Carlson gets back on track as Vikings get preseason win over Titans

A week after missing two field goals, the Minnesota Vikings rookie kicker nailed all of his kicks during the team’s preseason win over the Tennessee Titans on Thursday.

Last Friday was not a good night for Minnesota Vikings kicker Daniel Carlson. A few days after being named the Vikings’ starter for the 2018 season, the rookie thanked the team for picking him by going out and missing two 42-yard field goal attempts against the Seattle Seahawks.

If he were on any other team, Carlson’s misses would be looked at mostly with a grain of salt. But with the infamously bad history Minnesota has had with the kicking position, the rookie’s performance caused good amount of people in the Twin Cities to freak out.

But it was a different story for Carlson during the Vikings’ preseason matchup against the Tennessee Titans on Thursday. The young kicker made both of his field goal attempts as Minnesota was able to get a 13-3 win over the Titans in their preseason finale.

Minnesota Vikings

Carlon’s kicks were not from monumental distances (39 and 22 yards), but they were crucial in getting the rookie’s confidence back up before the Vikings begin their regular season next week.

Minnesota got their other points on Thursday thanks to the efforts of quarterback Kyle Sloter and wide receiver Brandon Zylstra. Sloter found Zylstra downfield for a 24-yard touchdown pass midway through the fourth quarter and that ended up being the Vikings’ final scoring drive of the night.

Speaking of Sloter, the second-year quarterback led all Minnesota passers on Thursday as he completed 11 of 15 throws for 130 yards and one touchdown. He certainly made his case to be the Vikings’ second-string signal caller to open the regular season over the underwhelming Trevor Siemian.

Rookie Mike Boone led Minnesota in rushing for the third time this preseason as he carried the ball 15 times for 56 yards against the Titans on Thursday. Boone also caught two passes for 53 yards against Tennessee, including one that he took 46 yards down the field.

On defense, linebacker Eric Wilson and rookie cornerback Holton Hill led all Vikings players with six tackles each. Rookie defensive tackle Jalyn Holmes also pitched in with 1.5 sacks against the Titans.

With Thursday’s win, Minnesota finishes the 2018 preseason with a 3-1 record. Since Mike Zimmer became their head coach in 2014, the Vikings have won 17 of their last 21 preseason games.