Vikings keep foot on gas against opponents

• Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings

Talk about it

By Tony Moss, Sports Network

ST. LOUIS - You might have forgiven the Minnesota Vikings for coming out flat against the St. Louis Rams on Sunday.

Six days after their monumental nationally-televised home victory over the rival Green Bay Packers, the Vikings found themselves playing a rock-bottom bad Rams team in the sterile environs of the Edward Jones Dome, with a presumably more competitive game against the Baltimore Ravens looming just ahead on the schedule.

Given that scenario, you might not have been too surprised to see Minnesota come out listless.

However, though the Vikings didn't play anything close to a perfect game and gave up plenty of yards along the way, Minnesota ultimately ran away and hid in a 38-10 rout that pushed the team to 5-0 for the first time since 2003.

Brett Favre didn't mind the slightly dimmer lights of the Dome, completing 18- of-24 passes for 232 yards with a touchdown and an interception before yielding to backup Tarvaris Jackson.

Adrian Peterson added value even after suffering a "tweak" of his leg against the Packers, rushing 15 times for 69 yards and two more touchdowns to raise his league-leading total of rushing scores to seven.

And the defense that had been so integral to the team's win over the Packers on Monday night got after St. Louis again, forcing four turnovers, including a Kyle Boller fumble in the first quarter that was returned for a 52-yard touchdown by defensive end Jared Allen.

In all, mission accomplished for Brad Childress' team in what could have been a major let-down sort of affair.

"I thought this game was more important than last week's game or next week's game," said Childress following the win. "Just from the standpoint that good teams find a way to play on Monday and come out and play on Sunday, regardless of the short time, regardless of who you are playing or if you are playing in a dome. I thought our guys were rested and prepared to come in here and doing what they needed to do and setting the standards. It wasn't about last week's game, it was this week's game and they did a good job at being about their business."

Just as occurred when he faced one-time fellow staff member Steve Spagnuolo last week, Childress will see another familiar face when John Harbaugh and the Ravens visit the Metrodome this week. Childress and Harbaugh served together on Andy Reid's staff with the Eagles from 1999 through 2005.

Baltimore figures to present a significantly greater challenge than did the rebuilding Rams, and the Ravens (3-2) should come in with quite a bit of fire after close losses to the Patriots (27-21) and Bengals (17-14) in the last two weeks.

Favre will be facing Baltimore for the first time since Dec. 19, 2005, when he opened what would become a 48-3 loss for the Packers at M&T Bank Stadium.

So, long story short, probably not much chance of the Vikings failing to have their collective heads on a swivel on Sunday.

Beyond the Ravens contest are matchups with the Steelers (10/25) and Packers (11/1) on the road. That contest at Lambeau Field figures to include just a tad of pre-game publicity.

Resting on its 5-0 record is clearly not an option for this team, a point that Allen and the team's other stars appear to be hearing loud and clear.

"Coaches do a good job keeping everything in perspective and they try to keep us week-to-week," said Allen. "We have a good group of veterans and a good locker room. We knew we needed to come to St. Louis and take care of business.

"We started out and got tested with the 49ers and then Green Bay and now the Rams. The next three weeks are not going to be easy - we play Baltimore at home, we are at Pittsburgh and then we are back in Green Bay. The next three weeks are going to be strong test of where we are at."

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