Vikings vs. Raiders: Postgame Grades, Notes and Quotes for Minnesota

The Minnesota Vikings continue to prove the public's general perception of them wrong. In Week 10, they flew out to California to meet the Oakland Raiders at the O.co Coliseum and left with a 30-14 victory.

Minnesota jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead during the the first quarter, as Teddy Bridgewater connected with Rhett Ellison for an 11-yard touchdown to cap off an eight-play, 80-yard opening drive. Following a Terence Newman interception, Blair Walsh booted a 20-yard field goal through the uprights. It could very easily have been a 14-0 lead, but Kyle Rudolph dropped a Bridgewater pass while he was wide-open in the end zone.

Following a second Walsh field goal from 38 yards out, Derek Carr and the Raiders responded. The Oakland quarterback completed a 10-yard pass to rookie tight end Clive Walford to finish off a nine-play, 68-yard drive.

With the Vikings offense struggling a bit, both with consistency and execution, the Raiders drove down the field once again to take a 14-13 lead. Carr completed a deep 34-yard pass to Andre Holmes with Andrew Sendejo in coverage for his second scoring strike of the game.

It was the only time Oakland led all game, and it lasted 13 seconds, as Cordarrelle Patterson promptly returned the ensuing kickoff 93 yards to put Minnesota back in the lead at 20-14.

Walsh struggled to convert field goals following the Patterson score, missing from 53 yards out to close out the first half and then had a 39-yard attempt blocked in the fourth quarter. But the Vikings kicker nailed a key 34-yard field goal to give the team a two-score advantage heading into the game's final stages.

With the Raiders driving, Newman came up with his second pick of the game on a pass intended for Andre Holmes in the red zone. He may have had a chance to bring the ball out but instead took a knee to give the ball back to the Vikings offense.

Adrian Peterson exploded on the first play of the next drive, going 80 yards for a game-sealing touchdown.

Bridgewater finished the day 14-of-22 (63 percent) for 140 yards and one touchdown. On 26 carries, Peterson notched the sixth 200-yard game of his career, ending the afternoon with 203 yards and a score. Stefon Diggs led all pass-catchers with two receptions and 46 receiving yards.

Captain Munnerlyn, Linval Joseph and Chad Greenway tied for the team lead with eight tackles. Joseph and Everson Griffen also added a sack apiece.

Position Grades for Vikings

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

Position	Grade
QB	B
RB	A
WR	B
TE	C
OL	B
DL	A
LB	B
DB	B
Special Teams	A
Coaching	A

The box score may not reflect it, but Teddy Bridgewater played a strong game for the Vikings on Sunday. He completed a high number of passes and should have had two touchdown passes. Bridgewater continued his string of winning performances without a huge offensive output.

Adrian Peterson was, well, Adrian Peterson. His 200-yard rushing performance was his first since a 211-yard game against the Chicago Bears in 2013. He ran the ball effectively and with plenty of consistency, giving the offense a huge boost against what was considered to be a solid Raiders run defense.

Minnesota's pass-catchers, similar to Bridgewater, were not asked to do a whole lot on Sunday. Bridgewater only threw 22 passes, which doesn't exactly leave a ton of room for prolific wide receiver performances, but Stefon Diggs still came up with another solid two-catch, 40-plus-yard game.

The tight end grade, on the other hand, is a direct reflection of Kyle Rudolph's drop in the end zone. Rhett Ellison's score keeps it average, but the Rudolph drop could very easily come back to bite the Vikings.

Minnesota's offensive line did not play unbelievably by any means, allowing Bridgewater to be sacked four separate times. In fairness, a few were probably more on the Vikings quarterback. But the group cleared lanes for Peterson and executed the overall game plan very well.

The Vikings defense continued to excel in the second half, putting up a zero once again. Linval Joseph, Everson Griffen and the rest of the defensive line were excellent again, and the Vikings linebackers also played well as a collective unit. Xavier Rhodes and Andrew Sendejo—who has struggled almost all season—were both beaten for touchdowns, but Terence Newman was exceptional and could very easily have had three interceptions against the Raiders.

There is a pretty strong argument that Cordarrelle Patterson's return touchdown was the turning point in the game, as the Vikings did not allow the Raiders to do anything after it. He may not be a great wide receiver, as many had hoped he would become, but he is still one of the best—if not the best—kick returners in the NFL.

Blair Walsh probably isn't satisfied with his performance, but he converted field goals at critical points in the game, and it can't be expected for him to drill every 50-plus-yard attempt. Jeff Locke was sufficient as well.

Both Mike Zimmer and Norv Turner can hang their hats on their performances, as they seemed to call plays in rhythm and make the correct, necessary adjustments throughout the afternoon.

Adrian Peterson Runs Wild

Beck Diefenbach/Associated Press

As has been the case in previous years, Adrian Peterson appears to be getting stronger by the week.

This should be taken with a grain of salt, but Peterson is currently totaling rush yards at a very similar pace to the one he did in 2012, as Drew Mahowald of the NFC North Barroom pointed out: "Adrian Peterson thru 9 games: 2012: 957 rushing yards 2015: 961 rushing yards I'm not making this up."

More important than the actual total number of yards, Peterson appears to be running with a lot more consistency and seems to be much more comfortable in Norv Turner's offense. In his 26 attempts on Sunday, Peterson only rushed for zero or negative yards three times. Conversely, 14 of his carries went for five-plus yards.

The long, 80-yard runs are great, but consistency is more important to this offense, as it keeps the clock moving and allows the Vikings to stay in rhythm.

With that said, combining consistency and the big plays makes Peterson a huge factor for this team. This allows the Vikings to be a real offensive threat even when Bridgewater isn't throwing for 300-plus yards week in, week out. Considering what we have seen from the Vikings defense, being strong offensively makes this team a real playoff contender—whether the public wants to admit it or not.

Shutdown Defense in Second Half

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The Vikings defense has been outstanding through nine games, and the epitome of this to date came against the Raiders' top-10 offense.

While the unit has been strong virtually from start to finish in every game, it has been especially strong in the second half of games. The zero that Minnesota put on Derek Carr and Co. on Sunday afternoon wasn't the first strong second-half performance either.

Here is a quick look at how the Vikings have done in the second half (and overtime) of games this season:

Team	Second-Half Points
San Francisco	13
Detroit	6
San Diego	7
Denver	10
Kansas City	10
Detroit	2
Chicago	10
St. Louis	11
Oakland	0
Total	69

Over the course of 19 second-half quarters, which includes one overtime session, the Vikings have allowed just 69 points. This total amounts to an average of 7.6 points allowed, which is outstanding given the high number of prolific offenses in the NFL.

Playing stingy defense in the second half, the point when scoring is placed at a premium, is a key component of what makes Minnesota so dangerous.

Vikings React to Taking a Lead in the NFC North

Ben Margot/Associated Press

For the third consecutive week, the Vikings won, and the Green Bay Packers did not. For the first time in decades, the Detroit Lions defeated the Packers by a final score of 18-16, allowing the Vikings, with a win, to take sole possession of first place in the NFC North.

And yes, it looks just as beautiful as it reads, per Eric Thompson of Daily Norseman.

Following Minnesota's victory over Oakland, this became a major talking point for Vikings media members, which led to a slew of interesting responses from the team.

"Nothing. It doesn't matter now," Mike Zimmer said during his postgame press conference. "At the end of the year is the only time I care about it. Right now, we're just trying to compile as many wins together as we can and add them up at the end of the year."

Zimmer was not the only one who wasn't reading much into currently being a first-place team. Terence Newman, a player who seems to be a great representative of Zimmer's style, echoed his coach's thoughts:

"

I mean, it's not a sprint, it's a marathon. It does feel good, but at the same time we still have quite a few games left. Our biggest deal is we have to keep stringing wins together. That's our first and foremost. If we do that, everything at the end of the season will take care of itself.

"

Similar to Newman, Peterson expressed the idea of there still being plenty of games to go. While he did smile, the Vikings running back appears to be more focused on winning games in the future rather than the wins his team already has.

"We're in a good position, but it doesn't mean anything," Peterson said. "We still have a long season ahead of us. We just have to continue doing what we've been doing, and that's taking it one week at a time, just trying to be 1-0."

Teddy Bridgewater continued the trend of "downplaying" taking over as the wins leader in the North:

"

You have to downplay it. It's only Week 10 of the season. It doesn't matter where we are right now. The only thing that matters is where we finish the season at. We can't just be satisfied with where we are today. We have to continue to work hard, continue to just ride the wave that we have now.

"

The Vikings players and coaching staff are likely more excited about this accomplishment than they showed during their respective interviews, but their mindset is in the right place. Never being satisfied until reaching the ultimate goal—a Super Bowl title—has been a key theme of the Zimmer regime, and it does not appear to be changing anytime soon.

Teddy Bridgewater: "Don't Take the Cheese"

Ben Margot/Associated Press

The Vikings have made headlines in recent weeks for an interesting motivational technique. Mike Zimmer, as it has been noted by ESPN.com's John Clayton and by Teddy Bridgewater during his postgame press conference, lists all the things stats and previous history say his team is not capable of doing.

Bridgewater explicated on this Zimmer innovation following the Raiders game, while noting his coach's favorite quote.

"Each week is something new, and it just motivates us," he said. "We know that coach Zimmer is a tough coach, and he never buys into what is being said. His favorite line is 'Don't take the cheese.'"

Minnesota's signal-caller went on to explain the meaning of this quote and detail how it applies to this team:

"

Don't believe everything you hear, don't believe everything that you see. What matters most are the people who are around our facility every day, our coaching staff, personnel, the decisions that they are making; that's what matters the most. You can't buy into the newspaper clippings and things like that. We just need stay grounded and continue to work hard.

"

Very few people outside of Minnesota have given the Vikings a chance this year. The greatest compliment this team received during the offseason was considering it to be a dark-horse contender. Minnesota has responded with seven wins during the first nine weeks and currently owns sole possession of first place in the North.

The Vikings are a motivated bunch. Hopefully, the national media and fans of the sport outside the Midwest will take note of this soon. This team is real, and hopefully, it will put an exclamation mark on this next week with a victory over the Packers at TCF Bank Stadium.

Statistics courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com, unless otherwise noted. All press-conference material courtesy of Vikings.com.

For more Vikings news, notes, statistics and thoughts, find me on Twitter @RobertReidellBT.