Schmidt’s Week 6 game grades: Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers

The Minnesota Vikings’ battled to a crucial victory over their rivals from Wisconsin on Sunday, but how should each unit be graded for the win in Week 6?

The Minnesota Vikings earned the victory over the Green Bay Packers by the score of 23-10. It was a game where the Vikings faced the Packers’ backup quarterback as Aaron Rodgers was knocked out early in the game by a tackle by Anthony Barr.

Since the Packers didn’t have their starter in at quarterback, Minnesota was able to make this a defensive game. A type of game the Vikings are built for and wants to play. Minnesota usually wants to control the clock and keep it a low scoring game, which they did on Sunday.

The defense played another excellent game. The Vikings were able to take advantage of Green Bay’s backup quarterback and forced three turnovers out of him.  It was a very strong performance and one that shows how good they can be in 2017.

Minnesota’s offense continues to do enough to win games. Right now, Case Keenum is the best option for the Vikings moving forward and he has become a leader. Keenum’s teammates and coaches have the trust in him.

The game was, by far, not the perfect game Minnesota was hoping for. The team committed seven penalties and they turned the ball over twice. The Vikings need to be more disciplined and fundamentally sound moving forward.

Minnesota is now at the top of the NFC North and is sitting in the driver’s seat. But let’s move on to the game grades for the Vikings’ win against the Packers on Sunday.

Minnesota Vikings’ offensive grade: B-

The Vikings’ offense entered Sunday’s game without their main starters at the quarterback, running back, and wide receiver position. But Minnesota is a resilient bunch that has players ready to step up at any given minute.

Keenum made his fourth start of the season. He did a good job spreading the ball around as he connected with six different wide receivers.

The final stat line for Keenum was 24 for 38 for 239 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. The interception came on a slant play in which the ball was tipped and picked off. It was a pass that most likely should not have been thrown, as it was through a tight window.

However, Keenum has stepped up big for the Vikings as Sam Bradford has been hurt with a bone bruise.

Another guy who has stepped up is Jerick McKinnon. For the second week in a row since Dalvin Cook has been injured, McKinnon put on a strong performance. McKinnon had 16 carries for 69 yards with one touchdown and added five catches for 30 yards and another score. He also, had one fumble that was recovered by the Packers.

The Georgia Southern product has been dynamic and given this team a boost. His ability to catch the ball out of the backfield gives the Vikings’ offense a boost. Being a multi-threat back should bring back memories of Chester Taylor who was an excellent runner and receiver out of the backfield for Minnesota from 2006 to 2009.

With Stefon Diggs out for Sunday’s game, the Vikings needed one of their wide receivers to be a playmaker. Adam Thielen was that man as he hauled in nine catches for 97 yards with his longest catch going for 23 yards. Thielen was targeted a lot as he led the team with 13 targets.

Kyle Rudolph had the second most looks with nine targets. He hauled in five of those targets for 47 yards. His longest catch was for 16 yards. He has established a good relationship with Keenum.

Overall, the Vikings’ offense was balanced this week as they rushed for over 100 yards and threw for over 200 yards. The turnovers are mistakes are what needs to be fixed. Laquon Treadwell may have the catch of the year after he made a one-handed catch along the sidelines. It was one of his three catches on the day as he finished with 51 yards.

Minnesota Vikings’ defensive grade: A

Minnesota’s defense is one of the best defenses in the league when they are on their “A game”. Well, they brought their “A game” against the Packers this week, holding a high scoring offense to 10 points. The defense was able to create pressure and force turnovers.

The Vikings had four sacks on Sunday. Harrison Smith, Linval Joseph, Everson Griffen and Brian Robison all recorded sacks. Smith led the group with 1.5 sacks. The safety played his best game of the season on Sunday.

Smith had five tackles to go along with his 1.5 sacks. He also recorded an interception against the Packers’ backup quarterback. It was a very athletic play by Smith in order to pick off the pass.

Trae Waynes and Xavier Rhodes were the other two men who got an interception against the Packers. Waynes has been stepping up the past two weeks and has established himself the number two corner across from Rhodes.

Eric Kendricks lead the Vikings with 11 tackles, six of which were solo tackles. Kendricks and the front seven shut down the run game for the Packers this week, making them a one-dimensional team.

Overall, the Vikings’ defense played as good as any unit can. Whenever you hold another team to 10 points in the NFL, it is a very impressive effort. The defense continues to be the leader for this whole Minnesota team and will look to continue to dominating the opposition.

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Minnesota Vikings’ special teams grade: A

The Vikings’ kicking game has not been the strongest through the first five weeks of the season. However, Kai Forbath stepped up and helped Minnesota clinch their fourth win of the season on Sunday.

Forbath made all of his kicks this week as the Vikings needed every single one. He went two for two on extra points. Forbath also added three field goals, which his longest came from 53-yards. The other two field goal attempts came from 36 and 34 yards out.

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It is an encouraging sign for Forbath who made all five kicks. But the other encouraging sign is the field goal that he made from 53 yards out. He is not known for having a big leg, but if he has the ability to make a kick from 50 yards out, that will help out this team a lot.

Ryan Quigley continues his strong year has he had four punts, including three of them inside of Green Bay’s 20 yard line. He had a total of 155 yards on his four punts, with his longest punt going for 54 yards.

The Vikings return game was quiet on Sunday, as Marcus Sherals only had one punt return which was for negative yardage. Stacy Coley had the only kick return for Minnesota this week,  which he was able to return for 19 yards.

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Overall, the special teams had a good day. They did not allow any big returns and were able to play the field position game.