6 biggest takeaways from the Vikings win over the Steelers in Week 14
By Adam Carlson
Once again, the Vikings couldn’t play a complete game
The Minnesota Vikings absolutely dominated the first half of play. They rattled off 23 points in the first half and kept the Steelers from scoring a single point in that time span. Both teams missed a field goal and the Vikings missed an extra point, but after that, the kicking game got back on point.
When the third quarter came around, the feel of the game shifted. Minnesota no longer looked like the determined team that was stopping everything Pittsburgh was doing and the offense slowed to a grinding halt. Pittsburgh got their first touchdown in the third while the Vikings settled for two field goals.
The fourth quarter is where things got extra ugly. The Steelers scored three touchdowns in the final quarter of play and nearly got their fourth as the clock expired. If not for Harrison Smith knocking the ball out of the hands of Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh would have been a two-point conversion away from sending this game to overtime.