vikings/nfl

Jared Allen shook his head at the mere thought of the aerially challenged Tim Tebow beating the Vikings while running the ball four times for 13 yards.

"I would have bet my paycheck that he would not have beat us passing the ball," the Vikings defensive end said after Tebow went 10-for-15 for a season-high 202 yards, two third-quarter touchdowns and a 149.3 passer rating in Denver's 35-32 win at Mall of America Field on Sunday. "Hats off to him. He's a competitor. The guy really is. Kudos, I guess. I don't know what else to say."

What else is there to say? Allen set and tied two team records, tied an NFL mark and basically carried the Vikings to a 15-7 halftime lead. Yet all he was left with was a 2-10 record, the worst start in 51 seasons of Vikings football.

"This isn't Minnesota Vikings football," Allen said. "It really isn't. And I can't apologize enough to our fans."

Allen can talk about Vikings football in historic terms because, well, he's become a big part of its record book in four seasons of terrorizing quarterbacks in the Upper Midwest.

With a sack on Sunday, Allen became the first Viking to have at least 14 1/2 in three different seasons. A guy named Carl Eller had also done it two times. Allen also tied another Purple Hall of Famer, Alan Page, with a sack in his 11th game this season. And last but most significantly, Allen tied Hall of Famer Ted Hendricks and Doug English for the NFL record for safeties (four) when he stopped Willis McGahee in the end zone on Denver's first play from scrimmage.

"That stuff is nice for the offseason to reflect on," Allen said of the records. "But I'd like to tie an NFL record for wins. That'd be nice, or maybe a Super Bowl."

Allen played the first half the way defenders need to play if they're going to crack the Tebowmania magic that has gripped the NFL during Tebow's 6-1 run as a starter.

The Vikings won the coin toss, but were forced to punt. Eric Frampton downed Chris Kluwe's punt millimeters from the Denver goal line. Seconds later, a heavy dose of Broncos fans greeted Tebow with a loud ovation.

But Allen sent Tebow right back to the bench when he knifed in off the right side and hit McGahee, causing the safety with 12 minutes, 44 seconds left in the first half. All four of Allen's safeties have come with the Vikings.

The Broncos didn't register a first down until the 11:46 mark of the second quarter. They trailed 12-7 when Allen notched his first sack in three weeks, giving him 14 1/2 on the year. He caught Tebow from behind, stripped him of the ball and recovered the fumble.

It was Denver's second turnover of the first half. It's also the only turnover Tebow has had in 141 touches during Denver's current five-game winning streak.

The Vikings offense took over at the Denver 21 with 39 seconds left in the half. Four plays later, Ryan Longwell kicked a 25-yard field goal. The 14th forced fumble of Allen's Vikings career helped him basically contribute five first-half points all by himself while also sending Tebowmania into halftime with one first down and 48 net yards of offense.

"We have a lead in the first half and we come out and we have a lead in the fourth quarter and we squander it," Allen said. "We have to get used to winning. We are so used to losing."