The Minnesota Vikings struggled offensively against the Carolina Panthers, but Sam Bradford was still able to find tight end Kyle Rudolph for a touchdown.
Considering the way the Minnesota Vikings started out offensively against the Carolina Panthers during week 3 of the NFL season, it came as somewhat of a surprise to see the boys in purple come out and move the football after halftime.
Thankfully, the adjustments the Vikings made to their pass protection seemed to make a big difference. After driving down the field, Minnesota was in a first and ten situation. Instead of looking for a short gain, quarterback Sam Bradford took a chance at the end zone.
Check out the Kyle Rudolph score from the official NFL Twitter account:
What a catch, @KyleRudolph82! pic.twitter.com/kEzfe5ucYY
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 25, 2016
Bradford looked at the defense and realized that tight end Kyle Rudolph had a good matchup. He was lined up against a smaller defensive back, and it didn’t take long for Bradford to want to take advantage of that.
Floating the ball up in the air toward the red zone, Rudolph won the jump ball and came down in bounds. However, the officials would review the play to ensure that it was indeed a score. After some deliberation and review, the touchdown was scored and Minnesota started being able to move the ball on a much more regular basis.
This was the first offensive score for the Vikings in the game, and this play helped to take some pressure of the defensive and special teams units of the squad.
Next: Full game-by-game 2016 Vikings season preview
Kyle Rudolph gives the Minnesota Vikings a valuable weapon, especially in the red zone. If quarterback Sam Bradford can keep faith in the big-bodied target, the two could connect to become one of the scarier tight end-quarterback combinations in the National Football league.