Vikings RBs Dazzle, but Minnesota Loses 26-20 in Las Vegas

The Minnesota Vikings took the field for their initial preseason sport in Las Vegas this afternoon and fell to the Raiders 26-20. Even though the outcome on the field ended in a reduction, there have been a few positive things to be aware from this initial exhibition matchup.

With Kirk Cousins out due to Covid, the awareness quickly turned to the backup QB battle for the Vikings. Sean Mannion went into the activity as the starter, but he and next-year participant Kellen Mond break up snaps through the working day.

Mannion struggled in all of his sequence, and in spite of completing 8/12 passes for 79 yards, he never ever fully commited to throwing downfield. Mainly because of this conservative playstyle, the Vikings punted on each individual of their initial two drives, and the Raiders rapidly jumped out to a 10- direct in the next quarter.

The Raiders to start with touchdown of the day came on a Jarrett Stidham scramble as Patrick Jones II permitted him to snake his way out of the pocket. It was a single of the EDGE’s only bad reps of the day as he continuously generated stress on Las Vegas’ quarterbacks. He was quickly the tale of the day on the defensive facet of the ball, creating sacks for many teammates.

In the 2nd fifty percent of the game, the Vikings started to crawl their way again. This was largely on the legs of their managing again duo of Kene Nwangwu and Ty Chandler. Nwangwu turned a star in 2021 as a kick returner, but he had a very limited function in the offense likely into currently. He experienced a couple pretty awesome runs among the tackles as nicely as two receptions. The duo mixed for 12 carries and 91 dashing yards on the day, and Chandler tacked on a kick return of 56 yards to boot.

This good results in the run video game started opening factors up in the passing video game, and despite a gradual begin, Kellen Mond started having edge. The Vikings initially two trips into the red zone ended in Greg Joseph chip-shot discipline aims, but in the 3rd quarter, Mond threw a two-property strike to Albert Wilson on a slant route for a score soon after leading anothe red zone travel.

On Minnesota’s closing drive, Mond strike Wilson once again for a 21-property score in the back again corner of the conclusion zone. That push was the greatest of the working day for the younger QB as he passed for 71 yards and done all five of his passes.

The Vikings will need Mond to verify that he can acquire above the QB2 job this calendar year, and his preseason began with a 9/14 passing working day for 119 yards and the pair of TDs. There had been absolutely a several hideous plays in there crammed with indecisiveness, but this was a stage in the proper path for the Texas A&M products.

All that claimed, the Vikings defense showed a lot of increasing pains, which was to be envisioned from a young team. Andrew Booth, Cam Dantzler, and Parry Nickerson all have been penalized at factors in this activity, which includes a double whammy of DPI and deal with mask for Booth that in the long run expense the Vikings 36 yards. LBs Troy Dye and Chazz Surratt also had their fair share of blown coverages and missed tackles all over the day.

The Raiders pounded the run activity for most of the afternoon as effectively, and whilst the Vikings held robust while the starters Harrison Phillips, Dalvin Tomlinson, and Armon Watts have been in the sport, Las Vegas experienced their way right after that trio went to the bench for the day. All in all, the Raiders ran the ball 38 instances for 140 yards and two touchdowns. Brittain Brown’s rating down the stretch of the fourth quarter set the Raiders up 26-13, and, for all intents and purposes, put the video game absent for Las Vegas. Brown finished his working day with 14 carries for 54 yards.

Immediately after this weekend’s defeat, the Vikings now seem in advance to this week wherever they will host joint-tactics with the San Francisco 49ers. Then, the two teams will encounter off in a matchup at U.S. Bank Stadium on August 20th.