In a much closer game than it should have been, the Minnesota Vikings come out on top against the Tennessee Titans, 23-13 on the road this afternoon. What did Minnesota do to walk away with the victory?
First Quarter
The Minnesota Vikings and Tennessee Titans exchanged turnovers before the Vikings made a defensive stop, forcing the Titans to attempt a field goal. The Vikings responded with a touchdown drive that was capped off/highlighted by a 47-yard reception by Jordan Addison. He did most of the work after the catch and was able to run it in for a touchdown. The Vikings ended the first quarter with momentum after the defense made a stop, and Sam Darnold avoided a sack to get a 16-yard completion to Trent Sherfield.
Second Quarter
A huge 31-yard completion from Darnold to Justin Jefferson kept the momentum rolling. After a controversial pass interference call against the Titans in the end zone, Darnold snuck it in for a TD. Minnesota’s defense forces another 3-and-out, and the Titans got called for a horse collar tackle on the punt. Minnesota got Running Back Cam Akers involved in the passing and running game on consecutive plays a bit past halfway through the second quarter. The Vikings’ offense has six 1st downs thanks to penalties called against the Titans, while the Titans’ offense has five total 1st downs.
Minnesota continued to get Akers involved in the running game and it paid off with a 12-yard run to get them a yard or two outside of the red zone just before the two-minute warning. The Vikings settled for a 40-yard field goal attempt by John Parker Romo. They led 16-3 with 1:41 left in the first half.
Third Quarter
Each side punted on their first possession of the second half. The Vikings got going in the run game with Aaron Jones but ultimately ended up punting the ball away. Trent Sherfield Sr. made a great play near the goal line to pin the Titans at the 2-yard line off Ryan Wright’s punt.
The Titans gained next to nothing on a couple of plays before they caught the Vikings off guard with a 98-yard touchdown pass from Levis to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. Sam Darnold and the Vikings responded with a 25-yard completion to Jefferson. Minnesota benefited from another Titans penalty to gain a first down instead of Darnold taking a sack and having to punt. A big completion to Jefferson to get inside the 5-yard line and a receiving TD by Cam Akers extended the lead to 23-10.
The Titans got things going on offense toward the end of the third quarter. They get a touchdown but it is called back due to an illegal formation. The third quarter ended with the score 23-10 in favor of the Vikings.
Fourth Quarter
The Titans had a couple of incompletions and a rush for loss before settling for a 43-yard field goal. The Vikings’ inability to get their run game going in the second half kept the Titans within striking distance by keeping Minnesota from using much time on their possessions.
Late in the game, Minnesota was able to make the Titans burn two of their timeouts by running the ball with Akers. The Vikings punted the ball back to the Titans, and the Vikings sealed the victory when Will Levis tried to complete a pass to Calvin Ridley. It ended up in the hands of Harrison “Hitman Harry” Smith for an INT. The Vikings ran out the clock with a few runs by Jones and improved to 8-2 on the season.
Final Thoughts
Minnesota looks to keep the winning ways going when they visit the reeling Chicago Bears next week. The following week they host the division-leading Arizona Cardinals. A hallmark of a solid team is winning when you are not at your best, and that is what took place today in Nashville, Tennessee. The Vikings are the No. 3 seed in the NFC and have all the pieces necessary to make some noise in the second half of the NFL season.
