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Bench Warmer
Tarvaris Jackson got another shot at starting quarterback, and boy did he make the most of it.
Playing in place of injured Gus Frerotte, Jackson threw for four touchdowns and the Minnesota Vikings beat NFC West champion Arizona 35-14 to stay alone atop the NFC North.
Adrian Peterson rushed for 165 yards on 28 carries, his franchise record ninth 100-yard game of the season for the Vikings (9-5), who won their fourth in a row. They can clinch the division title with another victory or loss by Chicago.
Bernard Berrian scored Minnesota's first two touchdowns -- on an 82-yard punt return and 41-yard reception -- as the Vikings led 21-0 in the first quarter and 28-0 at the half.
Jackson, who lost his starting job two games into the season, had touchdown passes of 41, 6, 11 and 59 yards. The last was to Bobby Wade in the waning seconds of the third quarter after Arizona had cut the lead to 28-14. Jackson was 11-for-17 for 163 yards.
Arizona (8-6) fell flat a week after clinching its first division title in 33 years, losing at home for the second time this season in the team's most one-sided defeat there in Ken Whisenhunt's two seasons as coach.
Minnesota put pressure on Kurt Warner all afternoon to hold down an Arizona passing game ranked No. 2 in the NFL. Warner was 29-of-45 for 270 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
And it was never really close.
After Anquan Boldin dropped a pass that would have been a first down for the Cardinals, Berrian took the punt down the left sideline 82 yards for the score. The next time Arizona had the ball, Warner overthrew Steve Breaston, who could only tip it, and Cedric Griffin's one-handed interception gave Minnesota the ball at the Cardinals 47.
Jackson threw a perfect lob down the right sideline on third-and-15 to Berrian for a 41-yard touchdown and it was 14-0 with 6:39 still to go in the first.
Arizona turned it over again the next time, too. Boldin was stripped of the ball by Antoine Winfield and Darren Sharper returned the fumble 20 yards to the Cardinals 23. Six plays later, again on third down, Jackson threw 6 yards to Sidney Rice to put Minnesota up 21-0 with 2:43 remaining in the first quarter.
Then the Vikings turned to their potent ground game. Peterson ran 32 yards on second-and-20 at the Minnesota 9 line to ignite a 12-play, 91-yard drive that used up 7:06 and ended with Jackson's 11-yard TD pass to Chester Taylor.
Jerheme Urban broke free on a 50-yard scoring pass play from Warner on the third play of the second half to make it 28-7. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie blocked Ryan Longwell's 35-yard field goal try and Rod Hood returned it 68 yards for a touchdown that cut the lead to 28-14.
But there would be no comeback. Wade faked out cornerback Hood and was wide open down the right sideline for 59 yards and the score that made it a 21-point game.
Playing in place of injured Gus Frerotte, Jackson threw for four touchdowns and the Minnesota Vikings beat NFC West champion Arizona 35-14 to stay alone atop the NFC North.
Adrian Peterson rushed for 165 yards on 28 carries, his franchise record ninth 100-yard game of the season for the Vikings (9-5), who won their fourth in a row. They can clinch the division title with another victory or loss by Chicago.
Bernard Berrian scored Minnesota's first two touchdowns -- on an 82-yard punt return and 41-yard reception -- as the Vikings led 21-0 in the first quarter and 28-0 at the half.
Jackson, who lost his starting job two games into the season, had touchdown passes of 41, 6, 11 and 59 yards. The last was to Bobby Wade in the waning seconds of the third quarter after Arizona had cut the lead to 28-14. Jackson was 11-for-17 for 163 yards.
Arizona (8-6) fell flat a week after clinching its first division title in 33 years, losing at home for the second time this season in the team's most one-sided defeat there in Ken Whisenhunt's two seasons as coach.
Minnesota put pressure on Kurt Warner all afternoon to hold down an Arizona passing game ranked No. 2 in the NFL. Warner was 29-of-45 for 270 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
And it was never really close.
After Anquan Boldin dropped a pass that would have been a first down for the Cardinals, Berrian took the punt down the left sideline 82 yards for the score. The next time Arizona had the ball, Warner overthrew Steve Breaston, who could only tip it, and Cedric Griffin's one-handed interception gave Minnesota the ball at the Cardinals 47.
Jackson threw a perfect lob down the right sideline on third-and-15 to Berrian for a 41-yard touchdown and it was 14-0 with 6:39 still to go in the first.
Arizona turned it over again the next time, too. Boldin was stripped of the ball by Antoine Winfield and Darren Sharper returned the fumble 20 yards to the Cardinals 23. Six plays later, again on third down, Jackson threw 6 yards to Sidney Rice to put Minnesota up 21-0 with 2:43 remaining in the first quarter.
Then the Vikings turned to their potent ground game. Peterson ran 32 yards on second-and-20 at the Minnesota 9 line to ignite a 12-play, 91-yard drive that used up 7:06 and ended with Jackson's 11-yard TD pass to Chester Taylor.
Jerheme Urban broke free on a 50-yard scoring pass play from Warner on the third play of the second half to make it 28-7. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie blocked Ryan Longwell's 35-yard field goal try and Rod Hood returned it 68 yards for a touchdown that cut the lead to 28-14.
But there would be no comeback. Wade faked out cornerback Hood and was wide open down the right sideline for 59 yards and the score that made it a 21-point game.
