Vikings - Broncos: Preseason Game #3

Minnesota Vikings 13

Denver Broncos 23

I can’t believe the Broncos decided to end a preseason game with a meaningless field goal. The Vikings served up the opportunity by going for it on 4th-and-27 from their own 8-yard line with two minutes to play. They just wanted to end this game and the preseason. Even though punting was a highlight of the game, they didn’t need to see another one. They didn’t need to see another injury. The new Vikings coaches had seen enough. The new Broncos coaches had other plans. Meaningless points in a meaningless game. They even took a timeout to make it happen. 

The preseason is over. Finally.

There really isn’t much to say about this game. The Vikings played zero starters again. It was kinda strange to watch a preseason with so few starters getting snaps. The starting offensive line had a token appearance in the first preseason ngame. Defensive lineman Armon Watts had a handful of snaps. Other than that, three games, all backups. 

Sean Mannion and Kellen Mond. This game was further evidence that the Vikings had to make last week’s trade for Nick Mullens. The future in Minnesota of Mannion and Mond may have rested on last night’s game. I’d seen enough of Mannion after last year’s game against the Green Bay Packers. I had higher hopes for Mond this training camp and preseason. He did some good things in the first preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders. He threw ridiculous interceptions in the second preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers. Last night was a big game for Mond. It didn’t go well. He made a couple nice throws. More often, he looked too hesitant to make a decision. It’s a good thing the Vikings made that trade for Mullens. 

The Vikings players of this game:

Ryan Wright

Greg Joseph

The punter and the kicker! That says all that needs to be said about this game. Actually, something more needs to be said about Wright. Perhaps it was a combination of winning the Vikings punting job earlier in the week and kicking at altitude in Denver. Whatever. He was brilliant. He had four punts. Three were downed inside the 11-yard line. He pinned a 68-yard punt at the 2-yard line. His lone touchback was his longest punt. 71 yards. His four punts went for 225 yards. A 56.25 average. It was preseason but it may have been the best game I’ve seen from a Vikings punter. My hope is that the Vikings don’t have to punt much this season. When Wright does punt I hope that he punts like he did last night. 

Joseph has been great throughout training camp and preseason games. He had kicks of 46 and 58 yards against the Broncos. Both kicks looked like they’d clear the uprights from more than 65 yards. 

The punter and the kicker! It was that sort of game. It’s time for the regular season. It’s time for the starters. Finally. 

Bring on the Green Bay Packers.