The Minnesota Vikings are in a battle with the injury-ridden New Orleans Saints as they enter halftime with a 13-7 lead.
The Vikings got off to a quick start with a touchdown pass to Alexander Mattison from 15 yards out. The offense stalled out after that but still managed to get two field goals.
Turnovers led to points for both sides as Tyrann Mathieu baited Kirk Cousins into an interception and Harrison Phillips recovered an Andy Dalton fumble to give the Vikings a field goal at the end of the half.
As we look forward to the third quarter, here are four quick takeaways at halftime.
The Vikings lost Lewis Cine to injury
In an injury that the NFL Network broadcast deemed too brutal to show on television, rookie first-round pick Lewis Cine was ruled out immediately with an ankle injury. He was taken off the field on a cart with air cast on and transferred to a local hospital for evaluation. Brutal luck for Cine who was working his way onto the field through special teams.
The offensive line isn't perfect
The Vikings offensive line has played much better over the first three games than they did last season. They are allowing Kirk Cousins time to throw the football. One of the reasons for the success has been leaving Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill on an island and giving the interior some extra help. One of the issues with that strategy is if they fail, Cousins can be left out to dry. They have allowed two drive-ending sacks to Marcus Davenport and Cam Jordan. If that continues, the Vikings will need to adjust moving forward.
Scripted plays worked great, inconsistent afterwards
The first drive was reminiscent of the college football Air Raid: short, calculated routes that used spacing really well. They moved the ball with ease and looked like a top-tier offense in scoring a touchdown. After that, there was a lot of execution issues. The aforementioned offensive line, inaccurate passes and poor decisions throwing the football have all led to the offense’s struggles. They will need to figure these issues moving forward.
The defense needs to adapt
The Vikings want to play more of a shell coverage with four rushers and seven in coverage. The idea is to keep everything in front of them and not allowing any big plays. The issue that the Vikings keep running into is that the Saints are dinking and dunking their way down the field similarly to how other teams have taken advantage of the Vikings off coverage. Defensive coordinator Ed Donatell needs to start varying his coverages to not only confuse the opposing quarterback but also prevent the offense from getting so many easy completions.
