The Minnesota Vikings hosted the San Diego Chargers in the first football game played at sparkling, new US Bank Stadium.
From a seat on a sofa in California the stadium looks like a beauty. With only about half the roof being glass/clear I've been a little worried about odd shadows playing across the surface of the field. I figured that the architects had thought about this potential issue but I still had to see for myself. It wasn't an issue at all. The stadium had all the qualities of an outdoor game. When they have those giant doors open it probably feels like an outdoor game as well. It's looks like a brilliant stadium. For all of their 55 years the Vikings have had one of the worst stadiums in the league. Now, they have one of the best.
Oh, the Vikings won the game 23-10.
With this being the first game there were a lot of stadium firsts.
First sellout and a Vikings preseason attendance record: 66,143
First points: Blair Walsh 23-yard field goal.
First touchdown: Unfortunately this went to the Chargers. A 39-yard run by Melvin Gordon
First run: 35-yard run by Jerick McKinnon
First catch: 10-yard catch by Stefon Diggs
First penalty: offsides on Changers defensive end Corey Luiget
First Vikings touchdown: 27-yard reception by Kyle Rudolph
First interception: Harrison Smith
First fumble recovery: Forced by Justin Trattou. Recovered by Stephen Weatherly
There will be another slew of firsts when the Vikings host the Green Bay Packers on September 18. A game that actually counts.
The Vikings are now 3-0 in the 2016 preseason. This was their best game. The Vikings may have defeated the Cincinnati Bengals and Seattle Seahawks in the first two games of the preseason but they neither ran the ball well nor defended the run well in those wins. Both of those opponents sustained too many drives with the run. At least they managed to make a few stops at the end of those drives to limit the scoring. The Vikings were effective running the ball and much better at stopping the run against the Chargers. If it wasn't for the scoring burst by Gordon their run defense would have been close to very good.
The biggest problem in their win over the Chargers was settling for field goals rather than touchdowns. This was a big problem last year. It looks like it could still be a problem. The Vikings opened the game with two terrific scoring opportunities. They opened the game with a 68-yard drive to the Chargers 5-yard line. They had to settle for a short Blair Walsh field goal. They ran three plays from inside the 6-yard line. Couldn't score. A Harrison Smith interception gave the Vikings offense excellent field position on the Chargers 44-yard line for the second possession. They got to the 15-yard line and settled for another short field goal. The Vikings offense has to score touchdowns on these prime opportunities. Having Adrian Peterson in the regular season will help. His running the ball and providing the threat of running the ball should boost effectiveness of the offense in the red zone. It has to.
The Vikings defensive backups were impressive in the second half. They were going against the Chargers backups but they didn't let those backups do much. They even forced three turnovers. A fumble recovery by rookie defensive end Stephen Weatherly and interceptions by the Clemson rookies, safety Jayron Kearse and Mackensie Alexander. This was the second time this preseason that the Clemson rookies had interceptions. Each got hold of a pass against the Bengals.
"He's going to be a handful until we get things squared away."
Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer on Mackensie Alexander
This was actually a compliment. Alexander is an excitable, aggressive, competitive football player. He has the talent and potential to be great. His aggressiveness is going to come with some bumps along the way. He was hit with a taunting penalty after his interception. He apologized to Zimmer.
Jarius Wright has been one of the Vikings top three receivers for most of the last couple of seasons. He's made a habit of making big, chain-moving plays. He's made enough of them in his career to earn a nice second contract. He's missed some time with injuries in recent weeks. It looks like other receivers might have passed him on the depth chart. Stefon Diggs and Charles are established as the starters. First round pick Laquon Treadwell is going to get more reps as they enter and proceed through the season. He made some plays yesterday, including a scoring catch on a 2-point conversion, after a rough outing last week against the Seahawks. Adam Thielen has firmly established himself in the receiving rotation. Maybe he's simply being eased back into the lineup but Wright seems to have been passed by those four receivers. His playing time yesterday came in the second half with third-string quarterback Joel Stave leading the offense. Stave did connect with Wright on a 26-yard catch.
Mike Zimmer boosted his preseason record to 10-1.
The Vikings have had success against the Chargers in the preseason. 11-3-1.
The Vikings host the Los Angeles on Thursday in the preseason finale.
Tough days coming. Teams have to trim rosters to 75 players by Tuesday. Some have already done that trimming. Teams have to get down to 53 players by this Saturday.
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