The Minnesota Vikings sweated out a 24-16 win over the Miami Dolphins. It was a strange game as the Vikings offense wasn’t great. I blame the heat. They did have enough great moments scattered around a ridiculous 10 three-and-outs and an absurd 10 punts. That’s too damn many punts. It was the Vikings defense that made this win possible. They gave up a bunch of yards but they took the ball away often enough to ruin the Dolphins day. Here are some of the players that made the Vikings fifth win possible.
Offensive Player of the Game
Dalvin Cook, RB
Dalvin Cook gets this nod as his fourth quarter 53-yard touchdown made it a two-score lead and helped seal the win. Other than that big play, the Dolphins effectively bottled up Cook and the Vikings running game. They simply didn’t have enough plays to get anything going.
Defensive Players of the Game
Za’Darius Smith, OLB
Danielle Hunter, OLB
Patrick Jones II
Harrison Smith, S
Patrick Peterson, CB
Camryn Bynum, S
Chandon Sullivan, CB
Etc.
The Vikings defense was the reason for the win. Too many players made big plays and had big games to single out any one player. They did give up a lot of yards but they made enough big plays to make all those yards more fluff than substance. Despite gaining 458 yards, the Dolphins sat on only three points for most of the game.
Special Teams Player of the Game
Ryan Wright, P
Unfortunately, Ryan Wright was on the field a lot. He punted a ridiculous 10 times. That’s too damn many punts. His biggest was a 73-yard boomer booted from the back of his own end zone. From his own end zone, Wright put the Dolphins inside their own 20-yard line. He put the Dolphins inside their own 20-yard line on six of his ten punts. No touchbacks, and only three punt return yards. It was an incredible punting day. It was needed on Sunday but I hope that Wright never has to do it again.
The terrific play by Josh Metellus to stop a Dolphins fake punt attempt deserves a mention.
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