Heading into his second week as the Minnesota Vikings starting quarterback in relief of the injured Sam Bradford, Case Keenum was better prepared.
After being named the starter right before the Vikings Week 2 game at Pittsburgh, Keenum struggled against the Steelers’ strong defense. Heading into Week 3, Keenum became the focus of offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur’s gameplan, got more reps with the first-team and went out and delivered a career-best performance: 369 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in a 34-17 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Suddenly, the recovery time for Bradford’s knee injury is less pressing in the minds of Vikings fans, who roared as Keenum turned U.S. Bank Stadium into an aerial show for the second straight home game. Two weeks ago, Bradford amassed gaudy numbers in a win against the New Orleans Saints. Sunday it was the Keenum, whose accurate, downfield passing put Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs on the receiving end of two big games.
And Keenum was on the receiving end of a game ball in the locker room.
“I usually don’t give out game balls after a game,” said Zimmer. “I thought he played great, made great decisions, took care of the football.”
Thielen finished with 98 yards, but Diggs was Keenum’s greatest weapon, overcoming an early drop — as well as a missed deep ball that would’ve been a tougher play — to rack up 173 yards and two touchdowns on eight catches.
His first touchdown came on a 17-yard leaping grab in the final minute of the first half against cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III to make it 21-3 Vikings heading into the locker room.
His second score occurred after Shurmur called for a quick snap to catch Tampa Bay subbing personnel. The Vikings earned a free play when the Buccaneers were flagged for having too many men on the field, Keenum hit Diggs on the sideline against corner Ryan Smith, and Diggs ran it the final 41 yards for a 59-yard touchdown to make it 28-3.
The third-year receiver did not make another catch in the game, but the damage was done at that point. It was his second-greatest yardage output as a receiver and his sixth career 100-yard game.
“When [Keenum] throws you the ball, you catch it,” said Diggs. “I had a drop that I remember clear as day, so I didn’t have his back that pass, but I try to bounce back the next one.”
Keenum got eight total pass catchers involved, including running back Dalvin Cook, who finished with 97 yards on the ground and 72 through the air. On the game’s first drive, Cook caught a swing pass for 16 yards to give the Vikings a first down at the 1-yard line. After missing out on his first career touchdown in Week 2 when C.J. Ham was given the carry at the goal line, Cook got the call on 1st-and-goal and this time pounded it in.
“I knew it was on the 1- or 2-yard line, so nine times out of 10 it was going to be a run,” said Cook, “so I was in my head, ‘Catch your breath. Let’s go.'”
For the third straight game, Cook seemed to improve as the game progressed, gaining 95 of his 169 all-purpose yards in the second half. His 36-yard catch and run in the fourth quarter set up the Vikings in Victory formation to salt the game away.
“He caught the ball — the deal was to stay in bounds, but he kind of looked for somebody to attack,” said Zimmer of Cook’s catch. “He’s a kid that, I think, is going to continue to get better. You saw some of the tough runs he made today, and I thought the offensive line was outstanding today.”
Outstanding, they were.
Keenum wasn’t sacked once and was barely hit.
“I think I was maybe on the ground once,” said Keenum. “I don’t remember any other times, really.”
Granted, the Buccaneers were decimated by injury. With Kwon Alexander, Chris Baker and Jacquies Smith already inactive, linebacker Lavonte David, defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and defensive end Noah Spence all got injured during the course of the game.
Regardless, Keenum used the ample protection to make the Bucs secondary pay.
Pretty great protection for Keenum. Per NFL Next Gen Stats, he had above average separation from almost every defender pic.twitter.com/p8FPtaTpPc
— Arif Hasan (@ArifHasanNFL) September 24, 2017
The Vikings gave up two passing touchdowns in the second half while playing with a big lead, but they also grabbed two interceptions to go with Trae Waynes’ pick in the first half — Minnesota’s first three takeaways of the season.
It was a performance perhaps even more complete than the Vikings’ Week 1 victory: a fast start, explosive plays, offensive balance, elite pass protection and game-changing defensive plays. It’s a formula the Vikings would like to repeat as they welcome the Detroit Lions (2-1) to Minneapolis next Sunday with the divisional lead potentially at stake.
And while there will certainly be questions about Bradford’s health, his return may not seem as urgent as it did a week ago.
“As an offense, when you’re running down the field, when you’re moving forward, when the offensive line is moving forward to set the huddle, and guys are not coming backward to the huddle, that’s momentum,” Keenum said. “That’s when it’s fun. I thought we got into that tonight, and it was a blast.”
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