Biggest Takeaways from Minnesota Vikings' Week 2 Win
The Minnesota Vikings evened their record at 1-1 in 2015, with a 26-16 win over the Detroit Lions in Week 2.
How long ago last Monday's disaster in San Francisco must feel for Mike Zimmer's Vikings.
Minnesota dominated the line of scrimmage Sunday, rushing for over 200 yards and manhandling the Lions up front on defense. The Vikings never trailed in sending a playoff team from a year ago to 0-2 to start this season.
In the following slides, we'll highlight the biggest takeaways from Minnesota's 10-point win over the Lions on Sunday.
The Demise of Adrian Peterson Was Greatly Exaggerated
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Adrian Peterson is officially back.
A week after receiving just 10 carries in a dud of a debut in San Francisco, Peterson carved up the Lions Sunday at TCF Bank Stadium. He turned his 31 touches into 192 total yards, rushing for 134 yards on 29 carries and catching two passes for another 58.
The Lions had no answer.
“When you have a team that knows that you’re going to try to get your running back going and you’re still able to get out and run the football, that’s the physical kind of team that Coach Zim’ wants to see," tight end Kyle Rudolph said, per Craig Peters of the team's official site.
Peterson's 134 rushing yards lead all running backs in Week 2 through Sunday's games.
He powered the Vikings on the team's opening drive, rushing seven times for 45 yards as Minnesota marched down the field to score the club's first touchdown of 2015. Later, Peterson set up a field goal when he rumbled 49 yards off a broken play in which Teddy Bridgewater flipped the football to his running back under heavy pressure.
It's amazing what's possible when an offense features its best player.
Vikings Defense Comes Back from the Dead
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After getting repeatedly punched in the mouth by the 49ers in the season opener, the Vikings decided to put on some gloves of their own and hit back against the Lions.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford took the brunt of Minnesota's beating.
The Vikings sacked Stafford just once but landed eight quarterback hits. Stafford was bruised and battered by the end contest, looking much like a fighter who went the distance but suffered a decisive decision.
Minnesota controlled the line of scrimmage from start to finish. Lions running backs combined to rush for 18 yards on 12 carries, with a long of just seven yards. Stafford led the team in rushing with 20 yards on four scrambles.
Unable to get anything done on the ground and trailing for the duration of the contest, the Lions were forced to throw 53 times. The one-dimensional offense played right into the hands of Minnesota's attacking front.
Credit the Vikings for licking their wounds and getting back on their feet after an ugly performance in Week 1. The swarming defense on display Sunday was what many expected from Mike Zimmer's group in year two.
Big Strides on Money Downs
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The Vikings ran just 54 plays in Week 1 against the 49ers, in large part due to the offense's inability to keep drives alive. Minnesota finished 1-of-9 on third down and 0-of-2 on fourth.
The offense was much better at extending drives Sunday.
The Vikings converted seven of 14 third downs against the Lions, including a pair on the opening touchdown drive. Minnesota also made good on its one fourth-down attempt, with a well-designed Teddy Bridgewater bootleg producing an easy walk-in touchdown for the Vikings quarterback in the first half.
The result was five scoring drives, 61 plays and over 31 minutes of possession.
Third down remains the money down in the NFL. Few teams can convert just one third down and win a game. Sunday was a big step in the right direction for the Vikings offense.
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Too Many Penalties
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A rash of penalties provided one of the few negatives for Minnesota.
Overall, the Vikings committed 10 penalties worth 97 yards against the Lions. Six of the penalties created first downs for Detroit, including a pass-interference call that negated a Harrison Smith interception.
There was more. Defensive end Everson Griffen took away an early third-down stop with a neutral zone infraction, and linebacker Anthony Barr had a silly personal foul late on Matthew Stafford.
Then again, penalties also saved the day for Minnesota. An Adrian Peterson fumble into the end zone was taken away by an offside call, allowing the Vikings to eventually punch in the touchdown with Zach Line.
Sunday was a sloppy game for both teams at times. The Vikings overcame their own discipline issues, but giving away free yards and first downs—especially on defense—is living on the edge.
Vikings Will Win a Lot of Games with This Blueprint
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The Vikings won't be easy to beat when Minnesota plays like it did Sunday.
The dark-horse playoff team dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, outrushing the Lions by 161 yards and laying big hit after big hit on quarterback Matthew Stafford. Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater played smart and efficient, completing 14 of 18 passes for 153 yards and a score (plus one rushing).
The win certainly felt like a blueprint of sorts.
Winning in the trenches is going to be the fulcrum for the Vikings every week. Minnesota will win a lot of games when Adrian Peterson is well-fed, and the opposing offense rushes for just 2.4 yards per carry. Replicating the performance on both offense and defense represents the next step for the Vikings.
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