Overall Impression vs Jacksonville
As a whole, this was a pretty sloppy game that was called strictly by the officiating crew. The smooth, high-scoring game from last week gave way to what was a defensive battle dominated by field positioning.
Still, there are plenty of positives to take away from this game. Daniel Carlson looked good again while the running backs fighting for a spot on the roster put on another show and made that position battle even more difficult to predict.
There is work to be done though. Minnesota needs to execute better on screens and scrambles to limit gains on those plays, especially when the pass rush is doing well and the secondary contains deeper passes.
Marcus Sherels showed again why he’s a special teams ace and not a legitimate threat to take over a spot as a cornerback in an event other than an emergency, which is good considering Mike Hughes and Holton Hill have both shown a lot of potential in coverage.
Finally, it should be a little concerning that the Vikings first-team offense struggled so much against a Jacksonville defense without two young stars, but considering the Broncos and the Jaguars are two of the most talented and dynamic defenses in the league, it may not be as scary.
The Minnesota Vikings will take on the Seattle Seahawks from U.S. Bank Stadium on Friday, August 24, 2018 in what is considered to be the dress rehearsal for the preseason in Week 3. Don’t miss that action or the Ups and Downs when they arrive next week!