Minnesota Vikings Week 2: Top 5 takeaways vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

What were some of the biggest takeaways from the Minnesota Vikings week 2 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, September 17, 2017?

The Minnesota Vikings entered Pittsburgh unbeaten but with Sam Bradford ruled out due to a knee injury they fell to a 1-1 record after a miserable performance against the Steelers led to a 17 point loss.

In Bradford’s absence Case Keenum made his first start as a Vikings Quarterback but could only manage a 54% completion percentage for 167 yards and a paltry 4.5 attempt average. Pressed into starting duty with little time to prepare Keenum wasn’t as bad as the stat line suggests and was far from the only reason the Vikings came up short against superior competition compared to their Week 1 foes.

Offensively the Vikings were challenged by a Pittsburgh front seven that recorded 7 sacks in Week 1 and completely shut down the Brown’s run game. As you can guess from the total number of points Minnesota scored, it didn’t go well.  6 days after restricting the Saint’s offense, Minnesota faced the Killer B’s who were determined to show that their sluggish start to the season was a blip on the radar. The Vikings defence acquitted itself well but ultimately fell short as the sheer amount of offensive weapons Pittsburgh posses overwhelmed them.

After strong performances across the board in their previous outing several positional groups crashed back down to earth in Week 2. It is always hard to gauge a team’s performance in these circumstances but that is exactly what I will try to do with my top five takeaways from the Vikings’ disappointing Week 2 performance.

Unless otherwise noted, all game stats are provided by ESPN

Second Corner Conundrum

This offseason the Minnesota Vikings locked up Xavier Rhodes to a 6-year contract extension, providing stability on one side of the defense for years to come. Unfortunately, Rhodes is just one man and can’t cover the entire field by himself.

So far the extension looks to be money well spent. Rhodes acquitted himself extremely well against one of the league’s elite wide receivers as he kept Antonio Brown under wraps for the majority of the game, helping limit him to 5 catches on 11 targets for a meager total of 62 yards.

Unfortunately, with Martavius Bryant returning from a season-long suspension, the Pittsburgh Steelers are flush with receiving options and the rest of the Vikings cornerbacks couldn’t contain them. Bryant tormented the Vikings secondary, he may have only had 3 catches but they went for 91 yards and a touchdown and if it wasn’t for a couple of pass interference penalties his stats would have looked even more impressive.

Regardless of if it was Trae Waynes or Terrance Newman, they proved no match for the former Clemson Tiger and at times the duo had no option other to commit pass interference to prevent a big play. Newman was covering Bryant on his touchdown catch and simply couldn’t keep up with him on a slant route. Waynes didn’t fare any better as Bryant burnt him early in the second quarter, forcing the former first-round pick to interfere for 49 penalty yards. Unfortunately, Waynes didn’t learn his lesson and gave up a 51-yard completion to Bryant in the 3^rd quarter.

Looking ahead the Vikings don’t face too many deadly wide receiver duos but based on Sunday’s performance they could mightily struggle next week when they face Tampa Bay. With Rhodes expected to shadow Mike Evans, expect Tramaine Brock or Mackensie Alexander to cover DeSean Jackson if Waynes and Newman can’t keep up. Based on their performance against Bryant, expect to see a change by the second quarter.

Bottling Up Bell

Whilst one member of the Killer B’s was running rampant in the secondary, another was struggling to find running room against the Vikings defense.  Despite running behind what is considered to be one of the leagues premier offensive lines, Le’Veon Bell was restricted to 87 yards despite having a whopping 27 carries.

The Vikings may have only tackled Bell once for a loss but he found running room severely restricted as the Minnesota Vikings front seven dampened his ability to deploy his patented patient rushing style. As you can see from the below it didn’t matter which way Bell was running, the holes simply didn’t appear.

The defensive lines did a great job in keeping the line-backers free of blockers and allowing them easy access to the ball carrier, one who particularly impressed was Anthony Barr.  At Heinz Field, Barr registered 9 tackles, including one for a loss as he played from side-line to side-line.  The former first-round draft pick also demonstrated his athletic ability in limiting the yards after catch underneath. The best example came in the third quarter when Barr made a terrific play to chase Bell down after the catch and force him out of bounds shy of the marker on 3^rd down.

The analysts at Pro Football Focus were certainty impressed as they ranked him as the second-best Vikings player of the day with an 84.5 grade. By his standards, Barr had a disappointing season in 2016 but if continues to produce as he did against Pittsburgh he will be back playing at a Pro-Bowl level.

The Vikings ranked 16^th in the NFL last season surrendering 4.2 yards per carry on the ground. If they can continue to bottle up opposing running backs as they have done so far, 2017 should result in a great improvement by the end of the year.

Rotten Remmers

Following the offensive line’s display against the Saints, I cautiously wrote that the Vikings had a reason for optimism up front. Whilst I haven’t completely given up on the revamped unit, Sunday showed that the offensive line is far from fixed. On a day where Case Keenum was thrust into the fire, solid pass protection was a must to give the Vikings a chance. Regrettably, that isn’t what the journeyman quarterback received.

Although the Minnesota Vikings only allowed 2 sacks, the Steelers racked up 7 QB hits and the majority of Keenum’s incompletions came on hurried passes due to the constant pressure he was under. On a drive in the 4^th quarter, the Steelers pass rush forced 3 consecutive incompletions as they left Keenum with no option other than to throw the ball away.

If the incompletions weren’t enough of an indicator you could measure the Vikings pass blocking inadequacy by the amount of holding penalties called. Nick Easton was flagged twice with Remmers and Reiff chipping in with one apiece. Not only did the offensive line give up 30 penalty yards (1 was declined) but they negated several big plays.

Whilst no lineman in particular can hold their head high leaving Pittsburgh one player should be leaving with his tail tucked between his legs. After surrendering Minnesota’s only sack last week Mike Remmers continued to provoke questions that he may not be able to answer at right tackle.

Remmers was no match for Bud Dupree’s athleticism on the above play, giving up a sack and struggled for most of the game.  It’s no secret that Remmers has struggled with speed rushers since Von Miller dominated him in Superbowl 50 and opposing co-ordinators clearing have his number.  With his current pace of allowing a sack a game, how long will the Vikings’ coaches’ faith last in their expensive offseason acquisition?

Skill Position Solace

When Case Keenum did have time to find his receivers downfield, the Vikings’ pass catchers did their best to show that their Week 1 performance wasn’t a flash in the plan.

Coming off a huge game against the Saints Adam Thielen picked up where he left as he caught 5 catches for 44 yards with the longest catch of 24. Based on his two performances so far Thielen should excel as a slot receiver and won’t have a problem getting open against the majority of NFL defenses.

After exploding last week Stefon Diggs was relatively held in check by the Steelers secondary as he was limited to 2 catches for 27 yards. He did, however, follow up his two fantastic catches last week with another in Pittsburgh. It may have only been for 14 yards but on Minnesota’s lone touchdown driver Diggs made displayed fantastic focus to haul in an over the shoulder catch down the sideline.

The best Vikings catch of the night, however, belonged to Kyle Rudolph. Facing 3^rd and 20, Keenum overthrow a wide open Rudolph only for the tight end to leap into the air and snag a ridiculous one-handed catch that Odell Beckham would have been proud of.  Rudolph would go on to lead the Vikings in receiving yards with 45 yards on 4 catches.

In a surprising turn of events, Laquon Treadwell turned in his best performance as a Viking catching 3 passes for 33 yards and offering a reliable option outside of the hashes. It remains to be seen if Treadwell can hold off Michael Floyd when he returns from suspension but his output on Sunday was certainly a positive.

Dalvin Cook’s carries were restricted as the Vikings were forced to play the majority of the game from behind but in his second NFL appearance, he once again impressed. Cook was forced to grind out tough yards due to limited rushing lanes for much of the game but showed all he needed was one opportunity for an explosive play. Operating out of the shotgun Cook displayed fantastic acceleration, speeding down the right-hand sideline for a 25-yard run, juking one defender as he was dragged down 1 yard short of scoring his first Minnesota touchdown.

Once Bradford returns (hopefully in time for Week 3) the Vikings offense should be back up to full speed, as long as they aren’t facing a decent pass rush.

Penalty Party

With Case Keenum forced into action at short notice the Vikings were going to need to have a great game to escape Heinz field with a Victory but as the game played out they did themselves no favors, continually shooting themselves in the foot.

More from The Viking Age

• 6 biggest draft steals in Minnesota Vikings history
• Former Vikings first-round pick could reportedly return to NFC North
• Bears analyst has extremely embarrassing Kirk Cousins take
• 6 Vikings who (maybe) won’t make the 53-man roster in 2023
• Predicting what the Vikings will do in the 2023 NFL Draft based on 2022

Under Mike Zimmer, undisciplined isn’t a word you can use often to describe the Vikings but against the Steelers the Vikings got sloppy, committing 11 penalties for 131 yards and 4 first downs. To put that into perspective, Pittsburgh had 28% of their total yards handed to them by the referees. We’ve already mentioned the chunk yardage given up in defensive pass interference penalties and the first downs negated by holding calls. You could argue that those penalties were inescapable as, without them, big plays and sacks would have followed. What was inexcusable were the frivolous penalties that gifted the Steelers points.

It began on the Steelers’ opening driver where Brian Robinson jumped offside on 4^th & 1, the drive would ultimately lead to the games opening touchdown. On Pittsburgh’s first possession of the second half, Chris Boswell missed a 51-yard field goal, setting the Vikings up with fantastic field position. At least they would have been if Nick Easton hadn’t lined up over the center drawing a 5-yard penalty. Predictably Boswell nailed his second attempt.

PRO FOOTBALL FOCUS: The best in football stats just got better. Elite packages now on sale!

The Vikings were also not helped by poor execution on special teams. Not only did Kai Forbath miss an extra point for the second week running but twice in the second half McKinnon opted to return very deep kick-offs only to fail to get to the 25-yard line. The pièce de résistance of special teams inefficiency was a horribly executed fake punt pass on 4^th and 4 from the Vikings own 36 yard line. Not only did Ryan Quigley display that is he is no Jonny Hekker but you have to question the choice to call that play in your own half and risk setting one of the leagues best offenses with a very short field.

Next: Bradford Injury Latest

Should Keenum continue to be the Vikings starting quarterback for an extended period of time the team and coaching staff are going to perform at a higher level if they wish to win any games without Bradford.