Multiple players saw their stocks rise and fall on Saturday
After storming out to an early 14-3 lead, the Minnesota Vikings lost their final preseason matchup 18-17 to the Arizona Cardinals. This loss marks the sixth straight in the preseason for Kevin O’Connell and is a marker for the roughest part of the preseason: cutting down to the final 53.
August 29th marks the day the Vikings roster is cut down to only 53 players. In this final game, there are players who made a convincing case to be on that final roster. There are others who may have played themselves out of Minnesota.
We discuss whose stock went up and whose went down just a few days before the final cut.
The Vikings had more standout performances on Saturday afternoon
The Minnesota Vikings failed in the two minute drill and fell to the Arizona Cardinals by a score of 18-17.
The game was the tale of two halves. The Vikings dominated the first quarter with 14 points within the first 14 plays of the game. After that, the Cardinals slowly crept back into the game thanks to inconsistencies by the Vikings on both sides of the ball.
Throughout the course of the game, the Vikings had some standout players and those who struggled. Here are the studs and duds from the final preseason game against the Cardinals.
The Vikings head coach is winless in the preseason through six games
Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell drops to 0-6 in the preseason with an 18-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday afternoon.
The Vikings got off on the right foot on the first drive, lasting 10 plays and 75 yards. Running back DeWayne McBridescored from one yard out.
Quarterback Jaren Hall looked much improved from his first two performances. He was much more calm and confident in the pocket while also making more accurate throws. He finished the game completing 17-of-28 passes for 17 yards, a touchdown and an interception while rushing for 20 yards on five carries.
The second drive of the game saw safety Jay Ward strip-sack quarterback Clayton Tune on a Bengal Hawk blitz with six players lined up on the line of scrimmage and you send all of them.
The first play after that was Hall hitting running back Abram Smith on an out route from the backfield for a five-yard touchdown.
They entered halftime up 17-3 with the Cardinals missing a field goal toward the end of the second quarter.
Once the second half began, things took a turn. Quarterback David Blough led the Cardinals on a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that took 7:06 off of the clock. The Vikings couldn’t get things off the ground on offense in the second half, including an interception from Hall that led to the go-ahead field goal.
The defense looked improved with their rush defense, as they allowed 281 on 40 carries to the Tennessee Titans. On Saturday, they allowed 141 yards on 31 attempts. That isn’t perfect, but acceptable as the Cardinals rushed for 4.5 yards per carry.
Ahead of the Vikings is cut down day, where the Vikings have to be down to 53 players on Tuesday, August 29th by 3 pm central.
Ward came in on a safety blitz and flattened an unsuspecting Clayton Tune as he dropped back. The hit had enough force that the ball fell to the turf and was recovered by Troy Reeder deep in Arizona Cardinals territory.
Ward has been battling with safeties Theo Jackson and Lewis Cine for the final safety spot on this team.
The Vikings scored on the next play with a quick out to Abrams Smith. With that, Minnesota goes up 14-0 on the Cardinals early in the first quarter of this game.
Ward was drafted in the 4th round of the 2023 NFL draft with the 134th pick. Ward was a former captain in the LSU secondary who appeared in 146 games. He finished his career with 164 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and six interceptions.
Stay tuned to Vikings Wire for more live updates during the game.
The Vikings have jumped out on the Cardinals in the first quarter
The Minnesota Vikings didn’t waste time jumping out on the Arizona Cardinals. One play after a strip-sack from rookie Jay Ward, quarterback Jaren Hall found running back Abram Smith for a five-yard touchdown pass.
This is a great start for the Vikings in their final preseason game. They are looking to snap a nine-game preseason losing streak and getting up 14-0 on the Cardinals will make a difference.
The Vikings signed Smith the day after the first night practice three weeks ago and he has had an inconsistent tenure thus far. This touchdown was very well done.
The play is well-designed. Only one receiver to the far side and Smith runs an out route out of the backfield with Trishton Jackson running a corner route. That clears the flat for him and Smith takes advantage of the linebacker.
The Vikings are up 14-3 with 4:00 left in the first quarter.
McBride makes it look easy with the opening drive touchdown
The Minnesota Vikings got the ball first against the Arizona Cardinals and took advantage with a one-yard touchdown run from DeWayne McBride.
The Vikings drove down 75 yards across 10 plays with both contributions on the ground and through the air. Quarterback Jaren Hall looked settled in during his third NFL game and it showed on that drive.
It showed with McBride as well. He looked more patient with the football in his hands and didn’t stress when defenders got in his face. This is the McBride that we expected to see from the get-go.
The Vikings swapped their starting tackles in an interesting strategy
At the beginning of the Minnesota Vikings preseason finale against the Arizona Cardinals, the starting tackles switched spots, as Vederian Lowe started at right tackle and Oli Udoh started at left tackle.
This is an interesting development that can be taken multiple different ways. You want your backup tackles to be able to play on both sides, so giving them reps at both is a good idea.
The other angle here is trying to find a fix for Udoh’s inconsistencies on the right side. He has struggled quite a bit on the right and moving him back to his natural position on the left side could help eliminate that.
So far, it’s working, as the Vikings drove 75 yards in 10 plays for a touchdown.
Full breakdowns of all 12 Jaren Hall dropbacks against the Titans
The Minnesota Vikings saw some growth on the second team against the Tennessee Titans in their 24-16 loss on Saturday night.
The one player that everyone is singling out is quarterback Jaren Hall. Selected in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL draft, Hall could be the quarterback of the future. It’s a less likely outcome than someone taken in the first round, but it’s still plausible.
Just like I did last week, all 12 of Hall’s dropbacks with full breakdowns and the all-22 angle.
There were some interesting quotes after the Vikings game
The Minnesota Vikings lost to the Tennessee Titans 24-16, but they showed a lot of growth.
From Jaren Hall to Lewis Cine, there were a lot of interesting things to discuss about the team and their performances.
The best ways to learn about the team and where they sit is by watching the games and listening to the press conferences. You can learn a lot from what the coaching staff and players say.
Here are the 10 most notable postgame quotes from the Vikings.
