Brett Favre wasn't going to underestimate the importance of the Vikings' 30-10 bounce back decision over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. In fact, he called it the team's signature victory thus far coming off the tough loss in Arizona. Let's see how Minnesota graded out:

Offense: Nothing pops out at you as the clear-cut reason why the Vikings were able to dominate this game so thoroughly. Favre had a quarterback rating of just 73.2 and Bernard Berrian was the leading receiver with just 43 yards. However, the Vikings were able to get Adrian Peterson back on track, as he went for 97 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, adding four catches for 40 yards through the air. It was a good performance, not great, but give them credit for grinding it out. Grade: B

Defense: Pat Williams said after the game that his group wasn't scared of Bengals' running back Cedric Benson. While they did contain the ex-Bear to under 100 yards, the 36th consecutive game they've kept a back under the century mark, Benson still averaged 6 yards per carry - the largest yards per carry average the Vikings have allowed to a starting back getting more than 15 carries all year. 

That being said, holding a very solid Bengal offense to just 10 points and Carson Palmer fewer than 100 yards passing is awfully impressive. I'll even give Ragnar props for preventing Chad Ochocinco from desecrating the horn after his touchdown catch. Grade: B+

Special Teams: Don't look now, but Ryan Longwell is turning in a career year. The Vikings' place kicker is now 22-for-23 (96 percent) on field goal attempts this season, tops in the league and the best percentage of his career to this point. He could be in line for a Pro Bowl berth. Darius Reynaud assumed kickoff duties with Percy Harvin out, averaging 27 yards per return and a very respectable 12 yards a pop on punt returns. Grade: A 

Coaching: Give Brad Childress a lot of applause for the way he was able to get his team to regroup. This one could have very easily been another 'L' for the Purple and Gold, but each facet of their game seemed to return to near playoff form. They'll be tested again next week against Carolina's dual-running attack of Deangelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart in Charlotte. Grade: A-

-- PATRICK STUMPF