Vikings - Dolphins

The Minnesota Vikings outlasted the Dolphins in the Miami heat.

24-16. 

It was a tough game. It was a defensive game. It was a game filled with punts. Too many punts. Here are the Vikings first four possessions:

Punt

Punt 

Punt 

Punt

At times, it felt like Ryan Wright received as many snaps from center as Kirk Cousins. For the game, Wright had 10 punts. That’s too damn many punts. He put six of those punts inside the Dolphins 20-yard line. He even ripped a 73-yarder. The Vikings needed that one as Wright punted it from deep in his own end zone. It was a terrific game from Wright. I hope that he never has to do it again. 

It’s a different sort of football game when you’re leading off with the punter. 

This game was controlled by the two defenses. The Vikings offense rarely had anything working. They had a ridiculous 10 three-and-outs. Other than the kneel downs to end the game, every Vikings possession was either a three-and-out or ended in a score. If the Vikings got a first down, they were on their way. It was a strange, defensive game. 

It was a defensive game but each defense controlled the game differently. The Dolphins defense bottled up the Vikings offense most of the game. The Vikings defense relied on scattered big plays. They had six sacks. Even more impactful were the turnovers. The Vikings had two interceptions and and a fumble recovery. They also stopped a fake punt attempt. They gave up a bunch of yards (458 yards to be exact) but they took the ball away from the Dolphins four times. The Vikings scored ten points off of turnovers. As important, two of the turnovers came in the final 4:22 of the game. Those takeaways sealed the win. Actually, the recovery of the Dolphins onside-kick attempt sealed the win. Those late takeaways were the difference in the game. 

For the game, the Vikings offense was mostly anemic. They totaled 234 yards. That was nearly half of the Dolphins production. 156 passing. 78 rushing. 53 of those rushing yards came on Dalvin Cook’s touchdown burst with about three minutes to play. 

Tyreek Hill is a nuisance. Scary fast. 

This was a strange, defensive game. The Vikings earned their first first down with about six minutes to play in the first half. That first first down turned into three more as the Vikings offense finally had a drive. It ended with a touchdown. That gave the Vikings a 7-3 lead. They never lost that lead and the Dolphins were never closer than four points. Despite their offensive struggles, the Vikings were in control of this game throughout. It was a sketchy control because of those offensive struggles but it felt kinda like control. It was a strange game but it was a win. Good teams win these games. I guess that the Vikings might be a good team. 

The Vikings are 5-1 heading into their Week 7 bye. With the Green Bay Packers losing to the New York Jets, the Vikings now have a two-game division lead.