Schmidt’s game grades: Miami Dolphins vs. Minnesota Vikings

Vikings Offense grade: C-

Taylor Heinicke made the start for the Vikings and played a decent first half. He was taking a beating from the Dolphins defense for most of the half. Heinicke made some good throws but also missed out on a couple of opportunities. Heinicke finished with nine completions for 93 yards and one touchdown.

Mitch Leidner, former Gopher, made his debut last night. He completed a high number of passes going 14-19 for 129 yards. Leidner at best was fighting for a spot on the practice team but most likely will be cut as the Vikings work to get to the 53-man roster.

Next, we move to the Vikings’ running game which put in an okay effort last night. Bronson Hill and Terrell Newby were the two main backs last night. Hill put in a good effort finishing with 13 carries and 35 yards. He showed good vision and patience letting his blockers open a hole for him. Newby would finish with a similar stat line with 14 carries and 34 yards.

The bright spot on the Vikings offense last night was Cayleb Jones. Jones finished with nine receptions for 127 receiving yards and one touchdown. During the Vikings only touchdown drive, Jones made two big plays.

The first one came when Heinicke through a beautiful pass over the Dolphins linebacker where Jones leaped up high hauling in the pass for 21 yards moving the Vikings into the red zone.

The second big play was on a third down inside the red zone when Jones caught the ball at the 5-yard-line and turned up field diving into the end zone. Jones made most of his opportunity last night and might have turned some heads on the Vikings coaching staff.