The third installment of this season's series between the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings has been a bit different than the second. The Packers' offense has been effective, while the Vikings have been much less balanced with Joe Webb under center in place of Christian Ponder. Unfortunately for Minnesota, Adrian Peterson is not a one-man team, and the Packers lead 17-3 at halftime.
There were plenty of pre-game grumblings that Webb was so different than Ponder that the Vikings might have a slight advantage due to the element of surprise. That was certainly the case on their first drive, when Webb and Peterson both ran the ball effectively to set up a field goal, but Webb's one-dimensional game was quickly found out.
At halftime, Webb is 3-11 passing for 22, and has a QB rating of 39.6. Because of the two times he was sacked, the Vikings have six passing yards as a team. Peterson has been effective, carrying the ball 12 times for 48 yards, but the Vikings will need a truly dominant second half from him to get back into the game.
Aaron Rodgers has been his spectacular self, going 14-18 for 205 yards. He hasn't thrown a touchdown, however, thanks to his backs. DuJuan Harris scored Green Bay's first touchdown with a 9-yard run that was initially ruled down short of the line, but overturned and called a touchdown after a challenge by McCarthy. John Kuhn punched in the second at the end of a spectacular two-minute drill.
The story of the game so far is Webb. While the Vikings' pass defense could be better, 17 points in a half for the Packers is nothing ridiculous, especially considering their offense's inability to pick up 3rd down and medium. They'll need Webb to be competent in the second half, along with a dominant Peterson performance and an improved performance by their pass defense, to get back in the game.