His turnovers were inexcusable, especially the first on the opening drive of the second half when Minnesota could have extended its halftime lead. Rolling right, Ponder lofted a ball into the endzone to a covered Michael Jenkins gift-wrapping the interception by Morgan Burnett and costing the Vikings points.
The second was another example of Ponder getting away from good technique, throwing off his back foot and not getting enough on a pass that Burnett easily stepped in front of. Adrian Peterson somehow continues to find ways to do even more than he did the week before. He had his sixth-straight plus yard rushing day Sunday, setting a new team record. He had the third yard rushing game of his career and the first since his rookie season in Peterson had 21 carries for yards, an amazing 10 yards-per-carry average.
Yet, as Green Bay chewed up the game clock in the fourth quarter, Peterson went without a carry in the final quarter because the Vikings had only two drives and were behind by more than one score by the time it got the ball the first time in the fourth quarter. Sadly, an amazing season by Peterson is being wasted by a stumbling passing offense and turnovers.
Coming into the game, if Green Bay was going to score points, most figured it would need to come from the arm of quarterback Aaron Rodgers and his strong receiving corps, which welcomed back Greg Jennings this week.
The biggest concern for Green Bay, and the Vikings focus on defense, was putting pressure on Rodgers, but he was only sacked twice, both coming in the fourth quarter.
Rodgers finished 27 of 35 for yards, one touchdown and one interception. Ponder has demonstrated the ability to work through his progression of receivers. He sometimes eyes up his receiver too long, though, tipping off the defense to where the ball is going. If not for dropped passes by defenses, this tendency would have cost him an interception earlier this season.
Accuracy beyond 20 yards has been a cause for concern from the beginning of this season. Within 21 yards he is of But in order to better himself this season, Ponder must improve his touch, which seems to have left him the previous three games.
A big reason why Ponder was interception-free for so long was the precision with which he threw the football. It was an accurate ball. Four of his six interceptions came outside of the pocket on the move.
All have been awful throws where Ponder underthrew, overthrew or had miscommunication with his receiver. He showed in the first four games that he could orchestrate successful drives with shorter throws. Minnesota needs him to regain that form if it has any aspirations to be a serious contender this season. They just aren't built for Ponder to throw the ball too much. They actually had momentum in the second half after a long Peterson touchdown and a Jared Allen throwdown and sack combination.
Minnesota had a chance to get back in the game, however its next two drives were three-and-outs that went backward. Too often, the Vikings ' offensive line didn't give Ponder a chance. But he also tends to hold on to the ball too long and doesn't pull the trigger on tough passes. It was very telling that the Buccaneers kept eight men in the box even with a big lead late in the game. They weren't scared of Ponder throwing, which is a trend from opposing defenses. The Buccaneers invited Ponder and his receivers to beat them one-on-one.
At this stage, Ponder just isn't ready. Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter greggrosenthal. Following some thoughts about retirement, LeSean McCoy's quest for the right situation on the right team continues two weeks ahead of clubs reporting for training camp.
Another week of training camp is kicking off. The regular season is just around the corner, and NFL Network has you covered with wall-to-wall training camp coverage each day starting at 10 a.
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