In case you missed it, Shaun Hill had a better grasp of the offense than Bradford and the Vikings decided for Week 1, they were going to go ahead and go with the more conservative approach.
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Zimmer said he’d prefer to hold his “cards close to the vest” against a hard opponent and joked that he “just figured it would be good sports talk radio”. After the game, we got a little more clarity…and more to worry about. “I can’t wait to get with the coaches”. The team split first-team snaps between Hill and Bradford during practice this week, but it appeared the Vikings were leaning toward Hill, who has been in Minnesota since 2015 and has a more thorough understanding of the offense than Bradford.
What did we learn about the defending NFC North champions, as well as Mike Mularkey’s Titans? Maybe you even shut the game off and avoided the second half. or at least thought about it? They traded for DeMarco Murray and drafted Heisman Trophy victor Derrick Henry to give Mariota, the only Tennessee player to run for 100 yards in a game over the past two seasons, more help in the run game.
Adrian Peterson rushed for only 31 yards on 19 attempts, a product of the Titans crowding the line of scrimmage and daring Hill to beat them deep. But stopping the 2012 MVP was the biggest goal of the Tennessee defense, and the Titans swarmed him early and often. “They pretty much bailed us out today”.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Blair Walsh started off a new season the same way the Minnesota kicker wrapped up his last: hooking field goals left. Against Tennessee, Hill was 18 of 33 for 236 yards passing with Stefon Diggs catching seven passes for 103 yards. Thielen also stepped up nicely for the Vikings with four catches for 54 yards.
The Titans led 10-0 at halftime, getting a Ryan Succop field goal and a 6-yard TD pass from Mariota to Murray.
Bottom line is, if the Vikings fail to slow down the two-headed monster that is Henry and Murray, the Titans present a real threat to the Vikings chances of winning on Sunday. But on the first play of the Titans’ ensuing possession Mariota was stripped by defensive end Danielle Hunter – another keep-an-eye-on-him guy this season – and run back for a shocking score.
The Vikings are coming off an 11-5 season, and a last-second loss to Seattle in the first round of the playoffs, so expectations are high coming into this campaign. Griffen didn’t record a sack, but his pressure led to one of the biggest plays of the game: Kendricks’ interception and return.
That’s going to be the blueprint for Vikings opponents, until the Vikings make them stop. “When we look at the first half, I feel like we played great”. Leading just 3-0 towards the end of the half, Murray helped add seven more when he took a pass from Mariota and leaped into the end zone for a score.
Last season the three-win Titans failed to finish several games they could have won.
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A late, garbage-time touchdown by the Titans ended the game at 25-16.
