First-Place Vikings Are for Real Behind Adrian Peterson, Smothering Defense

There is no secret to how the first-place Minnesota Vikings—who beat the Oakland Raiders by a 30-14 final on Sunday—have gone about winning football games this season. 

Call it a blueprint, a recipe, a template, whatever. It doesn't matter. Winners of five straight, the Vikings have now leapfrogged the Green Bay Packers in the NFC North by running the football with Adrian Peterson and unleashing Mike Zimmer's smothering defense. 

It's a brand of football that has given the 7-2 Vikings some serious staying power as one of the NFC's legitimate contenders. 

The up-and-coming Raiders couldn't handle Minnesota's one-two punch on Sunday.

	Peterson Rush Yards	Points Allowed
vs. KC	60	10
at DET	98	19
at CHI	103	20
vs. STL	125	18
at OAK	203	14

While Teddy Bridgewater threw for just 140 yards and took four sacks, Peterson once again carried the offense, turning his 26 attempts into a season-high 203 yards and the game's clinching touchdown late in the fourth quarter. His sixth career 200-yard game put him at 961 rushing yards through nine games this season, which leads the NFL and puts him on pace for over 1,700. 

The Vikings are now 6-0 when Peterson rushes for at least 98 yards in 2015. But he isn't wining games alone. 

Minnesota's defense, which came into the game ranked second in the NFL in points allowed per game, gave up just two scores to second-year quarterback Derek Carr and the young Raiders offense. Carr threw touchdowns on back-to-back possessions in the second quarter to give Oakland a 14-13 lead, but Cordarrelle Patterson returned the ensuing kickoff 93 yards for a score. The Vikings wouldn't trail again, largely thanks to a defense that kept slamming the door shut. 

Oakland punted on four straight possessions after Patterson's touchdown. When Carr drove Oakland into the red zone with the score 23-14, veteran cornerback Terence Newman won a jump ball in the end zone for Minnesota's second takeaway of the contest. 

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

On the very next play, Peterson got loose for an 80-yard touchdown. Game. Set. Match.

Now just nine games into 2015, the Vikings have already matched their win total from last season, the first under Zimmer. And they've sped past the struggling kings of the NFC North in the process. 

Combined with Green Bay's unexpected loss to the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field earlier in the day, the Vikings' win gave Minnesota a one-game cushion atop the division. If the season ended today, Minnesota would be the No. 2 seed in the NFC. 

But the season doesn't end today. Next Sunday, the Packers travel to TCF Bank Stadium with a chance to get back out front in a division they've won four straight seasons. 

The Vikings can take a big step toward winning the NFC North by sending their biggest rivals back to Green Bay with a loss. And it's certainly doable with the recipe Minnesota has used over its five-game winning streak. 

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Since losing in Denver before the bye, the Vikings have averaged 155.8 rushing yards per game. The defense has allowed just 81 points, or 16.2 per contest. If Minnesota holds the Packers—who have lost three straight games—to under 20 points (a conceivable scenario given Green Bay's struggles on offense), and Peterson carries the offense to over 150 rushing yards, it seems hard to believe the Vikings would fall at home. 

The Vikings shouldn't have many doubters left, but a win over the Packers would eliminate any remaining stragglers. 

In a league dominated by quarterbacks, Minnesota has won five straight despite getting only one game with over 250 passing yards from Bridgewater. He needs to do very little for a team capable of physically manhandling its opposition in other ways. 

Not many teams will beat the Vikings when Peterson and Zimmer's defense play as well as they have over the last month and a half. On the strength of the two, Minnesota has gone from everyone's dark-horse pick to one of the NFC's legitimate contenders. The Vikings look like they have the tools necessary to ensure their spot atop the division isn't a one-week stay. 

Zach Kruse covers the Vikings for Bleacher Report. 

Follow @zachkruse2