Biggest Takeaways from Minnesota Vikings' Week 10 Win

The Minnesota Vikings' reward for an impressive five-game winning streak is sole possession of first place in the NFC North. 

Roughly three hours after the Green Bay Packers lost to the Detroit Lions, the Vikings put the finishing touches on a 30-14 win over the Oakland Raiders—a sequence of events that dropped the 6-3 Packers to second place and elevated the 7-2 Vikings to the top of the division. 

The two longtime rivals will face off next Sunday to decide who's on top of the NFC North after Week 11.

First things first. Here are the biggest takeaway's from Minnesota's Week 10 win over the Raiders.

Adrian Peterson Makes History, Sets Up History

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With a season-high 203 rushing yards against the Raiders, Adrian Peterson tied an NFL record and set himself up to tie another. 

His sixth career 200-yard rushing game tied O.J. Simpson for the most ever, while his 961 rushing yards after nine games put the 30-year-old running back on pace for over 1,700 in 2015. Only one running back age 30 or older has ever rushed for more than 1,700 yards in a single season in NFL history. 

Peterson continues to be the Vikings' engine on offense. Minnesota rushed for 263 yards as a team on Sunday, pushing the club's five-game average to over 150 per game. Peterson's 80-yard run late in the fourth quarter sealed the win. The Vikings are now 6-0 when Peterson rushes for 98 or more yards in a single game this season. 

Vikings Special Teams: Always a Factor

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The Vikings special teams continue to come up huge, even if kicker Blair Walsh had a rocky performance. 

After the Raiders had taken the lead at 14-13, Cordarrelle Patterson fielded Sebastian Janikowski's bouncing kickoff at the 7-yard line. Once he picked up the loose ball, the All-Pro returner raced to the near sidelines and outran Oakland's coverage unit for a 93-yard touchdown. The score tilted momentum back Minnesota's way after quarterback Derek Carr had started warming up late in the second quarter. 

The Vikings didn't trail again. 

Walsh made things interesting after missing from 53 yards before the half and from 39 with the Vikings up just six points in the second (although, to be fair, it was partially blocked). However, he did make two kicks, including a 34-yarder after missing from 39 on the series prior. 

Seemingly every game, the Vikings get a big play from the special teams. The game-changing moments Mike Priefer's unit provided have undoubtedly been a part of Minnesota's winning recipe over the last five games.

Vikings Defense Cools Raiders

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Sunday represented another notch on the belt of Minnesota's elite defense. 

Led by young quarterback Derek Carr, the Raiders came into Week 10 having scored at least 34 points in three straight games. Many of those points came via Carr, who threw 11 touchdown passes over the three-game stretch. 

The Vikings' smothering defense gave up just 14 points on Sunday, while intercepting Carr twice—including once in the end zone late in the fourth quarter—and sacking him on two other plays. Oakland didn't score in the second half. 

Minnesota is now allowing just 16.2 points per game over the team's five-game winning streak. Holding Carr and his emerging offense to just 14 in Oakland feels like one of defense's biggest wins of the 2015 season.

Teddy Again Plays the Supporting Role

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Superlative quarterback play isn't necessary when a team receives as much from the running game, defense and special teams as the Vikings did on Sunday. 

Sophomore quarterback Teddy Bridgewater made very few flashy plays and next to zero negative ones. He's not being maximized within the Minnesota offense right now, but the Vikings are winning with him managing the game and not making mistakes. 

Bridgewater threw for just 140 yards on 14-of-22 passing, but he also tossed a first-quarter touchdown and should have had a second when he found tight end Kyle Rudolph all alone in the back of the end zone. Rudolph produced a horrific drop, which ended up costing the Vikings four points. 

Overall, Bridgewater has thrown for more than 250 yards just once over Minnesota's five-game winning streak. He's a part of their victory puzzle, just not a very big one. And that's fine.

Motivational Fuel

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The Vikings just keep checking off every box Mike Zimmer puts in front of them. 

Can't win a divisional road game? The Vikings went to Detroit and stung the Lions by two scores. 

Can't win in Chicago? Here's a come-from-behind win at the buzzer at Soldier Field.

Can't beat a team with a winning record? Minnesota walked off with a win in overtime against the 4-3 St. Louis Rams. 

Can't win in California? Sunday proved Minnesota capable again. 

Surely, Zimmer will have something for Packers week. The Vikings haven't won a game in the rivalry since 2012. In fact, Minnesota has just one win over the Packers since the start of the 2010 season. That's an 11-game sample size. 

Then again, who needs a motivational tactic for this week? It's Vikings-Packers, with the winner taking over first place in the NFC North. What more do you need? Next Sunday should be fun.