Vikings first team offense unable to score a touchdown in preseason
By Jordan Ison
After causing fans many headaches a year ago, the Minnesota Vikings first team offense hasn’t given much hope for a turnaround after a mediocre preseason.
The records don’t always speak the whole story in the preseason. The Minnesota Vikings are showcasing that in 2017. Despite a 2-1 record, the first team offense has not been able to find the endzone. Not even once.
Although the Vikes still have one game remaining in the preseason, starters are not normally seen on the field in the final game. It’s fair to say this is not the offensive production that should give Vikings fans much hope at all.
Sam Bradford (most likely) finished the preseason 29 – 39 (74.4%) with 264 yards. The positives can be clearly seen. His completion percentage was still high and he didn’t throw any interceptions. The negatives are clear as well. He didn’t have any touchdowns and he was sacked 5 times.
The new look offensive line gave reason for hope on occasion, but as a whole, didn’t look a lot different from the 2016 bunch. Bradford was still forced to make quick decisions and use a lot of check-downs. That may have to be the offense again in 2017, if the O-line can’t give Sam some time in the pocket.
Dalvin Cook was a nice surprise, even though his stats don’t fully paint the picture. He had 17 rushing attempts for 70 yards (4.1 yds/att). While that’s better than Minnesota’s rushing game a year ago, it’s nothing to gawk at. He did, though, show great patience and footwork out of the backfield. His longest rushing attempt was 15 yards, in which he displayed the great cutting abilities that he was known for at Florida State.
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Stefon Diggs and Laquon Treadwell had all eyes on them at the receiver position. Diggs is expected to have a breakout season, while Treadwell is just trying to get some time on the field. Despite a few dropped passes, Diggs looked sharp (7 catches for 76 yards). Treadwell, when he got on the field, impressed as well. He looked a lot more NFL ready than this time last year (3 catches for 36 yards).
In conclusion, despite the lack of scoring for the first team offense, it’s not all bad news for Minnesota. I wouldn’t get my hopes up though. The main struggle of 2016, the offensive line, didn’t impress whatsoever. Without some kind of protection, the Vikings may struggle to put points on the board this season.
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The preseason, though, rarely mean anything. First team players don’t go 100%, as they try to avoid injuries. Coaches don’t give away their whole playbook. The hope can still be there for Minnesota, maybe offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur has more tricks up his sleeve.