Oakland Raiders vs Minnesota Vikings Match Player Stats On Nov 20, 2011

Carson Palmer threw one touchdown and ran for another in his 100th career start Sunday as the Oakland Raiders hung on for a 27-21 victory over the Minnesota Vikings, who lost Adrian Peterson with a left ankle injury.

Peterson was helped off the field early in the second quarter and was eventually transported to the locker room on a cart. Peterson, who did not return, had a 12-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. X-rays were negative.

Palmer finished 17 of 23 for 164 yards as the Raiders (6-4) maintained their one-game lead in the AFC West.

Rookie quarterback Christian Ponder was 19 of 33 for 211 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions – two near the Oakland goal line – for the Vikings (2-8).

Ponder’s 1-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Rudolph with 5:08 left brought Minnesota to within 27-21 and came one play after a 37-yard completion to tight end Visanthe Shiancoe, which immediately followed a fumble by Oakland’s Michael Bush.

The Raiders scored two touchdowns in the final 1:23 of the first half, both off Vikings turnovers. Bush’s 2-yard run capped an eight-play, 57-yard drive after a bad hold foiled Minnesota’s 48-yard field goal attempt.

Palmer’s 1-yard touchdown run with 8 seconds left came four plays after Lorenzo Booker fumbled the ensuing kickoff and gave Oakland a 24-7 halftime lead. Bush finished with 109 yards rushing and has averaged 115.3 yards in four games since Darren McFadden went down with a foot injury.

Oakland wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey left the game in the fourth quarter after he was inadvertently kneed in the head by the Vikings’ E.J. Henderson.