Minnesota Vikings Vs Saints: 3 Positive Takeaways

The Minnesota Vikings fell victim to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. For a team that is full of distractions, the Vikings were able to keep this a more competitive game than most expected. While it always stinks to lose, there are some good things that can come out of a loss. Here are 3 positive takeaways from the Minnesota Vikings third regular season game.

Aug 8, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings safety

Harrison Smith

(22) against the Oakland Raiders at TCF Bank Stadium. The Vikings defeated the Raiders 10-6. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Harrison Smith looked like a leader in the secondary. Playing against Drew Brees can be a daunting task. He can dissect a defense with surgical precision when given the time make good reads. However, that wasn’t always the case with Harrison Smith in the secondary. There were multiple occasions where a great play from Smith led to a pass being deflected or nearly intercepted. With how young this secondary is, it’s good to see a young player stepping up and playing at such a high level. According to Yahoo!, he defended 3 passes. He has 4 pass defenses on the season, which is the same number as the rest of the Minnesota Vikings combined on the year!

Special Teams look solid. Another game with a blocked kick today. The only real difference this time is that the Minnesota Vikings were the ones doing the blocking. The Vikings were able to disrupt the Saints line enough to get penetration deep enough to get a hand on the football. Plus, Cordarrelle Patterson‘s kick returns gave the Vikings an average starting field position of the 24 yard line, which is 4 more than if he took a touchback on those occasions. Also, Blair Walsh was flawless on the day, connecting on all 3 of his field goal attempts and did not have a single kickoff returned.

Sep 21, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback

Teddy Bridgewater

(5) looks to pass the ball against the New Orleans Saints in the first half at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports

Teddy Bridgewater looks like a capable rookie quarterback. Let me clarify. Bridgewater didn’t set the world on fire with his first NFL regular season game. He failed to lead a drive into the end zone in the game and completed only 60% of his passes. Yet, there is plenty to be optimistic about when it comes to the young quarterback. His ability to elude pressure in the pocket while keeping his eyes downfield were apparent and so was his intelligence on scrambles when he couldn’t find a target.

Are there any other things that you thought were positive notes in the game against the Saints that I missed? Disagree with any of my observations? Discuss it in the comments below.

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