The Minnesota Vikings backups limped to a 30-9 defeat in a drowsy preseason finale, sending the Vikings to a 2-2 preseason record.
Head coach Mike Zimmer elected not to play most of his starters after giving hints during the week that he wanted to see them play one more time. Instead, Zimmer gave his fringe players the additional reps, and — as the final score indicates — there were more negative performances than positive.
Let’s dig into a few of them…
Mack Attack
One guy who most wouldn’t consider a fringe player is Mackensie Alexander, yet he played the entire first half as the nickel corner.
Alexander performed well for most of the first two quarters until picking up a silly taunting penalty just before halftime after defending a third-down pass in the end zone. The penalty gave Miami a first down, and they scored one play later.
Needless to say, Zimmer wasn’t pleased with the second-year corner.
“I don’t think it was very good,” said Zimmer. “We had a little discussion about it.”
The head coach has complimented Alexander’s rising level of maturity — and Alexander has acknowledged some of the shortcomings that held him back as a rookie — but taking a senseless penalty in a preseason game does not demonstrate the cooler-headed Alexander who’s been spoken about.
The fact that Alexander was playing in the game at all shows that he is still expected to earn his role as a potential starter. And a penalty like the one he took Thursday night could be a bench-able offense in a regular season game.
Heinicke Humbled
After leading a game-winning drive on Sunday, the Vikings third-string quarterback was taken down a notch Thursday.
Taylor Heinicke started the game 2-for-11 through the air and managed to finish 9-for-20 after a nice second quarter scoring drive that resulted in a Cayleb Jones touchdown pass. He concluded his preseason as just a 53 percent passer with 5.5 yards per attempt, three touchdowns and two interceptions.
Heinicke, who was battling an oblique injury coming into the game, was sacked in the end zone for a safety late in the second quarter and treated for a concussion. Prior to his exit, the third-year quarterback struggled to find a rhythm behind the second-string offensive line and was only able to complete one pass to the trio of Michael Floyd, Rodney Adams and Stacy Coley, who were arguably the three best receivers on the field in the first half.
Zimmer did not seem to think Heinicke’s concussion would affect his availability moving forward, assuming he makes it through the final cut.
Drops by Rodney; Grabs by Jones
It was a tough game for Adams, who had three balls hit his hands but wound up with zero catches. Though none of the drops were egregious individually, they added up to a disappointing performance for the fifth-round pick, who may be battling for the final wide receiver spot.
Meanwhile, Jones, who flashed at times during training camp, had a marvelous game with nine catches, 127 yards and a touchdown.
“The catch he made in the red zone for the touchdown was a good run afterwards,” said Zimmer. “He’s a big tall guy who has good hands, a really good athlete, so it was good to see.”
Despite a pair of touchdowns in the preseason for Adams, Jones has shown a greater propensity to make contested catches and appears to have a wider catch radius than the rookie. Many of Jones’ grabs against Miami forced him to either leave his feet or reach behind him, including one red-zone catch where Jones had his legs taken out and was slow to get up after a hard fall. “It felt really good [to perform],” said Jones.
The big game for Jones could complicate the Vikings’ decision when it comes to roster and practice squad spots. After what Jones put on tape against the Dolphins, sneaking him through to the practice squad likely becomes more difficult, since he’d be subjected to waivers if cut.
There may not be room on the Vikings’ 53-man roster for Jones unless they are willing to risk losing a potentially high-upside draft pick by cutting ties with Adams or Coley. Jones, however, may have done enough to find his way onto someone’s active roster within the next 72 hours.
Leidner’s Debut
On the same night, the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team was playing a few miles away at T.C.F. Bank Stadium, former Gophers quarterback Mitch Leidner made his NFL debut with his hometown team. He quarterbacked the entire second half, completing 14-of-19 passes for 129 yards. The Vikings were only able to generate three points, though, in three red zone opportunities with Leidner at the helm, turning it over on downs twice.
Leidner, who was signed after training camp to be the team’s fourth quarterback, can still hold out hope for a practice squad spot. It would be a big step up for the Lakeville South graduate, who was working as a Bite Squad driver when he got the call from the Vikings.
“You only dream about that as a kid in Minnesota, growing up here and watching these guys play,” said Leidner. “Coach Shurmur and Coach Stefanski gave me all the tools out there to go out and play and be successful out there.”
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