First of all, it didn't feel right to see Adrian Peterson in the uniform of the New Orleans Saints. I knew that it wouldn't. It really didn't feel right to see him carry a bunch of Vikings' defenders for nine yards on his first carry. Fortunately that one run represented exactly one half of his rushing total for the game. He carried the ball six times for 18 yards in his return to Minnesota. It didn't feel right but it wasn't as painful as I thought that it might be. I suppose that I had about six months to get used to the fact that Adrian Peterson wasn't finishing his fantastic career with the Vikings.
Now for the game.
The Minnesota Vikings had a strong start to the 2017 season. They defeated the visiting New Orleans Saints 29-19. It wasn't that close.
The Vikings offense often struggled last season. The offensive line, no great strength to start, was thrashed by injuries. As a result, quarterback Sam Bradford had to keep his passes quick and short. Behind a completely new offensive line this year, five new starters at each position, Bradford had time to throw anywhere he wanted or needed. He had 8 completions of over 20 yards. It was a sight to behold. For the game he was 27 of 32 for 346 yards and three touchdowns. As ESPN's Steve Young said after the game, "Bradford was elite tonight." Some of his passes were of the ridiculous variety. On those his receivers wouldn't be considered open. It didn't matter. He simply placed the pass where only his guy could get it. Bradford basically did what he wanted last night. The new offensive line made it possible. Bradford was sacked once but the pocket for nearly all of his 32 attempts was clean. New left tackle Riley Reiff allowed zero hits, zero touches, and zero pressures of his quarterback. That makes for a healthy and happy quarterback and an explosive offense.
In a game that included Drew Brees, Sam Bradford was the best quarterback in it.
While the Vikings did most of their offensive work through the air the ground game had some nice moments as well. Rookie running back Dalvin Cook finished with 127 yards on 22 carries in his NFL debut. That rushing total broke the Vikings debut rushing record of Adrian Peterson. The running yards were tough to come by early in the game. The Vikings only had 32 rushing yards in the first half. Cook had 22. They kept after it and holes started to open. Cook was great in the second half. He was also terrific in pass protection throughout. He looked more like a back in his fifth season than one in his first game. The only negative last night for the rookie was a couple of dropped passes. He was probably just a little antsy.
Diggs and Thielen.
Receivers Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen each gained over 900 receiving yards last season. They each had a nice start to 1000-yard seasons last night. Thielen had nine catches for 157 yards with a long of 44. Diggs had seven catches for 93 yards and 2 TDs. He had a long of 30 yards.
The plodding Vikings offense of recent years was explosive in their first game of 2017. 470 total yards. Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur took the reigns of the offense in the middle of last season. He had to accommodate himself to what was already there. He was able to script and introduce his offense to the players this offseason. It was a fine start. The Saints defense has struggled recently but they made a concerted effort this offseason to improve the talent on that side of the ball. It's a work in progress but it looks like they are headed in the right direction. The Vikings offense will face tougher tests this year but this was an excellent start.
Defense.
The Vikings defense didn't have a bunch of splash plays. They had a single sack. Although a second was a negated by a questionable penalty. They had no turnovers. What the defense did was keep the high-flying, Drew Brees-leading, Sean Payton-guiding Saints offense out of the end zone until two minutes remained and the Viking were up by three scores. The Saints were only able to manage four field goals on their only productive drives. The Vikings forced three 3-and-outs in the Saints six possessions before things got desperate in the fourth quarter. It would've been nice to get some turnovers but the defense's main objective is to keep the opponent out of the end zone. The Vikings did that against a strong offense.
The Vikings really didn't do much wrong in this game. Kai Forbath missed an extra point. That's not good. The return game has been a major strength. It wasn't a strength last night. This was a strong start but they started strong last year. 5-0. None of those five wins felt as thorough as this one. They have to keep it going. This game is in the past now. The only thing that matters is the Pittsburgh Steelers next week.
Randy Moss was inducted into the Vikings' Ring of Honor at halftime. It was only a matter of time as he was one of the franchise's best ever players. He was one of the league's best players. Congratulations to the most physically gifted receiver the game has ever seen.
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