Minnesota Vikings: 6 Keys to the Week 8 Victory

Lady luck was on Minnesota’s side Sunday afternoon as Carolina Panthers kicker Olindo Mare’s field goal with 24 seconds left sailed wide left to give rookie quarterback Christian Ponder his first win as a NFL starter, 24-21 over the Panthers.

But it wasn’t all luck that earned Minnesota its first road win of the season.

The Vikings did many things well. They have much to feel good about moving forward—and plenty to improve upon, too.

But focusing on the positive, here are the six keys to Minnesota’s Week 8 victory:

Increased Role for Adrian Peterson in the Passing Game

Bleacher Report's own Michael Schottey wrote a piece on Oct. 24 pleading with the Minnesota Vikings to get their best offensive weapon, running back Adrian Peterson, more involved in their passing game.

Schottey wrotre, “(W)hen you have one of the league's best running backs, you have to get the ball in his hands in any way you can. Peterson should be featured in the passing game as much as he is in the running game.”

And in Week 8, Minnesota did that. It got creative in utilizing the shuffle pass as a way to alleviate pressure on rookie quarterback Christian Ponder and to get Peterson the ball in non-running play situations.

Peterson finished the day with five receptions for 76 yards and a touchdown. Peterson isn’t a player who can go run routes with the best of the receivers in this league. But when given the opportunity to maneuver in the open field, he’s as dangerous a player as there is in the league.

Christian Ponder's Improved Play

In his first NFL start the rookie quarterback went 13-of-32 (40.6 percent completed) for 219 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in a 33-27 loss to the Green Bay Packers. His passer rating was 59.2 (150 is the perfect rating).

He passed the eye test against the Packers. He looked like he had a future in the NFL. In Week 8 he progressed toward passing the stat test.

In Week 8, Ponder threw zero interceptions and one touchdown pass in his first road start. He completed 18-of-28 (64.3 percent) passes for 236 yards with a 102.7 passer rating.

At times he looked uncomfortable in the pocket but also had many glimpses of brilliance in the pocket. He showed more of his athleticism that impressed against the Packers and more mental toughness.

He showed poise under pressure as he led Minnesota on a seven minute and 13 second, 13 play, 72- yard drive for the game-winning field goal in the fourth quarter.

Minnesota has to feel good with its 12th overall selection just two games into his career as a starting quarterback.

Carolina Committed More Penalties

The timeliest of penalties came when wide receiver Steve Smith was flagged for holding outside linebacker Chad Greenway on a six-yard scramble by quarterback Cam Newton that earned Carolina a first down, and placed Carolina on Minnesota’s eight yard line.

But the penalty put Carolina on Minnesota’s 18-yard line, and the Vikings held the Panthers to a five-yard gain on the 3rd-and-7 play. That meant Carolina was in a 4th-and-2 situation from Minnesota’s 13-yard line, setting up Carolina kicker Olindo Mare with the 31-yard field goal opportunity that he missed.

If the field goal opportunity had been from inside the 10-yard line, rest assured that Mare would have knocked it down.

The penalty was committed by a veteran in Smith, but the Panthers committed six penalties for 60 yards in the game. It was only the second game this season—the other was in Minnesota’s 34-10 win over Arizona—that Minnesota’s opponent had more penalty yards (60-43).

Percy Harvin Was More Involved

Who was that guy?

For the first time this season, it seemed Minnesota left wide receiver Percy Harvin on the field for extended periods of time and found unique ways to get the ball into the playmaker’s hands.

He finished the day with four catches for 58 yards and three rushes for 16 yards. Harvin is the team’s No. 2 playmaker, behind running back Adrian Peterson. And Minnesota needs to get him more involved with the offense.

It’s been difficult for Vikings fans and followers to see Harvin jogging on and off of the field throughout the first seven weeks of the season.

Week 8 wasn’t Harvin’s most productive game of the season in regards to total yards, but he contributed as a running back and receiver. Given his skill-set, Minnesota needs to get him more involved as a running back in the future.

Like Peterson, Minnesota needs to find ways to get the ball into the hands of its No. 2 playmaker as much as possible.

Defense's "Bend but Not Break" Mentality

The Carolina Panthers offense did work on the Vikings defense. It posted 405 total yards of offense (265 passing, 140 rushing).

Quarterback Cam Newton completed 22-of-35 passes (62.9 percent completed) for 290 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 53 yards on six rushes (8.83 yards per attempt).

Wide receiver Steve Smith lit up the Minnesota secondary for 100 yards receiving on seven catches with one touchdown—although it felt like he did more.

Running backs DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart combined for 102 yards rushing on 20 carries.

The Panthers were able to do as much as they wanted against the Minnesota defense. And with the game on the line, the Panthers marched right down the field and had the opportunity to win the game (or at least send it to overtime).

But the 21 points could have been much worse if not for two forced turnovers and the defense bending, but not breaking—meaning that it allowed Carolina to successfully move the ball but did not let it consistently score.

The defense has plenty of work to do, the secondary is among the worst in the NFL, but it did enough to get the win in Week 8.

Second Half Life

This was the first time all season that Minnesota went into halftime tied with its opponent (14-14).

In the previous seven weeks, Minnesota either blew its first half lead (as was the case in four of the seven games) or maintain the status quo.

In Week 8 the Vikings had to battle in the second half for a victory. They scored the game’s final 10 points after Carolina went up 21-14 on a 22-yard pass from Cam Newton to wide receiver Steve Smith with 11:07 left in the third quarter.

Quarterback Christian Ponder led the Vikings on a seven minute and 13 second, 13 play, 72-yard drive for the game-winning field goal in the fourth quarter. Those three points were the only three points scored by either team in the fourth quarter.

Despite the fact that this game should have gone to overtime as the missed 31-yard field goal was very makeable, it was a nice change of pace for a team known for its first half play.

It wasn't the best second half of football played in the NFL, but it was a step up from what the Vikings had shown in the first six weeks of the season.