A convincing win in Arizona

Yesterday's visit to Arizona went incredibly well from the Vikings' point of view. Going in as visiting underdogs, they played like a favoured home team:

Brad Childress surveyed his surroundings during pregame warmups Sunday at University of Phoenix Stadium and saw an opportunity to lay the groundwork for a successful afternoon.

As his players reconvened in the locker room, the Vikings coach asked his team where it plays its best. The unanimous answer: at home. Childress, having seen countless fans wearing Vikings gear, quickly shot back: "You see all those purple jerseys in the stands? It's going to be a home environment. We are going to make it a home environment right here."

The Vikings did exactly that. With Tarvaris Jackson starting at quarterback for injured Gus Frerotte, the Vikings scored 28 first-half points and cruised to a 35-14 victory over the Cardinals before an announced crowd of 64,457.

An excellent game (unless you're a Cardinals fan, of course), with lots of scoring, some drama, and a clear-cut result. Tarvaris Jackson did exactly what Childress hoped he would do: play well enough to take some pressure off the running game, and make no serious mistakes. Four TD passes was a nice extra.

Adrian Peterson put in another good effort — 165 yards on 28 attempts — setting a new Vikings single-season record for rushing yards (breaking Robert Smith's mark from 2000).

Perhaps more importantly, the Vikings' special teams were solid, competent, and didn't give up vast amounts of yardage on punt and kick coverage. The Cardinals did manage to block a field goal attempt, running it back for a touchdown. If the special teams had been this steady earlier in the season, the Vikings would already have locked up the division title and might have been at the point of considering whether to rest their starters for the remaining games.