Week Six Player Of The Game: Cast Your Vote!

Prior to having Week Five off, the Vikings Territory readers voted in four different “Player of the Week” award winners. They are Anthony Barr, Adrian Peterson, Harrison Smith and then Linval Joseph with the most recent win.

This week, it seems somewhat probable that a fifth individual receives this heralded (by me) award, and the previous winners all seem to have been out-shined by other on-field performances against the Chiefs this Sunday.

The 16-10 victory at home left very little to get excited about on offense (with one very big exception), but almost every player on defense could potentially be nominated this week following their stellar overall performance.

And this week’s nominees are…

STEFON DIGGS

There were times on Sunday I wanted to stand up and applaud our rookie wide out, no matter how ridiculous that would’ve looked in my living room. Diggs simply looks like the best wide receiver on this team in just about every way. In his second game of action, Diggs was targeted nine times and caught seven of those passes. He piled up 129 yards, played more snaps than any other wide out (including Mike Wallace), and was a go-to option for Teddy Bridgewater on third down scenarios. If Diggs can stay healthy, and this offensive line can start giving Bridgewater more time to throw, then I really think this could be the beginning of something special.

SHARRIF FLOYD

If a guy could win this award based off of just one play, it should be Sharrif Floyd for his fourth down tackle for a loss that kept the Chiefs at bay by preventing them from gaining a much-need six inches. Floyd ended the day with three tackles and half a sack, really seeming to step up in the unexpected absence of Everson Griffen within that front four.

ERIC KENDRICKS

In the first game following the trade that sent Gerald Hodges to San Francisco, rookie linebacker Eric Kendricks looked like a guy fully prepared to take the keys to the defense. Kendricks led the team with 10 tackles, while also adding a crucial cleanup sack to his stat line. Kendricks didn’t pitch a perfect game, as he was caught out of position on a couple of occasions, but came pretty darn close.

CAPTAIN MUNNERLYN

Almost a forgotten man on this defense, cornerback Captain Munnerlyn played some lights out football against Kansas City, particularly on third down. Munnerlyn ended the game with two tackles, one for a loss, and a deflected pass. He had another great play negated by a Chiefs penalty, which was the same play that receiving threat Jeremy Maclin had to exit the game with a possible concussion. Munnerlyn was as good as anybody on third down, where the Chiefs only converted three times on 12 attempts.

BLAIR WALSH

With any luck, the era of kicker concerns is once again behind us, as Blair Walsh was perfect on Sunday. In fact, he accounted for more points than any other player on the field. He started the scoring with a 24 yard field goal in the first quarter and added the extra point following Kyle Rudolph’s second quarter touchdown. In the second half, he hit a duo of field goals from 45 yards out, making it a fine day for a guy that could use a little bit of a confidence boost.

OTHER

As always, feel free to vote for “OTHER” and let me know who gets your vote by checking in via the comments section below.