.

This article originally appeared on SB Nation.

Buccaneers At Vikings: Tampa Seals It With A Touchdown

It doesn't look like the Minnesota Vikings are going to be coming back in this one, folks.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers put together an outstanding drive here in the fourth quarter, starting from deep in their own territory. Buccaneers' receiver Mike Williams tore up the Vikings on the drive, converting several third down passes from Josh Freeman to keep the Tampa drive alive. The biggest one was a 34-yard completion that put the Buccaneers on the Minnesota 17-yard line.

Tampa finally sealed the drive with another third down conversion, as Josh Freeman handed the ball to the evening's other superstar, running back Doug Martin, who took the ball in from two yards out for the score. Tampa Bay's attempt at the two-point conversion failed, and the Buccaneers' lead stayed at 36-17.

The drive by Tampa Bay took over nine minutes off of the clock, moving 87 yards in 16 plays, and pretty much put the dagger in any shot Minnesota might have had to come back in this one.

There are seven minutes remaining in this game, but it's all over but the crying at this point. The Minnesota Vikings trail the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the Metrodome by a score of 36-17.

Buccaneers At Vikings: Adrian Peterson Puts Minnesota On His Back

If anyone out there is still wondering, Adrian Peterson is back.

The Minnesota Vikings needed to do something big to at least attempt to get back into their game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the face of the franchise did just that.

Percy Harvin actually got a chance to return a kickoff for the Vikings, and brought the ball out to the 36-yard line. After an incomplete pass to Jerome Simpson on first down, Adrian Peterson took a handoff from Christian Ponder, put a great move on Ronde Barber, and blasted down the right sideline for a 64-yard touchdown run. Blair Walsh added the extra point, and the score moved to 30-17 in favor of the Buccaneers.

Peterson now has 13 carries for 122 yards and a touchdown. The 100-yard game by Peterson is his 30th as a Vikings' running back, breaking the tie he had with Robert Smith for the all-time Vikings' lead in that category.

With about seven and a half minutes left in the third quarter, the Minnesota Vikings trail the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a score of 30-17.

Buccaneers At Vikings: Tampa Increases Lead To 20

The Minnesota Vikings are just getting whipped in every conceivable way thus far by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the visiting team has increased their lead once again.

After the Vikings went three-and-out on their first possession of the second half, the Buccaneers moved the ball down the field again. Fortunately, the Vikings didn't allow another touchdown, as Tampa had to call on Connor Barth for another field goal attempt. He connected from 38 yards out, and the Buccaneers moved their lead to 30-10 over the Vikings.

To let you know just how bad it has been thus far, Buccaneers' rookie running back Doug Martin has 203 yards of total offense on the evening. The Minnesota Vikings, as a team, have 182. Yes, it has been that bad.

With 7:50 left in the third quarter of play, the Minnesota Vikings trail the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a score of 30-10. If they're going to be making a comeback in this one, it pretty much needs to start on this upcoming possession.

Buccaneers At Vikings: Doug Martin Continues Blowing Up

The Minnesota Vikings needed to get a stop on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' first possession of the second half to try to get some momentum back.

They failed. Miserably.

On the fourth play of the Buccaneers' drive, Josh Freeman completed a short pass to running back Doug Martin, and Martin did the rest, racing through the Minnesota defense for a 64-yard touchdown. Connor Barth added the extra point, and the score quickly went to 27-10 in favor of the visiting team.

It looks like the Vikings are going to continue another bad trend in this one. According to ESPN (via Twitter), the Vikings haven't won a game that they were trailing by 10 or more points at halftime since 2005, when they did so against the Green Bay Packers at the Metrodome. It's going to take a pretty Herculean effort to erase that stat in this one.

We're less than a minute and a half into the third quarter of play at the Metrodome, and the Minnesota Vikings trail the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a score of 27-10.

Buccaneers At Vikings: Minnesota Cuts Tampa's Lead To Ten

The Minnesota Vikings are trying to build some positive momentum going into the locker room at halftime against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and they got some more points on the board. . .just not as many as they wanted.

The Vikings started out at their own 20-yard line, and got a big third down conversion from Kyle Rudolph on a 12-yard pass to keep their drive from fizzling out early. Ponder then hit Jerome Simpson for a 33-yard completion to move the ball into Tampa Bay territory on another third down play, and the Vikings were in business.

Unfortunately for the Vikings, the drive stalled out at the Tampa Bay 33-yard line, and the Vikings brought in Blair Walsh for a field goal attempt from 51 yards out. The rookie from Georgia continued his huge rookie campaign by hitting the field goal, and the Tampa Bay lead was cut to 20-10.

The Vikings scored with about 1:40 left in the half, so they have to stop the Buccaneers before the half here.

With time winding down in the first half at the Metrodome, the Minnesota Vikings trail the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a score of 20-10.

Buccaneers At Vikings: Tampa Bay Scores Again

The Minnesota Vikings had a bit of momentum, but in what is becoming a theme of the evening, they gave it away.

After forcing the Buccaneers to punt, the Vikings started moving again. On second down, Christian Ponder lofted a beautiful pass to Jerome Simpson that would have gone for about 50 yards. . .if Simpson hadn't had the ball go right between his hands. The Vikings managed to convert that first down, but a couple plays later things took a turn for the worse.

Adrian Peterson, who has been having a good game so far, went through the middle of the Buccaneers' defense for a six-yard gain. He got stood up by safety Mark Barron, and veteran Ronde Barber came through and stripped the ball out of Peterson's hands. The Buccaneers recovered another Minnesota fumble, and they were once again in business in Minnesota territory. The fumble was the first one that Peterson has lost since December 28, 2010.

The Buccaneers moved the ball deep into Minnesota territory, and on third-and-goal from the three, Josh Freeman dropped back and completed his second touchdown pass of the night, this one to Mike Williams. Connor Barth added the extra point, and the Buccaneers moved their lead back to 13 points at 20-7.

Every time the Vikings look to have something going, they do something to shoot themselves in the foot. Once again, they need to get things together in a hurry.

Buccaneers At Vikings: Minnesota Gets On The Board

THE MINNESOTA VIKINGS HAVE SCORED! THE MINNESOTA VIKINGS HAVE SCORED!

Ahem. . .sorry.

The Vikings started their fourth drive of the night on their own 20-yard line after a touchback, and finally did something good. They started by getting the ball to Percy Harvin on a screen and the result was a 32-yard catch-and-run that took the ball into Tampa Bay territory. An 11-yard run by Adrian Peterson and a roughing the passer penalty on the Buccaneers moved Minnesota deeper into Tampa territory.

A pass from Ponder to rookie Rhett Ellison moved the ball to the Tampa 17-yard line, and after Peterson got stuffed on second down, the drive ended as it began. . .with a beautiful pass from Ponder to Harvin for an 18-yard touchdown.

Harvin has now touched the ball three times on offense, with a rush for -1 yard, and now two catches for 50 yards and a score. Those were the first offensive points scored by the Vikings since the second quarter of their game this past Sunday against Arizona.

We may have a football game again, folks.

With 9:39 left until halftime in Minneapolis, the Minnesota Vikings now trail the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a score of 13-7.

Buccaneers At Vikings: Tampa Tacks On More Points

Right when it looked like the Minnesota Vikings had their offense going, disaster struck, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers again took advantage.

The drive started with Adrian Peterson collecting 11-yard gains on two consecutive handoffs, bringing his total for the evening to five carries and 39 yards. After Christian Ponder scrambled for a yard on the next play, he completed his first pass of the night to Jerome Simpson.

Simpson then proceeded to put the ball on the ground, and the Buccaneers recovered.

Josh Freeman and the Buccaneers went on the march again, but their drive stalled at the 22-yard line. Tampa brought Connor Barth in once again, and he converted from 40-yards out to extend the Buccaneers' lead to 13-0.

This just continues to get uglier for Minnesota. It also doesn't help that, according to ESPN, Tampa Bay is 22-1 in the last 23 games that they've lead by 10 or more points in the first quarter, as they did tonight. It's going to be an uphill fight for the Vikings to get back into this one.

With 12:20 remaining until halftime in Minneapolis, the Minnesota Vikings trail the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a score of 13-0.

Buccaneers At Vikings: Tampa Adds To Their Lead

The Minnesota Vikings' offense thus far has been ugly with a capital ugh, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are taking full advantage.

The Vikings went three-and-out on their third possession, just as they did on their first two. Buccaneers' return man Roscoe Parrish muffed the punt return, but Tampa managed to fall on the ball. Josh Freeman found Vincent Jackson for a big play on third down to the Minnesota 22-yard line, and found Jackson again to get Tampa down to the Minnesota 1-yard line.

Unlike their loss to New Orleans last week, the Buccaneers converted from a yard out in this one, as Josh Freeman faked a handoff and found his fullback, Erik Lorig, for a 1-yard touchdown pass. Connor Barth added the extra point, and the Buccaneers took a 10-0 lead.

Minnesota needs to get something figured out on offense, and quickly. Christian Ponder is currently 0-for-5 throwing the football, and has looked awful. That trend can't continue if the Vikings want to come back in this one. . .or even make a game of it.

We have three and a half minutes remaining in the first quarter of play at the Metrodome, and the Minnesota Vikings trail the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a score of 10-0.

Buccaneers At Vikings Score: Tampa Gets The First Points

The Minnesota Vikings and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have played some pretty sloppy football to start things out at the Metrodome, but the visiting team has gotten on the board first to get things started.

Both teams went three-and-out on their first possession, and Minnesota did the same the second time they had the ball. On the second play of Tampa's second possession, rookie running back Doug Martin busted through the Minnesota defense for a 41-yard run down to the Vikings' 17-yard line. However, the Buccaneers can get no closer than that, and the Bucs had to settle for a Connor Barth field goal from 28 yards out to take an early 3-0 lead.

The two quarterbacks in this game, Christian Ponder and Josh Freeman, are currently a combined 1-for-7 passing for seven yards. The one completion thus far belongs to Freeman. Adrian Peterson has carried the ball twice for 13 yards.

With 9:48 left in the first quarter at the Metrodome, the Minnesota Vikings trail the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a score of 3-0.

NFL Week 8 inactives, Buccaneers vs. Vikings: John Carlson, Jarius Wright will not play Thursday night

Set to open the new week of games on Thursday Night Football, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Minnesota Vikings named a total of 14 players to their inactive lists heading into their Week 8 showdown.

After suffering a concussion in Week 7, Minnesota tight end John Carlson was one of seven players listed as inactive by the Vikings. Carlson has only managed to haul in three passes in 2012 while starting tight end Kyle Rudolph continues to flourish in the No. 1 role, and was one of four offensive players ruled out in Week 8 for head coach Leslie Frazier's team.

Among the seven Tampa Bay players held out of action is 24-year-old cornerback Myron Lewis, a third-round pick by the Bucs in 2010. Lewis joins fellow defenders Keith Tandy and Najee Goode on the inactive list in Week 8, and continues to be forced to watch from the sideline despite Tampa Bay's obvious struggles in their secondary this season.

Tampa Bay inactives
Myron Lewis - CB
Michael Smith - RB
Keith Tandy - DB
Najee Goode - LB
Cody Wallace - G
Chris Owusu - WR
Danny Noble - TE

Minnesota inactives
McLeod Bethel-Thompson - QB
Jarius Wright - WR
Brandon Burton - CB
Mistral Raymond - S
Audie Cole - LB
Mark Asper - OL
John Carlson - TE

This story originally appeared on SB Nation.

Buccaneers vs. Vikings: Game time, TV schedule, injury updates and more

The Vikings will be taking the national stage on Thursday night to host the Buccaneers.