1. Faith on fourth-and-1

Adrian Peterson had 10 carries for 5 yards when coach Mike Zimmer decided to go for it on fourth-and-1 at the Kansas City 42 with a 3-0 lead. Norv Turner's play call? A Peterson dive between center Joe Berger and right guard Mike Harris. "We got faith in what we do," Peterson said. Zimmer had just lost a challenge on the spot of the ball and Plan B was a running play that hadn't been working. "It's just pride," Harris said. "No matter what's going on, that's our bread-and-butter play in that situation." Peterson averaged 2.3 on 26 carries, but on one of the biggest plays in the game, he rammed through for 3 yards to extend a touchdown drive. "I looked at the replay and I could have gotten more out of it … if I bounced it outside," Peterson said. "But in my mind, it was like just get the 1 yard and the first down. When it's that type of situation, we know we can come through."

2. Flipping for Ellison

Defenses don't pay much attention to Vikings No. 2 tight end Rhett Ellison. The Vikings maximized that invisibility in the red zone Sunday with Ellison's only catch of the game. And what a catch and run — and flip — it was. There wasn't a defender within about 8 yards of Ellison when he caught the ball. "That's usually the case because I'm the protection and they don't account for me," Ellison said. "Usually, it's just a matter of what to do with all that space in front of me." In this case, Ellison "went vertical as quickly as possible … although I know I'm not the most agile guy." Ellison was inside the 5-yard line when he went airborne. Safety Eric Berry hit him first and cornerback Sean Smith flipped him to the ground for an 11-yard gain to the 3. Two plays later, Kyle Rudolph got the glory of a touchdown catch without the pain of being flipped.

3. A safety that wasn't a safety

A Vikings win saved the NFL from having the national spotlight flashed on yet another blown officiating call. On the Chiefs' first possession, guard Ben Grubbs was flagged for holding defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd on third-and-12 from the Chiefs 2. The holding penalty occurred at least 5 yards into the end zone, which, per NFL rules, should have been a safety and a 2-0 lead. The officials ruled that the holding occurred "in the field of play." Floyd was in a forgiving mood after the game. Had Kansas City finished its rally with a 17-16 win, things might have sounded differently. "The officials can't make all the perfect calls," Floyd said. "Missed call by the refs, but I can't hold him to that."

4. Diggs' advanced routes

He's a rookie fifth-round draft pick, but Stefon Diggs' route running is anything but raw. For example, take his 14-yard catch on third-and-11 in the first quarter. Lined up to the right against rookie cornerback Marcus Peters, Diggs started his route inside, sold it well and then broke it off so crisply to the outside that Peters had to make an awkward turn away from Diggs in order to loop back and try to catch up. Diggs said he makes subtle adjustments "on the fly" based on a defender's moves or positioning. But the key, he said, is, "If you do it at the same depth at the same time as you do in practice, your quarterback is going to put the ball where you need it."

5. Kendricks can play the run, too

The Vikings had just taken a 10-0 lead in the second quarter when the Chiefs faced a third-and-1. With Gerald Hodges traded to the 49ers during the bye week, rookie second-round draft pick Eric Kendricks was at middle linebacker in the base defense. This was the perfect test to see what he could do in a power-running situation. Kendricks read the dive play perfectly, sidestepped Grubbs and tripped up Knile Davis for no gain. "Eric has that kind of ability," outside linebacker Chad Greenway said. "He is undersized for the prototype middle linebacker in this defense. But he can be physical, too. He's got a good balance. But his best asset obviously is his feet and his speed."