The Minnesota Vikings could not keep rolling after their preseason opener in Denver last week, as the defense-dominated game led to major struggles for their offense. Kirk Cousins was just 3-of-8 for 12 yards on the night, as the Vikings fell to the Jacksonville Jaguars, 14-10, on Saturday afternoon. The major downfall to his afternoon was an 11-yard sack from Yannick Ngakoue, as Minnesota's starting offense had just three points in the loss.
Cousins looked very comfortable in his team debut last week, finding Stefon Diggs for a touchdown pass in his only series of the day, which was a victory over the Denver Broncos. It was sloppy play all around for the starting crew in Week 2, including Latvious Murray fumbling the ball twice, one of which resulted in a turnover. Mike Jackson had the strip on that second fumble, which was recovered by Calais Campbell.
The bright side of the day, for both teams, was the defense, even for the Vikings in a losing effort. Minnesota finished the day with six sacks as a team, while both Harrison Smith and Mackensie Alexander recorded interceptions, the first of which came against starter Blake Bortles. The Jaguars' QB did not fare too bad outside of that turnover, throwing for 159 yards on 12-of-20, as he played the entire first half.
The Vikings did struggle with the injury bug in this one, including Alexander exiting with an ankle injury. He was just one of six players to leave the game with injuries. That list includes Cedrick Lang with a leg problem, Ade Aruna with a knee injury, Johnny Stanton with a lower leg injury, Josh Andrews with an ankle issue, and Kyle Sloter after taking a big hit to the head.
These two teams had two joint practices this past week, which the Vikings' defense was able to get to Bortles in. Although, they did not have the same success in the actual game, but Bortles was unable to lead a scoring drive.
Some other key performances saw T.J. Yeldon record five catches for 73 yards and 10 carries for 39 yards. Yeldon is looking to make his case as Leonard Fournette's backup for the Jaguars. Rashad Green also had an explosive play with a 58-yard punt return. The Jaguars will return home to host the Atlanta Falcons, while the Vikings will stay home to battle the Seattle Seahawks next week.
Cousins looked very comfortable in his team debut last week, finding Stefon Diggs for a touchdown pass in his only series of the day, which was a victory over the Denver Broncos. It was sloppy play all around for the starting crew in Week 2, including Latvious Murray fumbling the ball twice, one of which resulted in a turnover. Mike Jackson had the strip on that second fumble, which was recovered by Calais Campbell.
The bright side of the day, for both teams, was the defense, even for the Vikings in a losing effort. Minnesota finished the day with six sacks as a team, while both Harrison Smith and Mackensie Alexander recorded interceptions, the first of which came against starter Blake Bortles. The Jaguars' QB did not fare too bad outside of that turnover, throwing for 159 yards on 12-of-20, as he played the entire first half.
The Vikings did struggle with the injury bug in this one, including Alexander exiting with an ankle injury. He was just one of six players to leave the game with injuries. That list includes Cedrick Lang with a leg problem, Ade Aruna with a knee injury, Johnny Stanton with a lower leg injury, Josh Andrews with an ankle issue, and Kyle Sloter after taking a big hit to the head.
These two teams had two joint practices this past week, which the Vikings' defense was able to get to Bortles in. Although, they did not have the same success in the actual game, but Bortles was unable to lead a scoring drive.
Some other key performances saw T.J. Yeldon record five catches for 73 yards and 10 carries for 39 yards. Yeldon is looking to make his case as Leonard Fournette's backup for the Jaguars. Rashad Green also had an explosive play with a 58-yard punt return. The Jaguars will return home to host the Atlanta Falcons, while the Vikings will stay home to battle the Seattle Seahawks next week.
