Nobody really new what to expect tonight as the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints squared off on Monday Night Football. The Vikings hadn't showcased much in the preseason but man did they come to play when it counted tonight at U.S. Bank Stadium.
After exchanging a couple field goals early, Sam Bradford decided it was time that he took over the game. It came in the form of a 35-yard pass to Adam Thielen, a 21 strike to Jarius Wright and then an 18-yard TD pass to Stefon Diggs.
Then on the next drive it was much of the same for Sam, he hit Adam Thielen for 44 yards to break the seal, a 20 yard hit to Stefon Diggs and then another passing TD to Diggs.
He would go on to tack on another to Kyle Rudolph in the second half, and all-in-all it was Bradford, not Brees throwing for 346 yards completing 27 of 32 passes with those three TDs and a passer rating of 143.0.
Two receivers in particular were the beneficiaries of Bradford's good play. Adam Thielen finished the night with 9 catches on 10 targets for 157 yards while Diggs hauled in 7 of 8 targets for 93 and the two scores.
Flipping over to the defense it was a lot of bend don't break for the Vikings defense. Whether it be a bad flag in the first half, or Drew Brees showing signs of his heyday, the Vikings allowed the Saints into the redzone three times in which they held the Saints to a FG. It wasn't until late in the 4th quarter that the Saints scored a touchdown padding some of those stats on a worthless final minutes drive.