Percy Harvin caught eight passes for 108 yards and a touchdown and also rushed for a score as the Minnesota Vikings steamrolled the Tennessee Titans, 30-7, on Sunday.
Christian Ponder went 25-for-35 through the air for 258 yards and two touchdowns and Adrian Peterson carried the ball 17 times for 88 yards for the Vikings (4-1), who have already surpassed their win total from 2011.
"We're just trying to have fun and play football," Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway said of his team's start. "It's just like the opposite of last year."
Minnesota has won its last three contests and are tied with the Chicago Bears atop the NFC North standings. The last time the Vikings finished in first place in the division was 2009.
Matt Hasselbeck, who started in place of an injured Jake Locker, was 26-for-43 passing for 200 yards and a touchdown. Chris Johnson had another poor performance for the Titans (1-4), who are 1-7 all-time in Minnesota.
"You're a professional football team and you have to be ready no matter who is behind center," Titans tight end Jared Cook said of Hasselbeck replacing Locker. "You have to make those adjustments."
Johnson picked up just 24 yards on 15 carries and fumbled once.
Harvin's 4-yard touchdown run gave Minnesota a 7-0 lead with 2:31 left in the first quarter. Earlier in the drive, Ponder connected with Harvin for 45 yards down the left sideline to put the ball on the Titan's 16 and four plays later Harvin took the handoff, broke a tackle, and lunged across the goal line for the score.
A pair of Blair Walsh field goals in the second quarter, one from 42 yards and one from 36 yards out, gave Minnesota a 13-0 advantage
The Vikings were forced to settle for yet another Walsh field goal, this one from 26 yards away, after a 12-play march stalled at the Titans' 8 with 5:07 left in the third.
Ponder found Harvin on 3rd-and-5 for a 10-yard pass to put the Vikings up 20-0. Harvin caught the ball in the right flat and made a series of Titans' defenders miss before waltzing into the end zone with five seconds left in the third.
Tennessee countered with a 10-yard score of its own on the ensuing possession as Hasselbeck found Cook in the end zone, capping a 12-play, 77-yard drive to get the Titans on the board for a 23-7 game.
But the Vikings marched right down the field and Ponder connected with Kyle Rudolph in the end zone for a spectacular 15-yard touchdown-catch. Ponder floated the ball towards the back boundary and Rudolph, who was draped by a pair of Tennessee defenders, leaped and came down with the ball, putting the game out of reach for the Titans.
Game Notes
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