Christian Ponder will remain at quarterback. (US Presswire)

Vikings QB Christian Ponder righted the Vikings ship on Sunday by helping beat the Lions at home.

The team was on a two-game skid, and his poor play had a lot to do with it. Vikings fans at the Metrodome were expected to boo at their first opportunity on Sunday, and they might have done so had Ponder not thrown a 54-yard post-route completion to WR Jarius Wright on the offense’s fifth play of the game.

Ponder played well, and the fans’ faith in him was restored for at least another week. But for GM Rick Spielman, his faith in his quarterback has never wavered.

“I know everybody in this organization believes Christian Ponder is our guy,” Spielman said. “And I have full, 100 percent belief that Christian Ponder's going to be our quarterback heading into the future.”

Spielman picked Ponder as the 12th overall playing in NFL Draft last season. Ponder took over for QB Donovan McNabb after six games in 2011, and has been the starter ever since. Even though fans and media go up and down in their support of Ponder like a ship on violent seas, Spielman says it’s more important to ride out the storm.

“I always have followed the three-year rule,” said Spielman. “Our guy's only in his second year. You look at the history of development of quarterbacks. They're going to get evaluated from the outside and from the media on their performance that week. But you have to be, from an internal standpoint, looking at the whole picture and looking at a length of time.”

Ponder’s season has certainly included some highs and lows. He has made some dramatic comebacks and played the first four games without an interception, but then he threw eight picks in the next five games, and had two games where he threw for less than 65 yards. Spielman says it is his job toevaluate the entire body of work and judge the quarterback in all situations.

“You look at when you're measuring that position is how they perform in the clutch situations. Because I think that defines a quarterback,” said Spielman. “Or in situations where they have struggled [and] were they able to get out of that?”

Spielman cites Ponder’s performances in clutch situations against Jacksonville and Indianapolis (tying both games in the last minutes), to demonstrate his talent. He says the focus right now is on Chicago, but at the end of the season his staff will evaluate each player’s performance, and right now he says Ponder is doing well.

“[There] are things that you look at when you're developing a young quarterback--he had a hiccup for a couple weeks -- how does he respond,” said Spielman. “Well, [Ponder] came out of that [bad stretch] and responded pretty well last week. I think he ended up with a 114 quarterback rating and was very productive.”

For more Vikings news and notes, follow Joe Oberle on Twitter@CBSVikings and @joeoberle.