The Minnesota Vikings put together a furious second-half comeback on Sunday afternoon against the Oakland Raiders, but it wasn't enough to get themselves out of the huge hole they had dug for themselves in the early going. The result was a 27-21 loss that dropped the Vikings to 2-8 on the year.
The Vikings got on the board first in this one, thanks to a 12-yard touchdown run by Adrian Peterson. It was Peterson's 11th touchdown on the season, extending his league lead in that category. The Raiders, however, would answer back in a big, big way.
The Raiders scored the next 27 points of the football game, and they scored them by various means. After a Sebastian Janikowski field goal cut Minnesota's lead to 7-3, the Raiders turned Christian Ponder's first interception of the afternoon into a touchdown, with Carson Palmer ultimately finding Chas Schliens in the back right corner of the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown pass and a 10-7 Oakland lead.
The Raiders would score on their next possession as well, with running back Michael Bush slamming into the end zone from two yards out to make the score 17-7 in favor of the Silver and Black. On the ensuing kickoff, Lorenzo Booker put the ball on the ground, and the Raiders recovered at the Minnesota 16-yard line. It didn't take them much to get in from there, as Carson Palmer concluded the drive with a 1-yard quarterback sneak to give the Raiders a 24-7 advantage going into halftime.
There wasn't a whole lot of action to be had in the third quarter of this one, as the teams spent most of the frame exchanging punts. Late in the quarter, however, Ponder attempted to force a pass in to Michael Jenkins that was deflected and intercepted by defensive tackle Tommy Kelly for his Ponder's second interception of the afternoon. The Raiders didn't move the ball much, but got into position for another Janikowski field goal to make it 27-7.
The last play of the third quarter had Ponder hitting Devin Aromashodu for a 42-yard pitch-and-catch that put the Vikings down to the Oakland 26-yard line. The first play of the fourth quarter had Ponder roll out slightly to his right before coming back across the left side of the field to Percy Harvin, who turned it into a 26-yard touchdown to cut the score to 27-14. The Raiders then answered with another drive of their own, but a field goal attempt by Janikowski was blocked by Letroy Guion to preserve the deficit.
The Vikings looked to capitalize on their momentum, driving deep into Oakland territory, but on a third down play Ponder again tried to do too much, trying to force a pass in to Aromashodu at the goal line that was intercepted by the Raiders' Stanford Routt to thwart the drive. The Raiders didn't have much of a chance to do anything with it, however, as four plays later Michael Bush lost a fumble for the first time in two years, as Brian Robison made the recovery at the Oakland 38.
Ponder shook off his earlier mistake and hit a beautiful pass down the seam for Visanthe Shiancoe for 37 yards down to the 1-yard line, and on his next play found a wide open Kyle Rudolph in the end zone for the first of what will hopefully be many scoring connection between the two rookies, cutting the score to 27-21.
Unfortunately, the Vikings would get no closer. They got one last possession and drove to midfield, but a 4th-and-8 pass to Percy Harvin fell incomplete and essentially ended the game.
The Vikings fall to 2-8 on the season after the loss, and are now one of just three teams in the NFL that only have two wins, along with the Carolina Panthers and the St. Louis Rams. (The Rams are still playing at this time.) Next week, they will travel to Atlanta to take on the Falcons.