The Vikings held on to defeat the New Orleans Saints at spectacular US Bank Stadium, 27-19. It was their fifth consecutive win.
The win and the game looked like it was going to be easy in the first half. The Vikings were up 24-3 at the half. Everything worked for the Vikings. Very little worked for the Saints. Vikings quarterback Josh Dobbs was brilliant in the first half of his first start.
18 completions
22 attempts
220 yards
1 touchdown (28 yards)
6 carries
40 yards
1 touchdown (7 yards)
Over half of Dobbs’ first half passes went to tight end T.J. Hockenson.
10 catches
128 yards
1 touchdown (28 yards)
The Saints defense actually looked to be more interested in hitting Hockenson in the back and ribs than covering him. I suppose that seemed like a terrific strategy seeing as he spent much of the week nursing a tender side from last week’s game.
The Dobbs-led Vikings offense rattled off 21 unanswered points in the first half.
The second half wasn’t so easy. The Vikings scored first in the third quarter. A field goal made it 27-3. Thankfully, the 24 point lead with 27:13 to play was enough.
The Saints have a very good defense. The final two quarters weren’t going to be as easy as the initial two quarters. Perhaps the Vikings shuffled to preservation mode rather than the aggressive mode that worked so well. Who knows? It was probably a bit of both. The Saints defense making plays and a Vikings offense with maybe an eye or two on the clock.
The real trigger to this becoming a competitive game may have been the Saints losing quarterback Derek Carr. A combo tackle by Danielle Hunter and Jaquelin Roy ended Carr’s day about halfway through the third quarter. Jameis Winston came off the bench and got the Saints offense going. As much a key to that was discovering receiver Chris Olave. Prior to the quarterback change, I wondered if Olave was even playing. With Winston winging the ball around, the second-year receiver started giving the Vikings fits. He caught the first touchdown. That was a 14-yard beauty in the corner of the end zone. Byron Murphy Jr. had decent coverage but the ball was placed where only Olave could grab it.
If the Vikings were able to control Olave, the second half might’ve been nearly as easy as the first half.
A revived Saints offense and defense eventually got the game to a single-score margin with 11:40 to play. From there, the Vikings punted four times. Three of those possessions lasted three plays. The possession that lasted more than three plays actually included a touchdown. Ty Chandler ran it to the end zone from 29 yards. It would’ve iced the win. Unfortunately, Brian O’Neill was called for holding on the play. Upon further review, it looked more than a little like the Saints defender falling on top of O’Neill rather than the defender being held and pulled to the ground. The touchdown that would’ve iced the game was taken away. The Vikings moved further back before they had to punt the ball back to the Saints.
The Vikings defense preserved the win with a couple of late interceptions. Even with interceptions that felt like game-sealers, the Saints still had a final opportunity with a Hail Mary heave from Winston. Thankfully, the ball harmlessly hit the turf.
A win is a win. It’s easy to like the first half. The second half was a little different. If head coach Kevin O’Connell has any regrets coming out of this it might be his decision on 4th-and-three at the 36-yard-line. It was the end of the third quarter/start of the fourth quarter. He’s often decided to go for it and been successful in previous situations this season. He opted for the 54-yard field goal attempt. If successful, the Vikings would’ve been up 30-11 with a quarter to play. That three-score lead would’ve been real difficult to overcome. Unfortunately, Greg Joseph missed that field goal. The strategy to move from aggressive in the first half to passive in the second half could also be questioned. Although a win is proof that the Vikings overall strategy for the Saints was successful.
Ultimately, it was a complimentary win. The Vikings offense jumped out to a big lead. The Vikings defense made it stand.
After a dreadful 0-3 start to the season, the Vikings are now 6-4. They travel to Denver next week for a Sunday night game against the Broncos.
No comments:
Post a Comment