Like many of us, Patrick Redford over at Deadspin thought the Minnesota Vikings were toast after Teddy Bridgewater’s leg “exploded into powder,” as he puts it, and Adrian Peterson “hurt his knee [and] did a walk of shame through a restaurant.”
But the Purple may just be making a believer out of him after beating the New York Giants on Monday Night Football.
“It all starts with their defense, who once again put in a shift tonight,” he wrote last night. “This was the Vikings’ first game without a sack (a far cry from their eight against Cam Newton), but they still managed to get in Manning’s face all game long.”
He praised multiple players individually — including but not limited to Harrison Smith, Terrence Newman and Anthony Barr — as well as quarterback Sam Bradford.
“It’s not that he’s not risking anything, he’s just been very accurate,” he said, while also listing Stefon Diggs as one of the better receivers in the game. “The short-sighted trade that the Vikings made for him looks like it certainly paid off in the immediate term.”
As for being the best team in the NFC, Redford hedges a bit.
“With defending conference finalists Arizona and Carolina struggling, Minnesota might very well be the best team in the NFC (this might say more about the sorry state of the NFC than Minnesota’s dominance),” he writes.
“Certainly, they’ll be favored to win the NFC North. Seattle might be more dangerous, but their shaky offensive line and inconsistent running game warrants skepticism.”
[Deadspin]
