It's OK to say this win was a big deal in the big picture

[mondry]

They have to play close to this level on the road before I'm willing to go 8 or more wins this year. It was a very nice win and cheering for the team today was probably the most fun I've had watching football in quite a long time!

I believe the 49ers are a very good team, but of the very good teams, I think we match up with the 9ers very well and they're the most susceptible to losing to us. I don't think we would stand a very good chance against Atlanta or Houston for example but who knows.

A better QB than smith wouldn't have missed the wide open moss for an easy TD and I think that's where we will struggle. One play I remember specifically they said the safeties were 25 yards deep and it was 3rd and 5... Cook still playing with a 5 yard cushion as well hasn't been working out either. With that said, Smith wasn't good enough today to punish us so it worked out damn well but I have a feeling issues with the secondary didn't fix themselves over night.

[mosscarter]

no matter how you look at it, this was a big win in what is still a long season. next week is huge, because if we can get some division wins, who knows what might happen? the lions and the bears have looked really inconsistent so far, but anyone knows the division games are where it counts. i think next week will really shed light on this team's potential. with simpson back, i expect the passing game will only continue to improve. it was great to watch a well balanced performance for once. and yes, our secondary still has major concerns but they didn't play bad today.

[Arma]

I will respectfully disagree. Vikings have shown in the past to play at extreme level for some unknown reason sometimes, but it never lasts. Take for example, that weird victory Joe Webb led us to over the Eagles 3(?) years ago. We had no business winning that game. We thought it would open some of the players eyes. Nothing happened.

I'm not saying this victory didnt' mean squat- but it will only be meaningful if we can carry it into next weeks game against the Lions. Or else, it really is just any given Sunday.

That Eagle's game had fluke win written all over it. I don't know how to explain it, but we just outplayed the 49ers is every facet besides ST. It was a well deserved win and one that shows the true colors of our team rather then some good plays strung together.

[Texas Vike]

Did anyone else notice that the halftime recap of the Sunday night game did not include any mention of the Vikings' win? WTF? How could that NOT be one of the most significant stories of the day?

[Mothman]

Did anyone else notice that the halftime recap of the Sunday night game did not include any mention of the Vikings' win? WTF? How could that NOT be one of the most significant stories of the day?

I don't know. I didn't see the recap but you would think beating what was widely considered the top team in football after the first two weeks of the season would be a headline-worthy.

[losperros]

They have to play like that on the road before I jump to any conclusions. That's a different game if its in SF. Let's see how they respond @ DET next week against a team who's looked like crap through 3 games.

Good point. We've seen this many times in the past. The Vikings suddenly play like world beaters at home and then look lost during road games.

OTOH, no opposing team should be a favorite when the Vikings play at home. If they want to be contenders again, then the Vikings need to rule their roost.

[OkStateViking]

This was definitely a high-quality win. The thing that impressed me most was the number of sustained drives resulting in touchdowns. I can recall plenty of games where the Vikings looked good, but so many of their scores were either directly the result of or predicated upon strange long yardage plays. The Seattle game when Taylor rushed for that 90-something yard touchdown springs to mind. This was the game the Vikings wanted to play, and they just straight up outmatched the "best" team in football. I don't know how the rest of the season will play out, but I think its clear the Vikings won't be a joke.

[Mothman]

They have to play like that on the road before I jump to any conclusions. That's a different game if its in SF. Let's see how they respond @ DET next week against a team who's looked like crap through 3 games.

Let's not forget they have one of the top offenses in the league so even though they've been a mistake-prone team and their defense has struggled, they're still a very challenging opponent, especially at home. The Vikes can beat them but it will take another strong, disciplined performance.

[mansquatch]

I’m very excited about the win, but I agree with the matchup comment regarding us and the 49ers vs. other elite teams. The Vikings will have bigger match up issues against elite passing offenses with elite QB that like to spread out a defense, are able to pick apart a zone defense, and force the nickel and dime DBs to make plays in man coverage. The 49ers are able to stifle a team like with their defense whee our secondary has not shown the same ability. That to me is a big difference between us and them. Now, maybe this will change as the season goes on, but we haven’t proven ourselves against such a team, yet. Against a more balanced opponent, like the 49ers, I think we present more of a matchup challenge.

From a defensive standpoint, if our secondary can show consistency against solid QB, that will be significant in our turning the corner. The offense is ahead of the defense right now. Very nice to see. Next week will be a big game for our defense. If they can keep Stafford and Megatron at bay and pull off a road win we’ll have a lot to talk about.

[Mothman]

I’m very excited about the win, but I agree with the matchup comment regarding us and the 49ers vs. other elite teams. The Vikings will have bigger match up issues against elite passing offenses with elite QB that like to spread out a defense, are able to pick apart a zone defense, and force the nickel and dime DBs to make plays in man coverage.

That's where the Vikes front four really need to start coming through with more pressure and sacks.

From a defensive standpoint, if our secondary can show consistency against solid QB, that will be significant in our turning the corner. The offense is ahead of the defense right now. Very nice to see. Next week will be a big game for our defense. If they can keep Stafford and Megatron at bay and pull off a road win we’ll have a lot to talk about.

Yes, and it will be fun to talk about so here's hoping it works out that way.

[Eli]

"this win was a big deal in the big picture"

Not in the "big picture" quite yet. If the Vikings make the playoffs this year, or even win a couple more games than most of us expected, then in retrospect I think we'll be able look back and say that it was big. A game that showed their potential, gave them confidence, and where Ponder turned a corner.

[losperros]

"this win was a big deal in the big picture"

Not in the "big picture" quite yet. If the Vikings make the playoffs this year, or even win a couple more games than most of us expected, then in retrospect I think we'll be able look back and say that it was big. A game that showed their potential, gave them confidence, and where Ponder turned a corner.

I pretty much agree. As Moth has been saying, there are still going to be ups and downs this season. As it is now, this was one of the ups.

I'm looking for progress from this team and they just won a game that last year's Vikings would have lost. If they can show this kind of focus and get a .500 season (or close to it) out this year, then that' will be big stuff to me. And I will then consider this particular game to have been a turning point.

[Eli]

On all ESPN channels and NFLN this game was largely buried and not treated as significant for the Vikings or the Niners. But they were complimentary towards Ponder in discussion which is cool. That's fine, sometimes the under the radar teams have the most success in the end!

I disagree. I was having a few beers at my local watering hole last night and they had ESPN SportsCenter on in the background. The Viking/49ers game highlights were shown in regular rotation.

But I did notice that several games were never shown at all. Rams/Bears, Bucs/Cowboys, Jags/Colts, Bills/Browns highlights were not shown a single time. Other than the score ticker below the main video, there wasn't a mention of any of these games. I don't get it.

[J. Kapp 11]

I will respectfully disagree. Vikings have shown in the past to play at extreme level for some unknown reason sometimes, but it never lasts. Take for example, that weird victory Joe Webb led us to over the Eagles 3(?) years ago. We had no business winning that game. We thought it would open some of the players eyes. Nothing happened.

I'm not saying this victory didnt' mean squat- but it will only be meaningful if we can carry it into next weeks game against the Lions. Or else, it really is just any given Sunday.

I guess I'm not sure what "it never lasts" means. We're exactly two seasons removed from the NFCC game.

The Joe Webb game was two years ago, when Favre came back against all logic, Childress had just gotten fired, and the Metrodome roof had become the new floor. So of course that win was a fluke, and I don't recall a single person anywhere (with the possible exception of thatguy) who thought, "This is it ... we're on our way!"

Yesterday, we faced the NFC's best to this point in 2012, a team that beat Green Bay in Lambeau, and we beat them soundly in every phase of the game except kick coverage. In and of itself, that makes yesterday's win far more significant than any win over the past two seasons.

That being said, I agree wholeheartedly that the next step in the growing phase is to play well on the road against a quality opponent. Until we get to that point, we can't consider this ship turned around.