The Minnesota Vikings came up short against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1 and we learned a lot about the team from the loss.
It was a bit surprising to see the Minnesota Vikings take a 17-20 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in front of the home crowd at U.S. Bank Stadium during the team's season on a day when former head coach Bud Grant's life was being celebrated.
Sadly, the Vikings start the season 0-1 and will face a tough opponent on a short week when they travel to the "City of Brotherly Love" to take on Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday Night Football.
But before looking too far ahead at what is to come for Minnesota, it feels important to look back at what happened against the Buccaneers and see what kind of a team the Vikings were and how they could be for the rest of the season.
There were positives and negatives from Week 1 from the Minnesota Vikings, but what were the six biggest takeaways from the Sunday, Sept. 10 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and what do they mean going forward?
Vikings Takeaway No. 1
The offensive line is still offensive
Last year, the offensive line of the Minnesota Vikings was not good. According to Pro Football Reference, the purple and gold allowed the most quarterback hits on the season with 88 and allowed pressure on 23.3 percent of dropbacks.
This year might not be much different. The offensive line struggled to contain the Tampa Bay defense even though it only resulted in two sacks for a loss of 17 yards. ESPN credits the Buccaneers with nine quarterback hits and six tackles for a loss.
To make matters worse, freshly extended center Garrett Bradbury left the game due to a back injury and is being called day-to-day while Christian Darrisaw got some attention on the sideline for his ankle but was able to get back in the lineup.
Right Guard Ed Ingram literally slapped the football out of Kirk Cousins' hands on one play that resulted in a turnover. The interior of the offensive line will get eaten alive all season long unless Minnesota can figure something out.
Vikings Takeaway No. 2
The defense is better, but still needs work
It's not difficult to be better than the 31st ranked defense in the league but fans have to be somewhat pleased with what the Minnesota Vikings were able to do with Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers on Sunday.
Minnesota only allowed 242 yards of total offense, limiting Mayfield to 173 passing yards on the day. More impressively, the Vikings kept Tampa Bay to 2.2 yards per carry and didn't allow a rushing touchdown.
The defense was worn down in the second half and Tampa Bay took advantage of that. Plus, Mike Evans is one of those receivers who is likely to make a play eventually if he is given enough opportunities.
Holding the Buccaneers to 20 points and making only six third downs should have been enough for the Minnesota Vikings to win this game considering the explosive pieces they have on the offensive side of the ball.
Vikings Takeaway No. 3
Justin Jefferson is still excellent
It's kind of scary that Justin Jefferson had seven catches for 137 yards at halftime, and it still felt like he was about to do more on every play. That type of expectation is how talented the young receiver is and how he can dominate a game.
Jeferson ended with nine catches for 150 yards, meaning he only had two catches for 13 yards in the second half. Kirk Cousins and the offense needs to keep him involved in order to spread the ball around to all the pass catchers.
Defenses pay so much attention to Jefferson that it opens things up for other receivers. Even though he can be a decoy, he is still enough of a weapon that he will make contested catches and pick up yards after the catch.
It won't be too much longer before the Minnesota Vikings will likely make Justin Jefferson the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL when they work out a long-term extension with the exciting young face of the franchise.
Vikings Takeaway No. 4
Minnesota's run game is not good
Coming into this game, one of the biggest questions was how the rushing attack of the Minnesota Vikings would look without Dalvin Cook being the team's primary running back. The answer is: Not good.
Minnesota only ran the ball 17 times, but when they did, it wasn't very effective. Alexander Mattison got 11 of those carries but only gained 34 yards while not having a single run of ten yards or more on the day.
Ty Chandler was the only other running back to get rushing attempts, carrying the ball three times for a total of zero yards. The final three attempts were Kirk Cousins trying to make something out of nothing when he was under pressure.
2.4 yards per carry is ugly but the Vikings are truly a team that thrives off their passing attack. Sadly, the threat of a handoff on play action isn't going to scare many defenses and the Vikings will likely only run enough to try to keep opposing teams honest defensively.
Vikings Takeaway No. 5
It's hard to win when you can't protect the ball
It doesn't matter how many yards you can put up when you can't finish drives with points. The Minnesota Vikings turned the ball over three times, with one of them being a throw that could have resulted in a K.J. Osborn touchdown.
The completely unforced accidental strip of Kirk Cousins by Ed Ingram was another disheartening play that had absolutely no reason for happening. The panic from Ingram after the snap says everything we need to know about that play.
Another Cousins fumble came in the first quarter when a Buccaneers defender blitzed and got a clear path to the quarterback. The ball came loose, and a Tampa Bay player recovered, giving them the ball inside the red zone.
Minnesota will have to protect the ball as well as their quarterback much better if they want to be competitive this season. Winning games when losing the turnover differential by 3 is incredibly difficult and shouldn't be a situation the team is in anyway.
Vikings Takeaway No. 6
Jordan Addison shows a lot of potential
The Minnesota Vikings offense looked a bit different without Adam Thielen on the field. While K.J. Osborn struggled at times, rookie receiver Jordan Addison left his mark on this game and showed that he could be a major contributor in the future.
Addison was targeted six times during the game, catching four of them for 61 yards and his first NFL touchdown. He provided a spark when the offense was struggling to reach the end zone in the second quarter by hauling in a 39-yard catch for a score to give Minnesota the lead.
A first-round draft pick, Addison could be a great complement to Justin Jefferson and T.J. Hockenson in this offense and certainly made his presence felt during his first NFL game as a professional.
The Minnesota Vikings shot themselves in the foot during this game. It was a very winnable contest, but too many mistakes allowed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to get a win in Week 1. Hopefully next week will be better.