What were the five absolute best plays made by the Minnesota Vikings’ offense during their impressive 2017 NFL regular season?
A good portion of the Minnesota Vikings’ success in 2017 has had to do with the play of their defense. But make no mistake about it, the Vikings’ offense has had their share of impressive plays this season as well.
In the team’s first full year with Pat Shurmur calling the plays, Minnesota’s offense finished the season with a total of 40 touchdowns, the NFL’s 11th-best passing attack, and the seventh-best rushing offense. The Vikings’ offense also ended the year with 68 plays that resulted in gains of at least 20 yards (up from the 58 times they did this in 2016).
So of all the big-time plays that were made by Minnesota’s offense during the 2017 regular season, which five stood out as the best of the best?
5. Bradford finds Diggs for the Vikings’ first touchdown of the season
In their opening week matchup with Adrian Peterson and the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football, Minnesota’s offense was able to pretty much do whatever they pleased. During their 29-19 win over the Saints, the Vikings’ new and improved offense finished the night with 470 total yards, including 341 yards though the air and another 129 yards on the ground.
Minnesota’s passing attack-combo of quarterback Sam Bradford and wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen shredded New Orleans’ defense all game long. Bradford completed 16 passes to the duo for 250 yards and two touchdowns against the Saints.
With the Vikings’ trailing 6-3 early in the second quarter, the Minnesota quarterback found Diggs wide open in the corner of the end zone for the team’s very first touchdown of the 2017 regular season.
Unfortunately, this connection between Bradford and Diggs is something that the Vikings would not see much of in 2017 thanks to the quarterback dealing with a knee injury all season long. Luckily for Minnesota, backup Case Keenum was able to step in as Bradford’s replacement and help lead the team’s offense to a successful year.
4. Keenum ducks Rams’ defense and finds Thielen downfield
Following the first 10 weeks of the season, Minnesota’s 7-2 record was one of the best in the entire NFL. But there was still a bit of uncertainty surrounding how valid the team’s success actually was. A matchup with the 7-2 Los Angeles Rams in Week 11 became the Vikings’ first opportunity in 2017 to prove how good of a team they actually were.
Trailing the Rams 7-0 as the first quarter was coming to a close, quarterback Case Keenum and the Minnesota offense were in the middle of a drive that would eventually result in the team scoring their first touchdown of the day.
On the second play of drive, Keenum faked a handoff and then saw the Los Angeles pass rush quickly approaching. Instead of just falling down and taking a sack, the quarterback slithered his way out from the grasp of the Rams’ defenders and stayed upright long enough to find Vikings receiver Adam Thielen down the field for a 12-yard gain and a new set of downs.
Minnesota would go on to tie the game at seven apiece and eventually came out of the afternoon with a 24-7 win over Los Angeles. With the result, the Vikings sent a message to the rest of the league that their success during the season was not to be taken lightly.
3. McKinnon gets loose for a touchdown in Chicago
Minnesota’s Week 5 matchup with the Chicago Bears was definitely one of the team’s oddest games of the 2017 season.
Sam Bradford started under center for the Vikings for the first time since Week 1, but he was taken off the field before the team even finished the second quarter. At the half, the score of the game was only 3-2 in favor of Minnesota and it looked like the team’s past struggles in the Windy City could be making an appearance once again.
Luckily, after a hobbled Bradford was replaced by Case Keenum, the Vikings were able to put 17 points up on the scoreboard and eventually get a 20-17 win over the Bears.
In Minnesota’s first game since rookie running back Dalvin Cook was lost for the season to a torn ACL, the Vikings did not show any signs that their rushing attack had become a weakness. Minnesota running back Jerick McKinnon finished the matchup against Chicago with 95 rushing yards on 16 carries, including a nice 58-yard scamper in the third quarter that resulted in a Vikings touchdown.
Following the win over the Bears, McKinnon and fellow running back Minnesota running back Latavius Murray proved that the team’s rushing attack was more than capable of being a factor each and every week even without Cook in the lineup.
2. Treadwell only needs one hand for catch vs. Packers
After a disappointing rookie season in 2016 that saw him only catch one pass, Vikings receiver Laquon Treadwell was determined to prove his worth in 2017. He still did not end up becoming much of a factor in the Minnesota’s passing attack, but he did make a handful of impressive plays throughout the season that gave some hope for possible success in the near future.
One of those plays he made this year came during the Vikings’ Week 6 showdown with the Green Bay Packers. With Minnesota leading 17-10 in the third quarter, Vikings quarterback Case Keenum tossed a pass in the direction of Treadwell who then proceeded to haul in the football with just a single hand.
The young Minnesota pass-catcher did only end up with 20 catches for 200 yards this year, but his reception against the Packers was certainly one of the best plays made by anyone on the Vikings’ roster in 2017. That catch is the kind of play Minnesota was hoping to see from Treadwell after the team used a first-round selection on him in the 2016 draft.
1. Thielen blazes past the Rams for a score
For Vikings receiver Adam Thielen, the 2017 regular season could not have turned out much better. In his first year as a full-time starter, Thielen made sure to take advantage of his increase in opportunities.
In 16 games, the Minnesota receiver set new single-season career highs in catches (91), receiving yards (1,276), and managed to score four touchdowns as well. Thielen’s performance in 2017 also resulted in him receiving his very first invite to the Pro Bowl.
One of the plays that was able to define the pass-catcher’s success during the regular season happened during the Vikings’ Week 11 win over the Los Angeles Rams. Thielen hauled in a short pass, made a move on a defender, and ran more than 50 yards for a Minnesota touchdown.
This 65-yard catch and run really embodied what Thielen has dealt with during his time in the NFL. On this play the Rams defenders underestimate the abilities of the Vikings receiver (like most have during his career) and it leads to Thielen racing past them for an easy touchdown.
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The Minnesota pass-catcher worked incredibly hard to become one of the team’s top two receivers in 2017 and he more than proved during the regular season that his talent level is just as high as some of the best at his position around the NFL.