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Vikings take control early to beat Jaguars

Nov 23, 2008 - 11:33 PM JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Ticker) -- The Jacksonville Jaguars buried themselves in an early hole following a disastrous start. The Minnesota Vikings weren't about to complain.

Linebacker Napolean Harris and Chester Taylor scored early touchdowns following fumbles as the Vikings posted a 30-12 victory over the fading Jaguars on Sunday.

Jacksonville center Brad Meester mishandled the snap on the game's opening play from scrimmage. Harris scooped up the fumble and rambled 27 yards for a touchdown.

"The first play was just a mental error on my part," Meester said. "I was trying to figure out what they were trying to do defensively and I just lost focus."

It got worse for Jacksonville, as Brian Witherspoon fumbled the ensuing kickoff, giving Minnesota (6-5) possession at the Jaguars' 17-yard line.

Just two plays later, Taylor scored on a 3-yard TD run. Before the fans were settled in their seats, the Vikings had a 14-0 lead less than two minutes into the game.

"First time I've ever been associated with two scores, 14-0, 1:141 into the game," Minnesota coach Brad Childress said. "In your wildest dreams you don't think it will go like that, but you don't turn any of those things back."

"That was the worst start I had been around in my 11 years as a professional athlete," Jaguars running back Fred Taylor added. "In the NFL, things always seem to happen, but that is the worst I have been around."

Ryan Longwell added three field goals for the Vikings, who came into the game tied with Chicago and Green Bay for first place in the NFC North.

The Bears defeated St. Louis, 27-3, on Sunday while the Packers play at Green Bay on Monday.

Overall, Minnesota forced five turnovers, converting them into 17 points.

"Great job in the takeaway department," Childress added. "We had a fierce urgency and we need to continue to have that."

The season continues to unravel for Jacksonville, which has dropped four of its last five to fall to 4-7 after winning 11 games last year and beating Pittsburgh in a wild card game.

"I found that performance today to be totally unacceptable and I've got to take full responsibility for not doing a better job of preparing my football team," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said.

The Jaguars tried to recover from the miserable start, closing within 17-10 on David Garrard's 8-yard TD strike to Reggie Williams with 7:57 remaining in the first half.

However, Josh Scobee missed two field goals for Jacksonville in the second quarter, and the Jaguars were held scoreless in the second half until Taylor was tackled in the end zone for a safety in the final minutes.

Adrian Peterson rushed for 80 yards on 17 carries for Minnesota, including a 16-yard TD run that made it 30-10 with just under seven minutes remaining in the contest.

"The way things started, it turned into a snowball effect," Jacksonville defensive end Paul Spicer said. "We were unable to crawl out of the hole that we put ourselves in."

Gus Frerotte completed only 12-of-20 passes for 120 yards for the Vikings, but he did not need to do much.

Garrard was 27-of-45 yards for 315 yards, although he was forced to play catch-up virtually from the outset.

Garrard also threw two interceptions and got virtually no support from his running backs as the Vikings held the Jaguars to just 35 yards rushing.