by Mark Kaboly , Pittsburgh Tribune Review

But don't forget about the touchdown the Vikings had called back on a tripping penalty on Jeff Dugan midway through the final quarter. Or the chance they had to pick up a Ben Roethlisberger fumble with a little more than three minutes left before defensive end Ray Edwards accidentally batted the ball out of bounds. Or that they couldn't hang on to three sure-thing first-half interceptions.

All are prime candidates for why the Steelers handed the Vikings their first loss of the season Sunday afternoon at Heinz Field, 27-17.

One decision may stand above all for the Vikings ? not allowing star running back Adrian Peterson to carry the ball on second, third and maybe even fourth down from the 1 with the Steelers leading 13-7 midway through the third quarter. The Vikings settled for a short Ryan Longwell field goal.

"It is easy to look back now and say you should've done this or should've done that," Vikings quarterback Brett Favre said. "I would think you would hand it to Adrian, and we would be in pretty good shape."

Vikings coach Brad Childress did just that on first down, but he decided to call passes on the next two plays. Both fell incomplete, leading to Longwell's 18-yard field goal.

"I thought it was important to take the points there," Childress said.

The Steelers stopped Peterson on first down, but the Vikings got a do-over when nose tackle Casey Hampton was called for offsides. The second first-down play went for no gain before Childress called passes intended for Sidney Rice Jim Kleinsasser, respectively.

"It was a statement," Steelers safety Troy Polamalu said. "I think they pretty much knew they weren't going to run the ball on us after they did the first time."

Polamalu was referring to the Vikings' first touchdown. Minnesota set up at the Steelers' 3 after a Peterson 9-yard run. Peterson gained one yard on first down before Favre threw an incompletion on second down. On third, Childress called Peterson's number, and he scored his eighth rushing touchdown of the season.

The next time, Childress decided to throw on second and third downs and kick on fourth with the ball sitting inside the one.

"That was tough," Peterson said, "especially in this league and especially against the Pittsburgh Steelers . You have to get those points. Was I surprised? I had two cracks at it."

Favre thought kicking the field goal was the right decision.

"We had three chances prior to that," Favre said. "We may have gotten in (on fourth down), I don't know."

Copyright 2009 Tribune Review Publishing Company All Rights Reserved
	Terms & Conditions     Privacy Copyright © 2009 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.