Week 7 Thoughts

The Minnesota Vikings won their first road game of the season on their third shot at doing so. They defeated the Detroit Lions 28-19. In Detroit. The Vikings have had some road struggles in recent years. It's good to win on the road. Good teams win on the road. The Vikings are trying to become one of those teams.

This was probably the Vikings most complete game of the season.

It didn't start out that way. The Lions looked like the offensive dynamo that they have the talent to be. In the first quarter. The Lions started fast. They scored touchdowns on their first two possessions of the game. And they made it look easy. They got big receptions from receiver Calvin Johnson (46 yards) on the first drive and tight end Eric Ebron (55 yards) on the second. Each were rewarded for those big plays with touchdown catches to finish each drive.

The Vikings were scoring too. They were just scoring field goals rather than touchdowns. It was 14-6 early in the second. The Lions stretched that to 17-6 after they took advantage of the only turnover of the game. Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and running back Adrian Peterson had an issue with a handoff exchange and the Lions had possession of the ball in Vikings territory and a chance to take over the game. Fortunately for the Vikings that resulted in only a field goal but that field goal made it an 11-point lead with five minutes remaining in the first half. That's about the time that the Vikings defense decided to settle things in their favor. The Vikings outscored the Lions 22-2 the rest of the way.

The Vikings defense stopped the Lions from doing anything for the rest of the game. The only points that the Lions put on the board came from a safety. A safety that the Vikings gave to them when punter Jeff Locke ran out of the end zone in a strategic move with a minute to play.

While the offense did put up some nice numbers, moved the ball, and scored 28 points it was the Vikings defense that was the real difference in this game. The Lions piled up 160 yards in the first quarter. They finished with 274 yards. The Vikings defense gave up 114 yards in the final three quarters. All but five of those yards came on the Lions final two possessions of the game. The Vikings defense gave up 5 yards, 5 yards, from the end of the first quarter into the fourth quarter. They didn't force any turnovers. They just kept the Lions from moving the chains. They kept the Lions potent offense from doing anything. 5 yards! The Lions went three-and-out on their first two possessions of the second half. They went six-and-out on their third. That lone first down was the result of a Vikings penalty and it came in the fourth quarter. The Lions first offensive first down of the second half came on the first of those final two desperate Lions drive.

The Vikings defense was outstanding. The Vikings offense was pretty good. The biggest problem with the offense was their inability to put up touchdowns rather than field goals. Field goals are nice. They still count. Touchdowns are better. Vikings kicker Blair Walsh had five field goals. The Vikings drove inside the Lions five-yard line twice only to settle for field goals. Good teams win on the road. Good teams also score touchdowns when they get inside the red zone. Let alone the five-yard line. At least three of the Vikings touchdown-scoring opportunities ended when Bridgewater was sacked on third-and-long. There are two problems with that. Good teams avoid third-and-long situations. Good teams also protect their quarterback better than the Vikings line protected Bridgewater. That Vikings have to start doing both on a regular basis. Touchdowns are so much better than field goals. So much better.

The one good thing about the field goals was that Walsh made all five that he attempted. He's struggled this year and it was good to see him convert his opportunities but it wasn't all roses for Walsh. He did miss one of his two extra point attempts.

The Vikings have to score touchdowns when they have prime opportunities. They also have to block better in the run game. As in the Chiefs game last week, Peterson was routinely hit before he could even get to the line. He had no where to run. The Vikings still ended with a nice total of 140 yards on the ground but 75 of that came on the one time that Peterson did get loose.

Peterson's 75-yard run in the third quarter was an offensive dagger. It would've been a 78-yard touchdown if not for tremendous hustle by Lions defensive end Ziggy Ansah. It looked like Peterson had a touchdown after he got away from Lions safety Glover Quin on the sideline but Ansah never stopped running. You don't often see a defensive lineman making a play over 70 yards from the line of scrimmage. You never see a defensive lineman even attempting to run about 90 yards to try and catch Peterson. He wouldn't have made the play without Quin tying up Peterson for a moment but most linemen don't even make the effort.

Speaking of Ansah, he's become one of the best defensive ends in the league. He was an extremely raw, naturally gifted football player when the Lions selected him out of BYU with the fifth pick of the 2013 NFL Draft. He's recently become a nightmare for offenses. He was credited with a forced fumble on the botched Bridgewater-Peterson exchange. He had a sack and several pressures. And then he had that hustle play to keep Peterson out of the endzone.

Peterson had 98 yards rushing on 19 carries. 75 of those yards came on that one long run. He added 12 more yards on three receptions. The totals looked fine at the end of the day but they the yards were so difficult to gain. He had no room. There were far too many Lions defenders in the backfield. Linebacker Stepehen Tulloch, in particular, was in the Vikings backfield so often that he should've been wearing a purple jersey. Peterson has been the target of defenses since he entered the league in 2007. The Kansas City Chiefs slowed him last week with run blitzes. The Lions did the same yesterday. The Vikings have to find some way to deal with this. Better line play would help. Defenses are daring Bridgewater to beat them. He has to take advantage of all this attention paid to Peterson. For the most part Bridgewater did. If not for the Vikings apparent preference for field goals this game would have been a blowout.

Bridgewater completed 25 of 35 passes for 316 yards and two touchdowns. Solid, if not excellent, numbers. Touchdown #1 was a short toss to tight end Kyle Rudolph. Touchdown #2 was much more exciting. A 36-yard throw to rookie receiver Stefon Diggs. Bridgewater threw it a little long and Diggs brought it in with a spectacular diving catch in the endzone.

The Vikings defense might have been the difference in the game but Diggs is no longer a 5th-round rookie receiver. He's a star. He's been active for only three games and he's made a dynamic impact in each of those three games. 87 yards against the Denver Broncos. 129 yards against the Chiefs. 108 yards yards against the Lions and that touchdown catch. It was the first touchdown of his career. The first of  many. It's not just the numbers for Diggs. 19 catches for 324 yards and a touchdown in three games. It's how he's put up those numbers. He runs incredible routes. He's so quick in and out of his breaks. He's always working on his game through study and hard work. In the three games he's faced talented corners in Aqib Talib, Chris Harris, Bradley Roby, Sean Smith, Marcus Peters, and Rashean Mathis. He's made each of them look foolish at times. Veterans don't do that too often. It's rare for a rookie to do it. Through three weeks, Diggs has shown that he's no ordinary rookie.

11 receivers caught passes from Bridgewater. One of those pass catchers was rookie tight end MyCole Pruitt. It was the first catch of his NFL career. It was a big catch too. It converted a third-and-long late in the game to keep the ball for another set of downs. Pruitt has the talent to become a important contributor on the offense. It was great to see him get his first catch.

Defense!

The Vikings defense has played well, often very good, this season. Outside of those first two Lions drives, they were outstanding yesterday. Their shut down of the Lions offense was complete for more than half of the game. They got to Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford regularly. They sacked him seven times. They hit him several other times. He looked rattled and hampered when he had to lead late Lions drives. Late Lions drives that produced no points. The Lions are in the middle of a rough season at 1-6 but Stafford is probably might happy that the doesn't have to deal with the Vikings pass rush until next year.

The Vikings even added a goal line stand (three plays from the 1-yard line) that squashed the Lions last hopes inside of two minutes to play.

It's a blast to watch this Minnesota Vikings defense play. So fast. So swarming.

The Vikings are 4-2 with another road game next week. This time against the Chicago Bears.

Mike Zimmer is now 11-11 as the Vikings head coach. The guess here is that he's never again under .500.

The New England Patriots held on to defeat the New York Jets 30-23 in perhaps the most anticipated game of the day. The game was for first place in the AFC East. The Patriots have it and the Jets look like they are good enough to challenge them for it. Jets coach Todd Bowles has his team playing great. Excellent defense. And Ryan Fitzpatrick is playing well enough to win a bunch of games. BUt round 1 went to the Patriots.

I look forward to the next Jets-Patriots game. Week 16. In New York.

The game of the day was the one between the Washington Redskins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Redskins spotted the Bucs a 24-point lead and won it in the end. 31-30. Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins looked a bit like Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan in bringing his team back. A Redskins comeback that was helped by the first successful onside kick of the season.

The NFL had another one of their ridiculous London games. Like the Buccaneers, the Jaguars jumped out to a 24-point lead. Unlike the Buccaneers, the Jaguars still won their game. They had to score a touchdown with just over two minutes to play to do it.

Most of these ridiculous London games have been terrible. The trip and logistics have never been conducive to a good game which is never a good thing. So, why do it? Money, of course. This game was actually entertaining. A nice change seeing as the NFL isn't going to stop playing these overseas games any time soon. You had to wake up damn early to see it. 6:30 in the AM on the west coast. This game also had a new twist in that it was streamed on Yahoo! Lucky us.

Running back Toby Gerhart left the imposing shadow of Adrian Peterson during the 2014 offseason to be the main runner for the Jaguars. Injuries kept that from working out well for Gerhart last season. Then they drafted T.J. Yeldon last spring. That bumped Gerhart to a short-yardage role this season. He had his shot for some glory early, too early, yesterday morning. He had four shots from the 1-yard line for a touchdown. Four times he was stopped short. It wasn't even close.

The Miami Dolphins are on the mend under interim coach Dan Campbell. The offense exploded against the Houston Texans yesterday. It was 41-0 at the half! Then they coasted in the second half for the 44-26 win.

Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill was an impressive 18 of 19 for 282 yards and four touchdowns. From last week's win over the Tennessee Titans into this win over the Texans Tannehill completed an NFL record 25 consecutive passes. Very nice.

Tannehill's passing day was made a whole lot easier by the running and receiving day of Lamar Miller. 14 carries for 175 yards and a touchdown. An 85-yard touchdown. 3 catches for 61 yards and a touchdown. A 54-yard touchdown. Most impressive.

Wealthy defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh got his first sack as a member of the Dolphins. It sure took a while for him to finally do what he's paid so well to do.

Not only did the Texans get taken apart yesterday they might have lost running back Arian Foster for the season to a torn achilles.

Preseason Super Bowl contender Indianapolis Colts lost again. This time to the New Orleans Saints. 27-21. The Colts were down 27-0 in the third quarter so they did show some life in coming back.

The Colts are fortunate that they reside in the AFC South. Their 3-4 record has them sitting atop a very mediocre division.

The Kansas City Chiefs showed that there is some life after the loss of running back Jamaal Charles. They defeated the Ben Roethlisberger-less Pittsburgh Steelers 23-13. Landry Jones started in place of Michael Vick who had been starting in place of Roethlisberger.

St. Louis Rams rookie running back Todd Gurley continues to shine. 128 yards on 19 carries and two touchdowns. He seems to run his best in the second half of games. A nice trait that most of the great backs seem to have. Gurley helped lead the Rams to a 24-6 win over the Cleveland Browns.

The Atlanta Falcons squeaked by the Tennessee Titans in a 10-7 scorcher. Another Julio Jones touchdown was the game-winner.

What happened to the San Diego Chargers? They may have entered the week at 2-4 but they've been playing well. Some have called them the best 2-4 team in a recent memory. The Oakland Raiders thumped them in San Diego. The 37-29 final was a little deceptive. It was 37-6 in the third quarter. A frantic, fourth quarter Charger rally made the final a little more respectable.

It probably wouldn't have made much different but the officials erred in taking a Keenan Allen touchdown off the board with about 30 seconds to play. They called him for offensive pass interference. It wasn't.

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was solid again. 24 of 31 for 289 yards and three touchdowns.

Reggie McKenzie has often been criticized since he was named the Raiders general manager in 2012. He's done a fine job of collecting young talent in recent years. An offensive, skill-position core of Carr, Latavius Murray, and Amari Cooper is a great place to start. Khalil Mack on defense is a beast. The Raiders look like they could be a big part of the AFC West future.

The Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants fought a back-and-forth battle. The Giants were the happy beneficiaries of three Matt Cassel interceptions. That helped the Giants defeat their division foes 27-20.

It's not too surprising that Dez Bryant and Greg Hardy are combustible Cowboys teammates.

The Philadelphia Eagles maintained their unpredictable ways. The Carolina Panthers remained undefeated in their 27-16 win over the Eagles.

The Panthers and Panthers each won and sit at 6-0. The Green Bay Packers, Denver Broncos, and Cincinnati Bengals were idle and undefeated. The Packers and Broncos have some extra time to prepare for the big game next week.

The Baltimore Ravens hope to challenge the Arizona Cardinals tonight.