Well, that Vikings' lead certainly didn't last long.
The Vikings had a nice drive going after the Jared Allen safety, driving all the way down for a 1st-and-goal at the Broncos' 10-yard line. After a couple of ineffective plays, the Vikings faced 3rd-and-goal from the 7, and the Broncos sent an all-out blitz after Christian Ponder. Brian Dawkins got to Ponder in the backfield, and the old warhorse swatted the ball away from the rookie. The ball bounced around, and Denver's Jason Hunter eventually recovered it and took it to midfield.
The Vikings forced a punt, however, and got the ball back at their own 7-yard line. Unfortunately, Ponder threw a terrible pass that hit Mario Haggan, who is replacing rookie phenom Von Miller in the lineup for Denver today, right in the chest. Haggan took it into the end zone from there for a 17-yard pick-six, and what could have been at least a 5-0 Minnesota lead turned into a 7-2 Minnesota deficit in the blink of an eye.
Bad mistake by Ponder on that throw, but that will happen occasionally with a rookie quarterback. Hopefully those things will be kept to a minimum from here on out.
Time is winding down in the first quarter of play, and the Minnesota Vikings trail the Denver Broncos by a score of 7-2.