The Minnesota Vikings visited the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday. It felt like they were playing catch-up before the game even started. It was suspected before the team even left Minnesota and confirmed less than an hour before kickoff, Vikings starting quarterback Sam Bradford wouldn't be able to play. It was a balky left knee that kept him from taking part in the game. He had played the best game of his career last Monday against the New Orleans Saints. Outside of a single sack he was barely breathed upon by an opposing player. He appeared to have left the game in fine shape. Sometime between then and the middle of the week Bradford's knee turned swollen and sore. The Vikings decision-makers decided that it wasn't worth risking Bradford's season-long health in an inter-conference game in Week 2. Case Keenum was the starter against the Steelers yesterday. The offense couldn't really get anything resembling a rhythm going. Penalties were the main reason for the stumbles. The Vikings would make a play only to see the officials moving the ball in the other direction. It was a frustrating and game-long problem. On both sides of the ball. The Steelers were the smoother team. They came out of the game with a 26-9 win.
Penalties:
Minnesota Vikings: 11-131 yards
Pittsburgh Steelers: 10-72 yards
Pete Morelli's officiating crew was assigned to last week's Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Miami Dolphins game. That game was canceled. It often seemed that this crew wanted to make up for the missed flag-throwing opportunities of Week 1. A few of those penalties fueled 17 of the Steelers 26 points. Two pass interference penalties on consecutive drives handed the Steelers 71 total yards. They had another 51 yards on a play in which a Vikings offside gave Steelers quarterback a "free" play and he just chucked it deep. It worked. The Vikings have been a smart team since Mike Zimmer was named the head coach in 2014. It typically takes them at least two games to hit these penalty numbers. Were they pressing because they had the backup quarterback in the game? Who knows? They certainly made far more "mental" mistakes than usual. A few of them were pre-snap. Always a no-no for Zimmer. A team with playoff hopes can't make this many mistakes.
The Vikings defense did what they were supposed to do. Well, they did what they were supposed to do when they weren't handing penalty yards to the Steelers offense. The defense gave up 335 yards to a very potent offense. That's not a bad total to an offense that sports two of the most explosive offensive players in the game, running back Le'Veon Bell and receiver Antonio Brown. Bell gained 87 yards on the ground but it took him 27 carries to get there. An average of 3.2 yards per carry. Bell was usually met by multiple Vikings defenders within a yard of the line of scrimmage. He did "break" one for 11 yards. Brown had five catches for 62 yards. He was targeted 11 times. For most of the game Vikings corner Xavier Rhodes was tasked with shadowing Brown around the field. 26 of those 62 yards came late in the game on a crossing pattern from the slot while Rhodes was covering an outside receiver. Martavis Bryant was the closest thing to a Vikings-killer yesterday. He was the pass-catcher that benefited from the "free" play when a Vikings pass rusher jumped before the snap. That turned into a 51-yard gain. He also had a 27-yard touchdown that opened the scoring.
The importance of a capable backup quarterback has never been in doubt. This game certainly proved that. The strange thing about this game is the mystery surrounding Sam Bradford's knee. It didn't look like anything occurred during the Saints game. It was the knee upon which two reconstructive surgeries have been performed. Maybe it simply swelled and became uncomfortable due to nothing other than bad damn timing. Hopefully it doesn't happen again. Case Keenum didn't play poorly. The Steelers' nicely timed and well-executed blitzes got to him on more than a few occasions. In one sequence that pressure put a quick end to a nice drive to about the Steelers 20-yard line. Just when it looked like the Vikings had something going and a touchdown was eminent three consecutive ambushes of Keenum forced a field goal instead. Between those pressures and careless penalties Keenum never really had a chance. This loss isn't on the backup quarterback. It's on the mistakes that the entire team made. Both careless and forced.
The difficulty that defenders have in sacking Ben Roethlisberger never ceases to amaze me. He's big but he seems kind of oafish. He moves just enough to avoid arms and hits. He's tough to get to and he's tough to get to the ground when defenders do get to him. Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen sacked him twice. He could've had a couple more. Danielle Hunter could've gotten him. Others too. If Roethlisberger isn't playing against your team he's fun to watch.
So are Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown. Even when they're being held mostly in check. The Steelers have a fun offense with fun players.
Steelers rookie linebacker T.J. Watt left the game early with an injury. He didn't log a lot of plays but he made some count. He's going to be a handful for all offensive linemen tasked with stopping him.
Steelers linebacker Bud Dupree performed a ridiculous little sack celebration that should've been flagged. During an episode of Hard Knocks this past summer, Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Gerald McCoy performed some dances for the approval of an official. Dupree's sad little dance would qualify as one of the "no's."
In a disappointing Vikings game (before and during) there were a couple positives.
1. The defense. If the defense can stop/slow Bell and Brown they can stop/slow any player in the league. Really, the only thing missing were turnovers. They get a couple of opportune turnovers and this is a much different game. Even with an inconsistent offense.
2. Second-year receiver Laquon Treadwell played well. He had only three catches for 33 yards on six targets but he looked good. He now has four catches on the season. That's three more than he had as a rookie last season. One of the missed connections was actually a nice play to prevent an interception. I only see Treadwell's involvement in the offense expanding. Even with Michael Floyd's return from suspension in Week 5.
One last little note on the league in general:
LA attendance over the weekend:
Chargers-25,381
Rams-56,612
NFL combined-81,993
USC vs Texas-84,714
This is simply sad. It's always been a mystery to me as to why the NFL was so hell-bent on getting one team, let alone two, back in LA. The Chargers, Rams, and Raiders have all left the city. Now two have returned and their reception doesn't appear to be so hot. What makes the NFL think that LA even wants an NFL team, let alone two? I know of two cities that want an NFL team. St. Louis and San Diego. Maybe there'll be some excitement for professional football when they get that beast of a stadium built but I have doubts.
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