A two-play sequence at the start of the fourth quarter Monday night seemed to crystallize quarterback Tarvaris Jackson's performance in a 24-19 loss to Green Bay in the season opener.

On fourth-and-1 from the Packers' 23-yard line, Jackson showed patience in the pocket, went through his progressions and hit Sidney Rice slicing across the field for a touchdown.

However, on the ensuing two-point conversion attempt, Jackson threw the ball well behind an open Rice in the back of the end zone, squandering a chance to cut Green Bay's lead to three points.

It was that kind of inconsistency, wrapped in one back-to-back sequence, that raised more questions about Jackson's presumed progress in his second season as the starter.

Playing with a brace on his right knee, Jackson rushed for a career-high 65 yards and hurt the Packers defense when flushed from the pocket. But he also passed for only 16 yards in the first half and threw a game-ending interception on a wildly overthrown pass to Visanthe Shiancoe.

While Jackson's performance was dissected in the court of public opinion yesterday, Vikings coach Brad Childress said he identified positives in studying the film.

"I thought he gave our guys a chance to make plays up the field," Childress said. "He gave us a chance all the way to the end."

The biggest positive for the Vikings is that Jackson displayed no obvious signs of discomfort after spraining the MCL in his right knee during the preseason.

"He has very little soreness today so we're by that hurdle," Childress said Tuesday afternoon.

The injury didn't appear to affect Jackson's mobility or desire to tuck the ball and run. He rushed nine times and, wisely or not, did not always avoid contact when defenders closed on him.

On one hand, that showed his competitive nature. But Jackson also acknowledged that he might want to take fewer risks.

"A couple of times when I didn't slide I saw the first-down marker," he said. "I was just trying to make sure I got the first down. I still have to slide. I guess getting hurt didn't teach me a lesson, but I've got to do a better job."

Said Childress: "If the defense turns its back on you, it's nice to have the ability to run up the field. Now, do I like to see him absorb those hits? I don't. He's competing. He's learning how to get to the ground a little bit better."

Jackson's inconsistency in the passing game remains a concern, though. He completed only 16 of 35 passes for 178 yards with a 59.0 passer rating.

Childress said he liked the way Jackson threw the ball down the field and thought he did a good job making his reads. But Jackson still missed the mark on other manageable throws while given adequate protection.

"I thought he did a good job checking it down to his backs when he needed to," Childress said. "I thought he had an up-the-field mentality. I saw the one bad throw into coverage that hit (linebacker Brady) Poppinga where he must have been looking at another level. Obviously I wasn't wild about that."

Jackson didn't make excuses afterward. He was particularly upset with his interception at the Packers' 39-yard line with one minute remaining. He said his poor throw might have been caused by a breakdown in his mechanics.

"I just feel like if I didn't throw that interception, we were going to win the game," he said. "I felt like when our defense stopped them and we got the ball back there was no doubt in my mind that we were going to win that football game. Obviously we didn't because of the interception. It was just too wide open for me not to complete that pass."