By Matthew Coller
The Minnesota Vikings face off with the Indianapolis Colts at US Bank Stadium. Check back each quarter for analysis and observations.
3 first quarter thoughts
– The Vikings nearly got away with two poor defensive efforts on the first two Indianapolis Colts drives, but a bizarre penalty on Linval Joseph opened up the door for Indy to score their first touchdown. Joseph tried to hurdle the center, which is OK as long as you don’t use the blocker to do so. That’s exactly what Joseph did. As rare as it is to block a field goal that short, it’s an incredible mistake to try to jump over the line, especially for a guy listed a 330 pounds. That penalty could be the difference between the Vikings staying in the playoff race and being eliminated. Wow.
– The biggest fear with Adrian Peterson returning was that the Vikings would try to force him the ball…that’s exactly what happened in the first quarter. He got touches on the first two plays, gaining a whopping total of three yards, then got another first down handoff that went for one yard. The only play-action play the Vikings used turned into a successful pass play.
– On defense, Anthony Harris has done a nice job tackling, but the Colts are going to try to attack him consistently. Andrew Luck hit TY Hilton for a deep pass with Harris 1-on-1 with Hilton down the field. That’s not a favorable matchup for Minnesota.
The post Instant analysis: Peterson off to slow start as Vikings trail Colts appeared first on 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
Source:: 1500 ESPN Sportswire
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