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          NFL Nation

          Vikings take Zimmer's advice to win on road

          • Ben Goessling, ESPN Staff WriterSep 7, 2014, 05:30 PM ET
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            • Previously covered Vikings for St. Paul Pioneer Press
            • Also covered Minnesota Twins, Minnesota Wild and Washington Nationals
            • Twin Cities native and University of Minnesota graduate
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          Observed and heard in the locker room after the Minnesota Vikings' 34-6 victory over St. Louis:

          • Though they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in London last September -- in what was technically a home game -- the Vikings hadn't won an official road game since Week 16 of the 2012 season. Coach Mike Zimmer put up a sign before the Vikings' first preseason game about what the team needed to do to win on the road this season and mentioned some of the points from that sign in a team meeting Saturday night. "I actually heard a couple of the players talking about it today before we went on," Zimmer said. "I've said it all along: If you play smart football, if you play good techniques and good fundamentals, you can go out in the parking lot and do good. It's more about how you play than where you play."

          • As soon as Adrian Peterson saw fellow running back Matt Asiata lay out a block for Cordarrelle Patterson on his third-quarter run, "I threw my hands up because I knew he had the ability to take it the distance." Patterson's 67-yard run gave him 102 rushing yards for the day and put Peterson in the rare role of the Vikings' second-leading rusher. "It doesn't happen often," Peterson said, "but he's a tremendous talent."

          • Zimmer said players had been waiting to douse him with Gatorade since the Vikings' undefeated preseason, and with a few seconds left in the win Sunday, receivers Greg Jennings and Patterson got him. "[His] first win in Vikings history," Patterson said, "we had to give him a little bath."