Minnesota Vikings: O-line crumbles, Vikings fall in close one to Denver
I like the Denver Broncos, but even now I am getting a little irritated with dominate defense of the Broncos. The defense smothered Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater on Sunday and that smothering turned into a turnover to end a comeback attempt for the Vikings. The purple fell at Mile High by a score of 23-20.
The beginning of the game looked like it was going to kill the Vikings. In the first possession alone, Bridgewater was sacked two times. The second-year QB would be sacked a total of seven times in the game.
Minnesota picked off Peyton Manning twice in the game. Manning went 17/27 for 213 yards and a touchdown in the fourth win of the season for the Broncos. While Manning didn’t explode for points, the Denver running game finally got going. The Broncos got 144 yards on the ground including a 72 yard scamper from Ronnie Hillman.
Hillman’s scamper was seconded by a huge fourth down 48-yard touchdown run from Adrian Peterson. Peterson got 16 carries for 81 yards taking on a Wade Phillips’ defense, a coach that usually schemes good enough to keep Peterson’s stats down.
More from Minnesota Vikings
- Kyle Rudolph signing gives stability to Minnesota Vikings offense
- Kirk Cousins: More wins with fewer turnovers
- Minnesota Vikings Kyle Rudolph Conundrum
- Minnesota Vikings: how the Vikings can upset the Patriots
- Minnesota Vikings: Xavier Rhodes could be difference-maker versus Lions
Stefon Diggs finally got some receiving action, despite leading the receivers in yards, Diggs did fumble a couple throws which was alarming. Diggs caught six balls for 87 yards. Mike Wallace also got going with eight catches for 83 yards and a TD. Adam Thielen got the start and in return gave the Vikings six catches for 70 yards.
The three-point game could have been a whole lot different. In the first quarter, Blair Walsh missed another field goal, but the story of the game really is the fact that Bridgewater couldn’t stay upright.
The Vikings were in two-minute mode and with 35 ticks left, Bridgewater didn’t see the blitz. TJ Ward sacked Bridgewater and forced a fumble that Von Miller recovered to seal the deal for Denver.
In the long run, it was a game that the Vikings could have won, but some positives are to be found. The big red flag is even though the offensive line is a patch worked job, they need to get better for the Vikings to have a chance in 2015.