The Minnesota Vikings made this game more difficult than it had to be. They ended up finding a way to beat the Miami Dolphins in Miami for the first time since 1976 with a 24-17 victory.
Kirk Cousins had a lot of struggles on the day with some of those being attributed to the offensive line and others to the Dolphins playing good man coverage on the Vikings receivers. He finished the day 20-30 for 175 yards and two touchdowns.
Dalvin Cook had a lot of success playing in his home state of Florida against teams that reside there but he arguably had his worst game. He only had 13 carries for 77 yards and a touchdown with the score coming on a 53-yard scamper that ended up being the dagger in putting the Vikings up by 14.
The Vikings’ offense showed a lot of struggles in this game, including a three-drive stretch where they started in great field position and had all three result in punts. The offense has massively stalled on numerous drives including the first three drives of the second half.
Vikings have started their last three drives at the …
MIA 33
MIN 41
MIN 49… and scored 0 points.
It's still 10-3 with 5:46 left in the third quarter.
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) October 16, 2022
The offense also had six drives result in three and outs, raising that total to 15 on the season.
The defense has been stout when they have had to be. Only allowing three points, the pass rush has gotten home with six sacks. Patrick Jones II stepped up in a big way with D.J. Wonnum out in getting his first two sacks of the season.
Harrison Smith also had a good game highlighted by one of the best interceptions you will see this year. That set up a Vikings field goal for the Vikings to go up 10-3 at halftime.
The Dolphins, who are dealing with a rash of injuries, found ways to move the ball. Tyreek Hill was in his bag. He did an excellent job finding holes in the Vikings’ soft zone. He racked up 12 catches for 177 yards
Rookie Skylar Thompson left the game in the first half with a thumb injury and did not return leaving it to Teddy Bridgewater. Against his old team, Bridgewater had an up-and-down game. He was able to find Mike Gesicki for a touchdown twice in this game 23-34 for 329 yards, two touchdowns and two costly interceptions.
Patrick Peterson came up with a nice interception in the fourth quarter that set up the Cook touchdown to seal the deal.
The Vikings now enter the bye week at 5-1 with a lot of work needing to be done, especially on the defensive side of the football. They allowed 491 yards on the day and will be using the week to self-scout and try and fix the issues on both sides. Their next game will be against the Arizona Cardinals at home on Sunday, October 30th.
