Vikings vs. Lions: Postgame Grades, Notes and Quotes for Minnesota
The Minnesota Vikings did not start well against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, but they pulled it together in the second half to escape Ford Field with a 28-19 divisional victory.
Detroit was able to get off to a hot start against Minnesota, driving straight down the field for a Calvin Johnson touchdown on their opening possession. Immediately following a Blair Walsh field goal, the Lions put together a second consecutive touchdown drive, ending in an Eric Ebron touchdown.
After the Lions staked out an early 14-3 lead, the Vikings put the clamps down on defense and kicked their offense into high gear.
Minnesota allowed a Detroit field goal in the second quarter but responded with another field goal of its own as well as a Kyle Rudolph touchdown to put the score at 17-12 heading into halftime.
The Vikings came out of the half with 16 unanswered points, with the biggest play of the game coming on a deep strike to wide receiver Stefon Diggs. Diggs put a double move on cornerback Rashean Mathis, and quarterback Teddy Bridgewater lofted a pass up to the Maryland product.
The fifth-round rookie dived for the ball in a Superman-like fashion, stretching out completely to come down with the Bridgewater pass and get in for six points.
A series of punts due to excellent defensive play left the Matthew Stafford-led Lions offense frustrated, allowing Minnesota to stake out a 28-17 lead. In a strategic move, the Vikings took a safety late in the game, giving the Lions their 19-point total.
Bridgewater finished the game 25-of-35 (71 percent) for 316 yards and two touchdowns. Diggs led Minnesota in receiving with six catches for 108 receiving yards and his first NFL touchdown. Adrian Peterson, who struggled a bit early on, completed the game with 98 rushing yards on 19 carries.
Safety Harrison Smith led the Vikings with nine tackles, and rookie linebacker Eric Kendricks finished the game with two sacks and six tackles. Defensive end Everson Griffen added 1.5 sacks as the Vikings defense reached Stafford a total of seven times in the game while also mixing in 13 quarterback hits.
Position Grades for Vikings
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| Position | Grade |
|---|---|
| QB | A |
| RB | B |
| WR | A |
| TE | B |
| OL | C |
| DL | A |
| LB | A |
| DB | B |
| Special Teams | A |
| Coaching | A |
Despite a rocky start, the Vikings played potentially their most complete game of the season against the Lions on Sunday.
Bridgewater, while he did fumble multiple times and take a few unnecessary sacks, played an excellent game. He was accurate and made good decisions all afternoon. His numbers may have looked even gaudier had Jarius Wright not dropped an opportunity for another big play.
Peterson had a bit of a tough day, really only making an impact on two carries. However, the offensive line is at fault for a lot of this. Jerick McKinnon played very well in limited action, being a leader on the team's first touchdown drive that really got the offense going.
Diggs, Mike Wallace, Wright, Charles Johnson and Adam Thielen were all outstanding in varying degrees. The entire wide receiving corps contributed to this victory—except Cordarrelle Patterson.
Rudolph was just OK again this week, but he continues to be lethal in the red zone—where the Vikings have struggled all season.
The offensive line had its moments but again produced a rather pedestrian performance. Bridgewater was sacked four times—he receives partial blames for this as well—and the front five did not do a very good job opening up holes for Peterson against Detroit's run blitzes.
As a group, the defense was outstanding—in the second half. The Vikings defense looked to be in store for a long afternoon after the first couple of drives, but the group buckled down to put together an exceptional effort.
Detroit finished the game with just 274 total yards and was 1-of-10 on third-down attempts. Minnesota recorded a total of seven sacks and 13 quarterback hits, receiving contributions from all over the field.
Griffen, Kendricks and Smith were the biggest bright spots on defense, but Anthony Barr also played a great game and Tom Johnson filled in very well for the injured Sharrif Floyd. Xavier Rhodes, initial drive excluded, did a great job covering Calvin Johnson all afternoon, and Captain Munnerlyn performed well in coverage as well.
Walsh missed an extra point, but he still receives an A grade for hitting a total of five field goals, including a pair of 50-plus-yard attempts. Jeff Locke was limited to just two punts due to a strong offensive performance, but he did a nice job on both occasions.
Excluding the first pair of Lions offensive drives, the play-calling was outstanding. Both Mike Zimmer and Norv Turner were masterful—outside of the red zone, that is.
Red-Zone Offense Struggles
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The greatest issue the Vikings faced in Week 7 was punching the ball into the end zone from inside their own 20-yard line.
"I think the most important thing [we need to work on] is capitalizing in the red zone," Peterson said during a postgame interview (via Vikings.com).
His head coach echoed his running back's statement during his postgame press conference as well (via Vikings.com).
"We have got to score touchdowns when we get inside the 5-yard line, so that was disappointing," Zimmer said.
Minnesota reached the red zone a total of four times against the Lions on Sunday, cashing in on just one of these occasions. It did not prove to be an Achilles' heel in Detroit, but the best NFL teams make sure to get six points in these situations.
Rudolph, who caught the lone red-zone touchdown, has been excellent playing with a condensed field and has really been the only consistent member of the Vikings offense in these situations.
The Vikings escaped with a win this week—in part due to a plethora of Walsh field goals—but the team needs to improve its touchdown percentage in the red zone or the Vikings will not have a chance against teams like the Green Bay Packers.
Run-Blocking Remains an Issue
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Peterson finished Week 7 with nearly 100 yards rushing, but a vast majority of this number came on a 75-yard run—which the Vikings did not turn into six points.
Ben Goessling of ESPN shared a horrifying statistic directly relating to the Minnesota running back's troubles establishing consistency out of the backfield.
"Adrian Peterson was hit within a yard of the line of scrimmage on 15 of his 18 carries, per @ESPNStatsInfo.
— Ben Goessling (@GoesslingESPN) October 26, 2015"
It does not matter if the opposing team is putting eight men in the box, this is an absurd statistic and something Minnesota must improve on immediately if it hopes to remain a run-first team. Even the greatest running backs in NFL history cannot operate well on a consistent basis being hit almost immediately after receiving a handoff.
Additionally, Peterson is no longer the player he once was. While he is still very good and one of the best in the NFL, he seemingly does not possess the capability to routinely shake his initial tackler. This is something he can improve on—and he likely will as the season progresses—but this is more about run-blocking than anything else.
The Vikings simply need to block better for Peterson—which is something the team should be able to do when John Sullivan returns to the lineup—as Zimmer did not show any indication of lessening the team's amount of rush attempts per week.
""If you abandon the running game because you get two (yards) or you get one or three, then you're not going to hit these big runs," he said. "So we just have to continue to stick with it and when people do that they open up things for Teddy."
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Teddy Bridgewater Breaks Down Stefon Diggs' Catch
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The absolute pinnacle of Sunday's game came on a deep connection from Bridgewater to Diggs, which resulted in a 36-yard touchdown.
"We knew that Detroit had seen us run a certain route so many times and those guys were sitting on it," Bridgewater said (via Vikings.com). "We knew that we could get a favorable matchup with Diggs over there, and he did a great job of setting the route up, all I had to do was lay it out there. He went and made the play."
It was truly an outstanding catch for the rookie wide receiver, who is likely in store for another Pepsi Rookie of the Week nomination. He has played exceptionally well since being activated by the Vikings, which led to Minnesota being forced to put him in as the starter opposite Wallace.
Diggs was asked after the game what he did with the ball, as it was his first career NFL touchdown.
"Funny story. I lost it. JK," the rookie said with a big smile on his face (via Vikings.com). "I didn't keep it, but hopefully there is more to come.
"No worries."
There certainly does not appear to be anything to worry about, as Diggs has quickly established himself as Minnesota's go-to option and has performed better than any Vikings receiver in recent memory. In fact, he is the Vikings' first rookie since Randy Moss to cross the century mark in back-to-back games.
".@stefon_diggs goes over 100 yards on the day! He becomes the first Vikings rookie since Randy Moss to have back-to-back 100-yard games.
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) October 25, 2015"
The rookie was also asked how many times he had made a play similar to this, to which he responded, "I don't count 'em, I just try to make the next one."
It has only been three weeks, but it appears Minnesota has found Bridgewater a receiver he works well with, something the quarterback touched on after the game.
"[Diggs] comes on the sidelines, he looks at me, and I have that look in my eyes, and just tell him you be yourself and go out there and have fun," Bridgewater said.
"He's been doing a great job for us."
Mike Zimmer: Vikings Played Complementary Football
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Something coaches and players always seem to harp on is the idea of a "team win," which carries a self-explanatory definition. Seemingly one level above a team win is playing complementary football, meaning the offense helps the defense play well and vice versa.
"If we continue to play complementary football and understand these critical situations in the game, we have a chance to do some really good things," Zimmer said during his postgame press conference.
The Vikings did do an excellent job of playing complementary football on Sunday, wearing down the Lions defense with long offensive drives while keeping their own defense fresh to put the hurt on Stafford.
Excluding Detroit's pair of early touchdown drives, the Vikings defense allowed a grand total of 119 yards. The Lions were able to drive down the field 80 yards and 75 yards for touchdowns, but that was essentially it for Stafford and Co.
This led to the Lions defense constantly being forced back onto the field, and the group's decrease in stamina began to show as the game continued.
Seemingly the only player on Detroit's defense who never looked tired was Ziggy Ansah, who chased down Peterson before the running back could score on his 75-yard rush. Peterson complimented the defensive end's effort during his postgame interview.
All the great teams play complementary football. Whether it is a team that is built around a high-octane offense that simply creates turnovers on defense or a stifling defensive unit and adequate offense, the best teams—who almost all play in January—play the game in this fashion.
The Vikings will continue their divisional road trip with a matchup against the Chicago Bears next Sunday. Minnesota will look to continue playing complementary football as well.
For more Minnesota Vikings news, statistics and discussion, find me on Twitter @RobertReidellBT.
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