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

The Minnesota Vikings opened up their 2017 NFL regular season with an impressive win over Adrian Peterson and the New Orleans Saints.

Considering the hype surrounding the return of running back Adrian Peterson to Minnesota, the Vikings put on a show for their fans on Monday night as they cruised to a 29-19 win over Peterson and the New Orleans Saints.

It was a great night for Minnesota both on the field and off the field as the team inducted former superstar wide receiver Randy Moss into their Ring of Honor as well on Monday. Did Moss’ presence in U.S. Bank Stadium provide a little extra motivation for the Vikings players to come out with a win against the Saints?

Whatever it was, Minnesota looked impressive in their first regular season game of the year and there are plenty of reasons for Vikings fans to be happy for the remainder of the week.

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.

The bad stuff vs. the Saints

Aside from the occasional dropped pass and the weekly Everson Griffen offside penalty, there was not a whole lot to complain about the Vikings’ play on Monday night.

Minnesota kicker Kai Forbath did miss an extra point attempt, so that needs to stop sooner than later. Latavius Murray’s regular season debut with the Vikings could have been better as he fumbled on his very first carry of the night and finished with just six rushing yards.

On the defensive side of the ball, Minnesota did not cause New Orleans to commit a single turnover all night. But the Vikings still won the game and the defense would take that result over a couple of turnovers every single time.

The interesting things vs. the Saints

1. Moss gets inducted into the Ring of Honor

As Minnesota’s current group of players headed into the locker room after the second quarter on Monday, the fans in U.S. Bank Stadium prepared to honor one of the greatest to ever put on a Vikings’ uniform.

During halftime, Minnesota inducted former wide receiver Randy Moss into the team’s prestigious Ring of Honor. It was clearly something that humbled the former Vikings great as he struggled to keep it together for most of the night.

2. Adrian Peterson is old

In his return to Minnesota as a member of the Saints, Peterson’s night could not have been much worse.

The future Hall-of-Famer finished with just 18 rushing yards on six carries and one mean glare at New Orleans head coach Sean Payton. Should be an interesting year for Peterson with the Saints.

Next: Diggs wore some freaky cleats on Monday night

Perhaps he will even make it to the end of the season without a complaint? Sorry, that was a bad joke.