Vikings Preseason Game 1: More Entertaining Than You Would Have Thought

As most of you know, I’m a pretty big Vikings fan. However, I stay realistic in my view of the team. You have to! With that said I really enjoy watching preseason football. You never know where the next Tom Brady, Terrell Davis, or John Randle might come from. Watching those players that you may never hear from again or who make splash plays during the season makes it more fun.

This last Friday night the Vikings traveled to New Orleans and saw a few familiar faces with Teddy Bridgewater and Latavius Murray donning the black, gold, and white of the Saints. Teddy played most of the game with the Saints holding out Drew Brees and a few other star players as did the Vikings. Linval Joseph and Shemar Stephen, the projected starters at the defensive tackle positions were both resting and running back Dalvin Cook saw some limited action early but never touched the ball. The other Vikings starters were in for a few successful series before being pulled for their backups. The Saints seemed to move the ball easily at times, but without the regular starters in and teams running “vanilla” offenses and defenses you’re not seeing them at their best. The starting defense tightened up when it needed to and held the Saints to field goals. The Vikings offense was much different. After a holding penalty on the first play of the game they marched down the field. Thielen caught a 34 yard strike from Cousins at the one yard line and then on the next play Kirk rolled out and hit rookie running back Alexander Mattison with an easy pass for a touchdown. The Vikings had some fun plays throughout the game that when their star players run them they may be more explosive and Mike Boone had an impressive 65 yard run that was blocked to perfection. Vikings corner back Nate Meadors had a great bobbled pass returned for a pick six interception.

CHECK OUT GAME HIGHLIGHTS HERE! ——> https://www.vikings.com/video/full-broadcast-highlights-vikings-34-saints-25

Surprisingly, after the starters were pulled the game didn’t get any less interesting. Most preseason games spiral into bad plays, an increase in penalties, and guys names showing up in the worst ways possible as the sideline interviews are more interesting than the game itself. Both teams put on a good show with backup players getting their moments to shine and make fans think, “Hey, maybe it’s going to be a great year!”

So as names like Mike Boone, Dru Samia, Hercules Mata’afa, Bisi Johnson, and Cameron Smith become more common this month some will eventually only be heard if there’s an injury or if you see their name on the transaction wire as a player cut to try to live his dream in another city. However you never know when one of those guys might be the next guy that turns that promise into stardom. You can say, “I saw him before he was a star.” That’s the fun of preseason! SKOL!