This was a hard-fought battle that took all of 60 minutes for the Vikings to prevail. They improved to 3-2 on the season after surviving the upset-minded Chiefs 16-10 Sunday at TCF Stadium.
Kansas City fought hard to avoid losing their fifth-straight game. The Vikings again are chasing the 6-0 Green Bay Packers.
Kansas City loaded the box on defense to contain Adrian Peterson. Many times they had six to nine players trying to contain Peterson. But the Vikings refuse to give up on the running game despite marginal success. They ran 35 times total Sunday for just 84 yards and an average of just 2.4 yards per carry. The Vikings were second in the NFL, averaging 136 yards per game.
Peterson was held to just 60 hard-fought yards on 23 carries in the game. Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater threw for 249 yards and a touchdown and threw two interceptions.
The Vikings get few style points for the victory. They led 13-0 going into the fourth quarter, and the Chiefs cut the margin to just three points. Kicker Blair Walsh made three field goals in the win.
The Vikings defense was strong throughout, forcing turnovers and turning the Chiefs away. In the fourth quarter, on fourth and one at the seven yard line, the Chiefs were driving for a score and got stuffed and fumbled.
Vikings star defensive end Everson Griffen missed the game because of illness. The league will follow up with an investigation because he was not on any injury report during the week.
The Vikings, now 3-2, travel to Detroit next week. The next three games are at Detroit, at Chicago, and home to St. Louis.
The Vikings have won six straight games outside at TCF Stadium. Remember, this is the final season of Vikings football outside. U.S Bank Stadium is 75 percent completed and the Vikings begin play inside in 2016.
Larry Fitzgerald can be heard weekday mornings on KMOJ Radio 89.9 FM at 8:25 am, on WDGY-AM 740 Monday-Friday at 12:17 pm and 4:17 pm, and at www.Gamedaygold.com. He also commentates on sports 7-8 pm on Almanac (TPT channel 2). Follow him on Twitter at FitzBeatSr. Larry welcomes reader responses to info@larry-fitzgerald.com, or visit www.Larry-Fitzgerald.com.
