The Minnesota Vikings settled down and took care of the St. Louis Rams 34-6. The Vikings went through the entire 2013 NFL season without a road win. They get their first road win of the 2014 NFL season in week one.
This was a real nice start for the Mike Zimmer era. First game as an NFL head coach. First win.
The Vikings defense was a disaster last year. 480 points allowed. Worst in the NFL. The defense stifled the Rams offense all game. Shaun Hill couldn't get anything going in the first half. Austin Davis got some late yardage through the air. Neither Rams quarterback could get his team into the end zone. Two long field goals were all that they could score against the 2014 version of the Minnesota Vikings defense.
The defense was the difference in this game. 6 points against. 5 sacks. Nice pressure throughout the game. 2 interceptions. The first by corner Josh Robinson gave the Vikings offense a short field at the end of the first half. It resulted in their first touchdown of the game. A 6-0 struggle was suddenly a 13-0 halftime lead. Safety Harrison Smith returned the second interception 81 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Any comeback hope of the Rams pretty much ended there. Most importantly, the Vikings defense and the coverage teams were sure in their tackling. Rarely was a Rams ball carrier breaking tackles, let alone running free.
The offense was less sure. 346 total yards isn't bad. Quarterback Matt Cassel was 17 of 25 for 170 yards and 2 touchdowns. Nice passing statistics for modest yards. 186 yards on the ground is impressive against an excellent Rams defense. 102 yards of those came from three Cordarrelle Patterson runs. Including a spectacular 67-yard touchdown. That score made it 20-3 in third quarter. If Smith's interception sealed the game. Patterson's touchdown broke the game open.
Patterson has a TD run of at least 35 yards in three straight games. No receiver has ever done that before.
All-Everything running back Adrian Peterson had a fairly pedestrian game, for him, with 75 yards on 21 carries. He added another 18 yards on two pass receptions. As with Cassel's passing, Peterson had nice, modest statistics.
Nice, modest offensive statistics are perfect when combined with a solid defensive performance. That's what the Vikings put on the field against the Rams. They also stayed away from stupid mistakes. They had a few stupid penalties in the first half but mostly ceased those game-wreckers in the second half. It was the Rams that repeatedly got in their own way, especially in the second half. The Rams had a ridiculous 13 penalties for 121 yards. The Vikings had 7 for 60 yards. It seemed like all seven came in the first half. Actually, six of them did. They also had no turnovers. They had no turnovers in an undefeated preseason, which means little. They opened the season with no turnovers, which means a lot. Turnovers are so often the difference in games. They came close to a couple of game-changing turnovers but managed to avoid disaster. Whether through crowd noise or some other issue with communication, center John Sullivan and quarterback Matt Cassel had two wayward shotgun snaps. Both snaps could have been caught but both ended up on the ground. Cassel fell on both to avoid disaster. The second ended a promising drive on their first possession of the second half.
The errant snaps and early penalties were the only real negatives for the Vikings in this game.
There are a couple of injury concerns. Corner Xavier Rhodes left with a groin injury. Defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd suffered a should injury. Immediately following the game, Zimmer didn't seem to worried about either injury. Hopefully, that is the case.
It was great to see liberal substitutions for the Vikings. It started even before the game was in hand. Young players rarely saw significant offensive or defensive snaps last season. Even when the season was mostly lost. Defensive tackle Shamar Stephen and corner Jabari Price were on the field throughout the second half. Price's time was certainly bumped up due to Rhode's injury. Stephen and Price were seventh round picks. Antone Exum, Audie Cole, Adam Thielen, Gerald Hodges. It was good to see these players involved in the game.
For the past six years, linebacker Chad Greenway has led the Vikings defense in tackles. In all those games it seemed like his name would be mentioned on nearly every play. His name was rarely mentioned yesterday. That was due to other players making tackles. Vikings defensive linemen combined for 16 tackles. A fairly robust number for linemen. Nose tackle Linval Joseph had five of his own. A terrific number for a big guy that's supposed to occupy blockers. He also added a sack. Other players were making tackles. Greenway didn't have to make them all. Most importantly, Vikings defenders weren't missing tackles.
As for the Rams. They have a tough defense. That NFC West is simply stacked with tough defenses. The Rams defensive line gets a lot of deserved attention. It may be the best group in the league. Robert Quinn, Chris Long, Michael Brockers. Oh my. Rookie Aaron Donald doesn't start. Yet. That alone reveals the talent on the line. Donald is going to be a disruptive force in the middle of the Rams line for a long time. Quinn might be the best defensive player not named J.J. Watt. Quinn had no sacks but had a few pressures, forced a few hurried passes. The Rams have some nice players behind that line. James Laurinaitis and Alec Ogeltree are talented, active linebackers. It's the secondary that might soon approach the line in talent. Corner Janoris Jenkins, and safeties T.J. McDonald and Lamarcus Joyner are terrific. It's scary that Joyner is only a rookie. He plays like a player that's been in the league for a handful of years.
The Rams have some solid receivers. They have a competent stable of running backs. They just need Shaun Hill, or Austin Davis, or Case Keenum, to step up at quarterback. Not make mistakes. Put up nice, modest passing statistics.
The Vikings made a real nice move on Saturday when they signed right guard Brandon Fusco to a 5-year, $25 million contract extension. The fourth-year player out of Slippery Rock has quietly become one of the better guards in the league. This follows the contract extension signed by tight end Kyle Rudolph just before training camp. The Vikings say that keeping their young, improving players is a priority. These signings show it.
The Minnesota Vikings are 1-0. Tops in the NFC North! Yay!
They also face quarterbacks Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Matt Ryan, Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Stafford over the next six weeks. That's a fierce gauntlet that will seriously challenge a Vikings defense that is probably feeling pretty good about themselves right now. They'll need more than nice, modest passing statistics from Matt Cassel. He has the pass receiving weapons to do it. He has Adrian Peterson.
There were some other games yesterday. Some pretty good games too.
It's difficult to accept that serious Super Bowl contenders Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints, and New England Patriots all lost in the first week of games. The Packers lost to the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks so that's hardly a shock. The Saints lost to the Falcons. The Patriots lost to the Dolphins. The Saints-Falcons rivalry is the NFL's best outside of the 49ers-Seahawks. Anything can happen in these fierce rivalries. The Falcons are a talented team. Their sad 2013 season was due to injuries more than decline. The Saints and Falcons should be fighting for the NFC South all season long. The Patriots losing to the Dolphins is a little shocking but the Patriots often seem to have rough starts. I always think back to that 31-0 loss to the Buffalo Bills to start one of their Super Bowl seasons about a decade ago.
The Jacksonville Jaguars went into halftime with a 17-0 lead over the Philadelphia Eagles. The Jaguars must have remained in the locker room. They lost 34-17.
Tony Romo looked like he hadn't thrown a football in about five years.
The debate over the best quarterback in the game today routinely comes down to Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and Drew Brees. The best quarterbacks at bringing their teams back might be Matt Ryan and Andrew Luck. Ryan has been remarkable at this key aspect of the quarterback's game since his rookie year. He was even effective last year when all of his receivers were on injured reserve and he was throwing to practice squad graduates. Luck fell short last night but he nearly brought the Colts back from a 24-0 deficit to the Denver Broncos. The comeback that he led from 38-10 down to the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs last year was near miraculous. The Colts are never out of a game when Luck is in the huddle.
Directv can end their ridiculous "strongest fan" ads immediately.
It's simply fantastic to have football back!
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