Sid Hartman: Expect Vikings to look for more quarterback help

The Vikings were trailing the Broncos 19-3 early in the fourth quarter Sunday when, according to Fox's Sam Rosen, coach Brad Childress walked up to the offensive team on the bench and said the momentum was going to swing back.

Well, the momentum did swing back. Tarvaris Jackson led two touchdown drives and was involved in two two-point conversions, tying the score. His best performance of the year came on those two drives, when he completed seven of 10 passes for 91 yards and also scrambled once for 32 yards.

But unfortunately for Jackson, the quarterback's fumble after the Vikings won the coin toss in overtime led to an easy 30-yard field goal by Mr. Accuracy, Jason Elam, to give the home team a 22-19 victory.

Those two touchdown drives might have impressed Vice President of Player Personnel Rick Spielman and Childress, who are trying to evaluate whether Jackson is qualified to remain as Vikings quarterback for the years to come.

However, you must take into consideration that Jackson was going against one of the NFL's lesser defenses in Denver, a team that had lost four of five, giving up an average of 31.3 points in those losses. The Broncos gave up at least 30 points six times this season.

Even though the Vikings went 8-4 in the games Jackson started this season, you can expect a search for another quarterback for the Vikings in 2008, because one thing Jackson hasn't shown is consistency.

Good job by coaches I know some of the fans will blame Childress for this loss, as they have for other losses this season, including last week's critical 32-21 loss to the Redskins at the Metrodome, when the Vikings committed three big turnovers.

And it was his fault that Troy Williamson dropped a sure touchdown pass when he was wide open and could have walked into the end zone.

One thing that Vikings owner Zygi Wilf has made clear is that Childress and his staff are in no danger, and certainly they showed improvement this season with an 8-8 record compared to 6-10 last year.

A victory Sunday would not have made any difference, because the Redskins -- who are playing well enough to become NFC champions -- dominated the Cowboys in Washington even though Dallas, the conference's No. 1 seed in the playoffs, played quarterback Tony Romo and most of its healthy starters for most of the game. Washington enters the playoffs on a four-game winning streak.

Big mystery The Vikings offense still needs a lot of bolstering because a review of the season will show that the defense won a good share of the games, with the exceptions being against the Bears in Chicago and against the Chargers, when running back Adrian Peterson ran wild.

Sunday, it was more like the two-back plan the Vikings had in place at the beginning of the year, as Taylor started and carried 10 times for 83 yards, while Peterson was held to only 11 attempts for 36 yards, with a long run of only 8 yards.

One thing about NFL coaches, they aren't a bunch of dummies. It's a good bet they have discovered something Peterson might be tipping off, helping opponents hold the first-round pick from Oklahoma to only 144 rushing yards over the final four games.

Of course, if Tom Brady or Peyton Manning or even the Browns' Derek Anderson -- who might be available this offseason -- were quarterbacking the Vikings and the passing game was a threat, it might make a big difference.

However, for most of the season the Vikings passing game was a liability.

Peterson rushed for at least 100 yards in four of his first five games, that run ending with the 224-yard outing at Chicago. But the only other times he exceeded 100 yards were when he set the NFL single-game rushing record with 296 yards against San Diego on Nov. 4 and when he returned from his two-week layoff caused by a knee injury and gained 116 yards against Detroit on Dec. 2.

In the past four games, the defense has found a way to hold him down. The 49ers held Peterson to 14 rushes for only 3 yards; against the Bears at the Metrodome, he had 20 carries for 78 yards, though Chicago held him mostly in check through the first three quarters; and he had only nine rushes for 27 yards last week against Washington.

Good move Les Steckel had just been named to succeed Bud Grant as the new Vikings coach in 1984, and Steckel was sure he had hired his new defensive coordinator.

The guy's name was Bill Belichick, and the day he was being interviewed at Winter Park I was on hand and met him for the first time. Steckel knew Belichick's dad, Steve, who had coached at Navy, and they were good friends.

I know when Bill Belichick left his interview, Steckel was waiting for him to visit with his wife and then he would have hired him. But the Giants weren't going to let their longtime assistant coach go, and in 1985 he was named Giants defensive coordinator.

What a break for Belichick that he didn't end up with the Vikings job. Steckel lasted only one year. It might have changed Belichick's entire career. Now he has won three Super Bowls and is looking for a fourth after guiding the Patriots to the first 16-0 season in NFL history.

Jottings For a period, Laurence Maroney was on the outs with Belichick because the former Gophers running back missed so many snaps because of various injuries. But Maroney is back in good graces; he rushed for 100 yards for New England in Weeks 15 and 16, and then Saturday against the Giants he scored two touchdowns.

Redskins coach Joe Gibbs has never lost at the Metrodome. He won his last Super Bowl there in January 1992 and was 4-0 vs. the Vikings there during his first tenure in Washington.