Vikings 28, Texans 21: Offseason Pickups Pay Off for Minnesota

This is the kind of game the Vikings dreamed of when they were tweaking the roster during the offseason.

The Vikings won by seven thanks to free agent acquisitions Bernard Berrian and Madieu Williams with an assist from Jared Allen, who they picked up in an offseason trade.

Berrian, the high-priced free agent wide receiver, caught a 55-yard pass on the first play from scrimmage and snagged a 49-yard touchdown later in the first half. While it may have been the only two passes he caught all day, the threat of Berrian going deep was enough to back off the Texans safeties. In the first half, the Texans' focused on shutting down Adrian Peterson, and it worked as Peterson was held to 15 carries for 36 yards.
But after getting burned twice by Berrian, the Texans decided to play it safer in the second half. Berrian never caught another pass but Peterson had 133 yards on 10 carries.

When the Texans got into the red zone in the third quarter with a chance to tie the game, Williams intercepted Sage Rosenfels in the end zone. It was a nice late start for the former Bengal as Williams was making his Vikings debut after a neck injury ruined the first half of his season.

And when the Texans had one last chance in the final minutes needing a touchdown to tie it, Allen picked up his second sack of the game--he also had a forced fumble and quarterback hurry.

Thanks to the pick-ups, the Vikings are back to .500 at 4-4. It hasn't been a pretty 4-4, but with no one running away with the NFC North title, it still puts them in position to make the playoffs. And if Williams, Berrian and Allen can keep it up, maybe that's enough.

Vikings 28, Texans 21: Offseason Pickups Pay Off for Minnesota originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sun, 02 Nov 2008 22:08:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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