Minnesota Vikings: 5 Winners and Losers from Preseason Week 1

The first preseason game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Tennessee Titans produced some mixed results, with a few winners per each team and a few losers.

But in essence, that's what preseason games are all about.

Today, we're going to quickly look at the ups and downs of that game and try to identify the five biggest winners and losers of the contest.

Ready?

Losers: Titans Ground Game

Overall, I felt the Titans ground game was rather flat, and a bit inconsistent which is to be expected after an unexpected four-month vacation.

The team just seemed as if it couldn't move very well and despite scoring a touchdown, they just had a feel that more work was needed.

Again, this is only one game, but it was something that stuck out to me.

Winners: The Rookie Quarterbacks

Despite dealing with some anticipated butterflies, the two rookie quarterbacks came out of this game with passing grades.

Each quarterback looked as if they knew their respective playbooks rather well and were comfortable executing when they weren't taking any hits.

I'd like to see more down-field throws in the coming games, which would really open up the analysis on where the kids are.

Losers: The Vikings O-Line

The O-line—my biggest interest—looked as if there is plenty of work to do but on a positive note, looked like they were making a bit of progress.

The line seemed to struggle at times with various looks from up front and even occasionally on the outside which is to be expected since the Vikings are still sort of in trial mode.

By next week, if the Vikings can't play a little better and show improvement, there may be some serious issues coming.

Losers: Titans Secondary

The Titans secondary was an area that should've been under a small microscope in this one considering how inconsistent they were in 2010.

While the team has plenty of talent, the talent didn't always show up last season, so against a Vikings team that can move the ball, one would've imagined this contest a perfect "first-go" at seeing where improvement is needed.

The secondary didn't look horrible, but they did look confused at times, easily getting turned around on the more flash-type routes.

Titans fans will hope for a better performance when they meet the Rams next.

Winners: The Fans

Whether it is a Titans player or Vikings player shown in the picture, the image alone is a breath of fresh air considering what the players and fans have gone through these past few months.

Football is back, and the boys are playing again.

As a writer, it's refreshing in multiple ways from the analytical point of view of a game breakdown, to the almost poetic nature of seeing the kids' faces after getting an autograph.

It's good to see everything is back to normal.