Christian Ponder

It was announced on Tuesday, October 18, that he would make his first start the following Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. On Ponder's first career pass attempt as a starter he hit Michael Jenkins on a 72 yard play-action pass. Two plays later, he hit Visanthe Shiancoe in the end zone on another playaction pass. He finished the game 13 of 32 for 219 yards with 2 TDs and 2 INTs in the 33-27 loss. Read Less

He threw for 236 yards and a touchdown, and had a passer rating of 102.7. After a bye week, the Vikings faced off against the Packers again, this time on Monday Night Football at Lambeau Field. Ponder didn't perform as well as he did the first time around, and the Vikings were blown out 45-7. He threw two touchdowns and three interceptions against the Oakland Raiders in a losing effort. Ponder began to struggle down the stretch of his rookie campaign, losing games to the Atlanta Falcons, and the Denver Broncos. In the game against the Broncos, he threw a crucial interception late in the fourth quarter to set up Tim Tebow and the Broncos for a game-winning drive. The next week, Ponder got injured in a game against the rival Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Backup quarterback Joe Webb nearly brought Minnesota to a victory. After a loss to the NFC South champion New Orleans Saints, Ponder was injured in each of the final two regular season games, at the Washington Redskins and in the season finale against the Chicago Bears. Ponder finished the season throwing 13 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions. Read Less