Minnesota Vikings Week 1: Ups and downs vs. the New Orleans Saints

The good stuff vs. the Saints

1. Bradford plays out of his mind!

Heading into this season, there was a lot of skepticism surrounding the chance of Minnesota’s quarterback having a successful 2017. Well if Monday night is any indication, Bradford is in for a career year.

In his second season with the Vikings, the quarterback began his year by throwing for 346 yards and three touchdowns against New Orleans. His 346 passing yards on Monday night are the sixth most he has finished a game with in his career.

2. Dalvin looks like a Master Chef

With a clear view of Peterson from across the field, Vikings rookie running back Dalvin Cook showed the team’s fans why they should be excited about having him in Minnesota. On 22 carries, Cook ran for 127 yards, setting the Vikings’ franchise record for most rushing yards by rookie in their NFL debut.

It looks like Minnesota made a good decision to say goodbye to Peterson this past offseason.

3. Vikings’ defense contains the Saints’ explosive offense

It was a little worrisome at first when New Orleans first offensive drive of the game lasted 13 plays and ended with them putting three points on the scoreboard. But Minnesota’s defense made the necessary adjustments and held quarterback Drew Brees and the Saints offense in check for most of the night.

Thanks to the Vikings’ defense, New Orleans only converted on 36 percent of their third-down attempts and they ended Monday night with just 60 yards on the ground. Brees did finish with one touchdown pass, but he did not throw it until there was just two minutes remaining in regulation.

4. Diggs and Thielen would like some respect please

For some reason, when people talk about the best wide receiving duos in the NFL today, Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen normally are not included in the discussion. That should probably change after their performances on Monday night.

The duo combined for 250 yards and two touchdowns on 16 catches against the Saints. Thielen led the Vikings with 157 receiving yards and Diggs was able to get into the end zone two times and entertain Minnesota’s fans with a pair of nifty touchdown celebrations.