Schmidt’s Week 2 game grades: Minnesota Vikings vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

The Minnesota Vikings struggled on their first road game of 2017 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but what grades did each unit earn in Week 2?

The Minnesota Vikings entered Week 2 with a lot of emotions. The Vikings were coming off a dominating performance against the Saints last Monday night. They also were dealing with questions about their starting quarterback, Sam Bradford, who was eventually ruled inactive about two hours before Sunday’s opening kickoff.

Without the NFC Player Of The Week playing, the whole Vikings team struggled against a good Steelers team. The Vikings lost 26-9 in a game where they hurt themselves more than Steelers outplayed them.

The biggest storyline of Week 2 were the mental mistakes made in every phase of the game. The offense had penalties that killed momentum on drives. The defense had penalties on key third and fourth down plays that would have got them off the field. As for the Vikings’ special teams, they also committed a penalty that was questionable.

It was a disappointing performance after such a strong Week 1 game, but expect the Vikings to clean up their mistakes for next week. Mike Zimmer is a man who hates having metal mistakes. Expect the Vikings’ practice to be a lot about the fundamentals all week as they prepare for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next Sunday.

But let’s dive into the game grades of the Vikings’ loss yesterday afternoon against the Steelers.