Vikings @ Titans
Final Score: Vikings 23, Titans 13
Senior Writer: Benjamin Haller (@benjaminhaller1 on Twitter)
The Minnesota Vikings “got it done” for the win in Nashville against a fundamentally flawed Tennessee Titans team, who stuck around for too long and flashed a couple of moments worth mentioning. An embarrassingly irate Titans Head Coach Brian Callahan acted more like a petulant teenager than a leader on the touchline with a couple of tight calls going against Tennessee. However, the Titans were the architects of their own downfall with silly penalties and defensive lapses. Sam Darnold looked more accomplished as a passer this week and connected with nine different receivers, adding a rushing score to his two touchdown passes as the Vikings survived a third-quarter comeback to win comfortably.
Will Levis played… well. He wasn’t the reason why the Titans lost this game, and he made several high-level throws while protecting the football until late in the game when he threw it up to try and make a play with the Titans down 10 inside the two-minute warning. Callahan’s play-calling led to two turnovers on downs in the fourth quarter. It was not a great day of decision-making, and the optics were just as awful from the Titans head coach.
Three Up
- Jordan Addison – lit up this game with a huge touchdown run after a great pass from Darnold – the WR2 now has two scores in his last three contests and looks to be a solid fantasy option down the stretch.
- Sam Darnold – three scores and his best fantasy output of the season was a huge improvement from last week – the Vikings benefitted from him spreading the ball around the offense more.
- Nick Westbrook-Ikhine – with five scores in his last six games, the unheralded receiver is making a name for himself as a big play threat – he’s still only 4% rostered in Yahoo leagues [insert eyes emoji]
Three Down
- Tony Pollard – neither team got things going on the ground, but the veteran’s use in this game was baffling – he’s now had single-digit carries in back-to-back games after five straight games with over 16 rushes. Yikes!
- Aaron Jones – has seen Cam Akers emerge as a threat to his workhorse role over the past two weeks, and much like last week, he was once again nowhere near finding paydirt.
- T.J. Hockenson – the productive tight end has seen his injury-delayed start to the season misfire with just two catches in this game after a solid 9-8-72 effort last week.
Minnesota Vikings
Quarterback
Sam Darnold: 20/32, 246 Yards, 2 TD, 2 Sacks, Fumble (Lost) | 8 Carries, 18 Yards, TD
After his league-leading 16th giveaway on the Vikings’ first drive of the game, Darnold answered back on the next possession by stepping up in the pocket on an all-out blitz to fire a dart deep downfield to Addison, who streaked away from the secondary and took the ball to the house for a 47-yard touchdown. The young journeyman consistently moved the offense down the field, and the Vikings didn’t punt until midway through the third quarter. Darnold found Jefferson in space at will, which then opened up the playbook for Head Coach Kevin O’Connell to work in his entire offense throughout an impressive first half. The main beneficiary being Addison alongside backup running back Akers, who took a short pass from Darnold in the third quarter to the house to cap his best day as a Viking this season. Darnold sneaked in from a yard out in the first half to score his first rushing touchdown of the season after a penalty on fourth down kept a tedious 16-play, 89-yard drive alive.
Still, questions remain about the Vikings signal-caller’s ability in the fourth quarter to find rhythm and put the game to rest. KOC needs to instill an ability to be ruthless, as Minnesota left the door open with three straight drives that ended in punts and tallied just 29 net yards.
Notes
- Turnovers have been a problem for Darnold, who threw three picks in the red zone last week. Deep in Tennessee territory on the Vikings’ first drive of the day. The Minnesota quarterback made a bad pitch to running back Jones, who could not corral it in, and the ball squirmed loose for a Titans recovery. After spending “extra time” with O’Connell throughout the week, this was a disappointing start.
- Benefitted from better accuracy when targeting Jefferson downfield this week, with the superstar receiver hauling in a 31-yard grab on the Vikings’ second touchdown possession midway through the second quarter after burning his marker with a nasty double-move down the sideline. Darnold would target Jefferson twice in the red zone, but the two could not connect when it mattered before the Vikings signal-caller sneaked in for a touchdown for himself.
Running Back
Aaron Jones: 15 Carries, 39 Yards, Fumble (Recovered) | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 4 Yards
Averaging a season-worst 2.6 yards per carry, Jones failed to make an impact on mainly inside runs against a tough Titans interior defensive line. Jones’ longest run was just five yards as he was met regularly at the line of scrimmage or quickly by a linebacker plugging the holes for Tennessee. Annoyingly, he also saw running mate Akers nab a receiving score at the goal line. Jones has just three scores on the season, with two coming on the ground. “Not great, Bob!”
Cam Akers: 10 Carries, 25 Yards | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 11 Yards, TD
Despite also finding no room on the ground, Akers vultured a touchdown at the goal line from lead back Jones and saw a healthy share of touches out of the backfield as his role continued to develop for this offense. Akers looked fantastic in the preseason for the Texans, and after the Vikings traded for him, they immediately installed him in front of Ty Chandler. He is only devaluing Jones in fantasy right now rather than making a case for rostering.
https://www.twitter.com/NFL/status/1858244860433600694
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Justin Jefferson: 8 Targets, 6 Receptions, 81 Yards
As has become automatic, Jefferson led the Vikings in targets, catches, and receiving yards as he once again acted as the focal point of this offense. He enjoyed space to move in the first half and made the Titans pay with catches on both touchdown drives, his best being a 31-yard grab in traffic that highlighted his ability to separate in tight coverage and haul contested catches. After not seeing a target in the first two drives of the second half, KOC made a point of going to his star man immediately after the Titans had pulled within a score. Jefferson grabbed a 25-yard pass from Darnold to kickstart a touchdown drive that effectively settled the contest. He remains the elite wideout who doesn’t score enough touchdowns, however, as three red zone targets fell incomplete. It is the cherry missing from the top of the cake for Minnesota – he has just one touchdown pass in the last six games.
Jordan Addison: 8 Targets, 3 Receptions, 61 Yards, TD
A 47-yard touchdown catch-and-run on a crossing route over the middle of the field at the end of the first quarter proved to be Addison’s big contribution to this game. He later dropped a red zone target in the end zone before seeing two third-down targets from Darnold fall incomplete. You feel like the sophomore receiver is inches away from a breakout effort, but there is too much uncertainty from a fantasy point of view due to inconsistency and a lack of volume from this offense.
https://www.twitter.com/NFL/status/1858217330112655530
Josh Oliver: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 34 Yards
Trent Sherfield Sr.: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 16 Yards
Johnny Mundt: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 13 Yards
Brandon Powell: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 13 Yards
T.J. Hockenson: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 13 Yards
Jalen Nailor: 2 Targets
The third talented wideout in the Vikings corps has seen a significant downturn in opportunities and production since Addison returned from injury. He looked rusty as he failed to haul in back-to-back targets in the fourth quarter – the first was a poor drop in the end zone with just under 11 minutes remaining in the game up with the Vikings up 10 points. It was a chance for the young receiver to end the game as a contest.
Tennessee Titans
Quarterback
Will Levis: 17/31, 295 Yards, TD, INT, 5 Sacks | 7 Carries, 18 Yards
Some may point to the season-low 55% completion rate as another reason to stack it on the under-fire Titans quarterback, but others should take more responsibility for this loss. Levis was battered and bruised behind a dreadful offensive line that gave up five sacks; the Titans receivers dropped three passes to move the chains; pre-snap penalties consistently put the offensive in long yardage situations; Callahan’s play-calling became predictable on early downs. All these should become before Levis’ inability to put his team in a winning position. Indeed, when he connected with Westbrook-Ikhine deep down the right sideline with a dime for a 98-yard touchdown to pull within six points midway through the third quarter, you could say he had solely given his team a chance. It was an elite throw, one of the best you’ll see this season, under heavy pressure in his own end zone. He has the ability to be an NFL starting quarterback. It is there, you can see it. He needs development, and he needs reinforcements on the offensive line and in the passing game.
The fourth quarter failings were a product of the team not being able to force a stop and generate some momentum. Levis took a sack on fourth down he could do nothing about to turn the ball over on downs before failing to complete another fourth-down conversion to veteran Tyler Boyd on the following drive. His only indiscretion was the poor throw on the late interception.
https://www.twitter.com/NFL/status/1858256361953382591
Running Back
Tony Pollard: 9 Carries, 15 Yards | 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 14 Yards
A miserable day carrying the rock as Pollard averaged just 1.7 yards per carry on a measly nine touches. The offensive line woes inhibited both the passing game and production on the ground. Pollard has been bottled up to the tune of 59 yards over 18 carries over the past two weeks. The offensive game plan seems to have shifted away from the run game also, which isn’t necessarily linked to going down big, as the team has stuck around in the past few games. His fantasy downturn is an unexpected disappointment at this stage of the season.
Tyjae Spears: 3 Carries, 0 Yards | 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 8 Yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine: 6 Targets, 2 Receptions, 117 Yards, TD
The 98-yard bomb from Levis that Westbrook-Ikhine took to the house in the third quarter was the cornerstone of his performance in leading the team in yardage despite it being on just two catches. He has built a nice role in this offense, however, notching touchdown grabs in five of his last six games. Boom or bust fantasy alert!
https://www.twitter.com/NFL/status/1858241582660788482
Calvin Ridley: 6 Targets, 4 Receptions, 58 Yards
Coming off a two-score week last time around, Ridley was the catalyst for the first meaningful offensive contribution for the Titans. After the Vikings fumbled the ball away on their first possession, Ridley shook off some sticky coverage in the secondary to haul in a 21-yard grab down the sideline on third and long to put his team inside the Vikings’ 10-yard line. Ridley caught only three more balls the rest of the contest but did have a 51-yard touchdown wiped off the board for yet another harsh illegal formation call. That could have changed this game, as it would have brought the Titans back within one score. Ridley is still set to enjoy the lion’s share of targets as the sole volume-threat receiver in Nashville for the rest of the season.
Tyler Boyd: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 34 Yards
The veteran wideout wasn’t targeted until the fourth quarter when he took a short swing pass 30 yards to midfield with five minutes left in the contest. He has been an afterthought in Tennessee since joining the Titans in the offseason.
Bryce Oliver: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 33 Yards
Chig Okonkwo: 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 19 Yards
Nick Vannett: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 6 Yards
Josh Whyle: 1 Target, x Reception, 6 Yards