RECAP: Minnesota vs Denver

RECAP: Minnesota Vikings 19, Denver Broncos 22

Date - Sunday, December 30 2007 4:15PM
Location - Invesco Field
Temperature - 36°
Head Official - Jerome Boger
Attendance - 76084
Adrian Peterson ATT 11 / YDS 36 / TD 0 / LG 8

Denver, CO (Sports Network) - Jason Elam's 30-yard field goal in overtime lifted the Denver Broncos past the Minnesota Vikings , 22-19, at Invesco Field at Mile High.

Minnesota won the coin toss at the start of overtime and on the second play from scrimmage, Tarvaris Jackson fumbled the ball after being sacked, and Elvis Dumervil recovered for the Broncos.

Denver decided to trot Elam right onto the field, and after a timeout by the Vikings, the veteran calmly split the uprights to win it.

Jay Cutler completed 26-of-37 passes for 246 yards with two touchdowns for the Broncos (7-9), who ended a disappointing season with a losing record for the first time since 1999.

Brandon Marshall caught 10 passes for 114 yards with a touchdown in the victory, while Tony Scheffler had seven catches for 52 yards and a score. Selvin Young led the ground game for Denver with 87 yards on a career-high 22 carries.

Jackson threw for 175 yards on 16-of-31 passing with a pair of touchdowns for the Vikings (8-8), who needed a win and a loss by Washington to advance into the playoffs. Nothing went right for the Vikes, as the Washington Redskins downed Dallas, 27-6 on Sunday.

Bobby Wade caught both touchdown tosses from Jackson while Chester Taylor had 83 yards on 10 carries but lost two fumbles for Minnesota. Rookie phenom Adrian Peterson was held 36 yards.

Wade's five-yard touchdown grab and a successful two-point conversion run by Jackson with 5:18 remaining in the fourth quarter pulled the Vikings within eight points, at 19-11.

Minnesota's defense then came up with a huge defensive stop to give its offense the ball back with plenty of time left on the clock.

Jackson marched the Vikings quickly down the field and pulled them within two after a 22-yard pass to Wade just inside the goal line with 2:21 to go. Jackson then used his feet to tie the game, as he scrambled into the end zone for the two-point conversion.

Denver failed to do anything after Minnesota tied it, sending the game into overtime.

The Vikings thought they had a touchdown with 7:35 remaining in the opening quarter after Taylor dove for the right pylon after a three-yard run. The play was originally ruled a touchdown, but after a Denver challenge, replays showed that Taylor lost control of the football before it hit the pylon and went out of bounds, making it a fumble and touchback.

Early in the second quarter, Minnesota did get on the board as Ryan Longwell kicked a 22-yard field goal to end a 13-play, 56-yard drive that spanned over six minutes.

Denver responded on the ensuing possession and took a 7-3 lead after Cutler connected with Marshall on a 15-yard touchdown reception with 11:25 remaining in the second quarter.

The Broncos managed to flip Taylor's second fumble of the game into points and a 14-3 lead. With 1:54 left in the first half, Scheffler caught a two-yard touchdown pass to end a seven-play, 48-yard drive.

Elam's 43-yard field goal with 7:35 remaining in the third quarter increased Denver's lead to 14 points. Elam's three points capped a 13-play, 52-yard drive that ate up 6:23.

Minnesota's Ryan Cook was whistled for a personal foul face mask penalty in the end zone that resulted in a safety, and the Broncos went up 19-3 early in the fourth quarter.

Game Notes

The Broncos defeated the Vikings for the first time in the last three meetings. Minnesota still leads the all-time series at 7-5..Denver ended with 362 yards of total offense while the Vikings had 332..Wade finished with five grabs for 92 yards.

[www.tsn.ca]