Minnesota Vikings: Team effort leads Vikes to easy win
By Travis Young
The Minnesota Vikings offense and defense dominated Tampa Bay in the Vikings 34 – 17 victory.
Nearly 500 yards of offense and three turnovers from the Minnesota Vikings defense dumped the Buccaneers in the land of 10,000 lakes.
Case Keenum looked much more comfortable in this offense than just a week ago. He completed 25 of 33 passes to eight different receivers for 369 yards and three touchdowns. He was not sacked on the day.
As I mentioned two months ago, Keenum is a quality backup who can produce on a short-term basis. I think we saw more of the real Keenum against the Bucs. He can fill in and win a few games when the team needs him to do just that. His appearance in Pittsburgh was somewhat rushed with the late notice of Bradford’s failing knee.
Stefon Diggs had a monster day with eight receptions for 173 yards and two scores. Rookie Dalvin Cook rushed 27 times for 97 yards and his first career touchdown. Cook made an impact in the passing game as well, with five catches for 72 yards.
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The offensive line once again came to life. They kept Keenum free of trouble and pushed the depleted Tampa Bay defense enough to clear room for Cook. The line had a tough afternoon against the Steelers, but they have been the key factor in the two wins. Look no further than the nearly 38 minutes of possession time for the Vikings in this one.
A week ago, the Minnesota Vikings defense was not sharp, to put it modestly. Silly penalties and mental lapses really carried Pittsburgh to an easy win. Maybe the home crowd or home cooking turned it around for head coach Mike Zimmer’s specialty this week. Either way, they played much better as a unit and with more intensity.
The club as a whole only had five penalties for 53 yards. They held Tampa Bay to just 26 yards on nine rushing attempts. Most importantly, the defense put an end to Bucs’ drives with three interceptions. They also sacked Jameis Winston twice.
Kicker Kai Forbath had his most impressive game as a Viking to date. He nailed all four extra points and converted his two field goal opportunities.
Next: Five things we learned in the win over Tampa Bay
Next Sunday the Vikings will reach the quarter point of the season with their fourth game. They host the 2-1 Detroit Lions. Kickoff is at noon central time at US Bank Stadium.