8 quick thoughts on the Vikings win over the Steelers in Week 14

More quick thoughts from Minnesota’s win over Pittsburgh

Jefferson still makes a difference without Thielen: After injuring his ankle last week, Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen sat out Thursday’s game against the Steelers. Naturally, most assumed Pittsburgh would have an easier time dealing with Justin Jefferson without Thielen on the field. But Jefferson made sure their night was still difficult.

Jefferson only finished with seven catches for 79 yards and one touchdown, but his production felt like it came easy on Thursday, and the majority of it came in the first half when Minnesota went into the locker room up by a score of 23-0.

Extra offensive lineman clears big holes: With left tackle Christian Darrisaw still out, the Vikings trotted out their makeshift starting offensive line for the second game in a row. This week, however, Minnesota used six offensive linemen several times against the Steelers and it resulted in a number of big gains by the Vikings’ rushing attack.

This is definitely something to keep an eye on and possibly something Minnesota should continue to use in future games considering how successful it was on Thursday.

Boyd proves why he doesn’t get on the field: With some of the struggles of guys like Cameron Dantzler and Bashaud Breeland during the last few weeks, some have wondered why cornerback Kris Boyd hasn’t been given much of a chance to get some snaps on defense.

Well, he proved why on Thursday night after making a tackle and picking up a 15-yard taunting penalty that helped Pittsburgh end an offensive drive with a touchdown. If Boyd wants to get more opportunities on defense, getting flagged for dumb taunting penalties certainly isn’t going to help that happen.