Viking offense still struggles

GREEN BAY, WIS. - Four days after Vikings fans essentially booed veteran quarterback Brad Johnson off the field and were granted their wish of seeing rookie Tarvaris Jackson, Purple faithful learned that the second-round pick probably isn't going to provide any immediate solutions to what ails Brad Childress' offense.

Playing in rainy conditions, on a wet field and in front of a hostile Lambeau Field crowd, Jackson completed 10 of 20 passes for 50 yards in the Vikings' 9-7 loss to the Packers. He was sacked three times (all by Packers Pro Bowl end Aaron Kampman), intercepted once, did not lead the team to an offensive touchdown and registered a quarterback rating of 35.4. The Vikings finished with a miserable 27 net yards passing, nearly breaking the team single-game low of 21.

Produced by Johnson, those numbers would have had fans demanding a change. Jackson likely will receive a standing ovation next week when he takes the Metrodome field for the Vikings' regular-season finale against St. Louis. Johnson had a rating worse than 36.5 only once in his 14 starts, and that came in bad weather in Chicago.

"Obviously, quarterbacks are judged by wins, and I didn't get the win," Jackson said. "So I didn't do enough."

In many ways, Jackson was asked by Childress to play the same role Johnson did. Childress, the Vikings coach and chief play-caller, did not turn the rookie loose in his version of the West Coast offense and stayed with the mostly conservative game plan that has become a staple of Minnesota's season.

"The numbers aren't going to be bear out that he did anything of any merit, but I thought he did a good job of managing the football game," Childress said. "I thought he gave some guys some chances to make some plays. I thought he made some plays with his feet. But once again the quarterback can't take the game on his back. You have to play around that guy."

Jackson, who has far more mobility than Johnson but does not consider himself a running quarterback, gained 23 yards on five carries.

In the first half, he completed six of 11 passes for 34 yards, was sacked twice and had a 60.4 rating. His longest completion was a 12-yarder to running back Mewelde Moore.

Those stats would have been much different if it hadn't been for another receiving miscue by Troy Williamson. On first-and-10 from the Vikings 29-yard line, Jackson dropped back to pass and effortlessly launched a ball about 55 yards down the field for Williamson.

The receiver, who has been plagued by dropped balls all season, seemed to have Packers safety Nick Collins beat on the play. However, he also appeared to slightly overrun the ball, and as he attempted to adjust to make the catch, it hit off his left shoulder pad and fell to the ground at the Packers 24.

Jackson also had a long completion wiped out in the third quarter when a 42-yard completion to Travis Taylor at the Green Bay 37 was nullified by an illegal-shift penalty.

Jackson dismissed the conditions as playing a factor in his performance and said there was only one thing that caught him off guard. "The only thing that surprised me is I was not as nervous as I thought I would be," he said. "I was more nervous at practice."

Jackson might not have had a case of nerves, but he certainly did not go the whole game without making mistakes.

He got lucky late in the first half when Packers rookie linebacker A.J. Hawk dropped a sure interception on a pass from the Vikings 20. In the third quarter, Jackson was intercepted when he threw an ill-advised pass under heavy pressure and had it picked by veteran corner Charles Woodson.

"He did all right," tight end Jermaine Wiggins said of Jackson. "As an offense we didn't do nothing so you can't really say how somebody did because we didn't do nothing. I don't know how many total yards we had [104], but it wasn't a lot."

And as a result Jackson has an 0-1 record as a starting quarterback. "I always envisioned my first start as a win, but it didn't work out like that," he said.

Judd Zulgad • jzulgad@startribune.com