Dec 9, 2012; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith (22) against the Chicago Bears at the Metrodome. The Vikings defeated the Bears 21-14. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

The first half for the Vikings can be described as promising. On offense, the Vikings have been using Jarius Wright as they would use Harvin and it has been successful. Thankfully, Ponder has thrown the ball with confidence. He has stood in he pocket, made the correct reads and delivered the ball. Peterson opened the Vikings first drive with a 18 yard gain after Kyle Rudolph false started on the first play. The Vikings utilized Peterson with a nice play-action play and gained a chunk of yards on a completion to Rudolph. Michael Jenkins came up big with a completion that put the Vikings in the red zone where two plays later, Ponder found Rudolph for the TD.

With J.J. Watt barreling down on every play, Ponder was not able to get the same time he had the first drive to make the passes he did and since the first TD pass has looked average. Ponder finished the half with 119 yards. Peterson has struggled to get anything going on the ground after he broke for a couple big runs. Blair Walsh continued to impress as he nailed a 56 and 41 yard Field goal attempt to put the Vikings up 13-3. It is obvious that the Texans want to bottle up Peterson as much as they can so Ponder will need to play a complete game today.

The Vikings defense are flying to the ball. On a number of plays, multiple Viking defenders swarmed to the ball carrier. On the opening drive for the Houston Texans, the Vikings were able to hold them to a field goal. The Texans did have a few plays that got them the yardage needed to get into field goal range, but two big run stops for a loss were crucial and forced the Texans to pass on 3rd and long. The defense bent but didn’t break. Jasper Brinkley was able to strip the ball from running back, Arian Foster and was recovered by Vikings cornerback, A.J. Jefferson. So far the Vikings defense has played disciplined and made plays when the opportunity presented itself. The Vikings defense looks to have Schaub a little uncomfortable in the pocket and has made him make inaccurate throws. Harrison Smith had an impressive play that showed off his Notre Dame smarts. On third and short, Smith showed the discipline to stay with his man while Schaub rolled out. Schaub had no choice but to try and force the pass as he had a man casing him down. The Vikings have kept the Texans to to 12 yards rushing. The most impressive thing about the Viking defense is that have been able to get off the field on third down. The texans are 1/5 when converting 3rd down.

Dec 16, 2012; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans running back Arian Foster (23) and wide receiver Andre Johnson (80) do an interview after a game against the Indianapolis Colts in the fourth quarter at Reliant Stadium. The Texans defeated the Colts 29-17. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

This week the Vikings will face one of the top Super Bowl contending teams when they go up against the potent Houston Texan Offense. The Texans feature pro-bowl caliber players on both sides of the ball. Arian Foster has 1,313 yards and if Adrian Peterson wasn’t having such a great year, Foster would have a shot at this seasons rushing title. The Vikings are not what they used to be on defense when it comes to rush defense. Once inpenetrable, the Vikings now ranked 13th in rush defense. Despite the drop in rank, the Vikings D-line has the talent to stop the run. With help from run stoppers like Antoine Winfield and the impressive Harrison Smith, the Vikings have a chance at containing Foster. Foster is a definite threat though and will be only a small part of the headache that the Texans present. Another huge player that proves to me problematic for the Vikings is Andre Johnson. Johnson is probably one of the biggest, fastest and strongest receivers in the NFL. Johnson has 1,360 receiving yards on the season and is 7 receptions away from hitting 100 catches on the year. Johnson is a huge body at 6’3″ and 230 lbs that likes to use his body to shield defenders. Johnson makes a play when it looks like no play is to be made. It has been reported that Vikings starting cornerback, Chris Cook will be able to play, however, he was on the IR most of the season and will more than likely not be matched up against Johnson because of conditioning. The 6’2″ Cook would be ideal for covering Johnson, but the duty will probably fall on A.J. Jefferson. The Texans have the best play action quarterback in Matt Schaub and the combination of Foster and Johnson is the reason. The rest of the Texans offense consist of important role players like TE Owen Daniels who is more than capable of making plays. The Vikings will have their hands full with the Texans offense and will need to look at what the Patriots did against the Texans when Tom Brady and Co. held the the Texans to two second half TDs in a 42-14 domination. the Vikings defense will need to stay discipline and opportunistic. When there is a play to be made, the Viking defenders must make them to win this game.

Dec 16, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder (7) is congratulated for rushing a touchdown against the St. Louis Rams during the first half at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

The Minnesota Vikings and St. Louis Rams have played a half of football and it looks like the offensive playbook has been reduced to quick and intermediate routes for the Vikings. As both teams struggle passing, both teams have made it clear that they will run the ball regardless of the defense’s game-plan. I have to admit, watching Steven Jackson run is like watching Adrian Peterson run. Both players are violent runners who will almost always fall forward for yards. Defensively, the Vikings have been able to get pressure on Rams QB, Sam Bradford, but seem a little off balance with the presence of Jackson. The Vikings secondary has been caught napping on certain plays and almost gave up a late TD to a wide open Chris Givens. The pressure the Vikings defense have put on Bradford has influenced his passes on a few occasions. Branford was able to find a couple receivers for decent gains, however, Bradford threw a crucial Pick 6 to Everson Griffen who is playing in place of Brian Robison. Robison left the game with a shoulder injury and his return is questionable. Christian Ponder ran in a TD on the Vikings first drive of the game on a play where Ponder showed his ability to scramble and make plays with his feet. Other than that play, Ponder looks to be his normal self, passing for a non exciting 85 yards. With about 8 minutes left in the half, Peterson broke out for an 82 yard TD run. Peterson finished the half with 119 yards on 13 carries. The Vikings will need to keep the pressure on Bradford in order to keep the Rams passing game under control. It was a good half of mistake free football for the Vikings and they took advantage of the Rams mishaps. If they keep this up, they will cruise to an easy win.