Recapping Week 6 Vikings Players to Watch vs. Dolphins
Adam New
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It was a good day for myson three Vikings players to watch against Miami in Sunday’s game. The Vikings made it four wins in a row with a victory on the road in Florida. One of my choices had a great day; one was pretty quiet, and I cheated by picking all the edge rushers, and the whole unit showed up in a big way.
Let’s take a look at how my Vikings played to watch fared.
KJ Osborn
The game started brightly for KJ Osborn as he caught the first pass of the game for an 8-yard completion. However, he only managed to haul in two more catches for the rest of the game. Finishing up with three catches for 18 yards, as the Vikings offense found life difficult against an excellent Miami defense.
This performance was in the middle range of what to expect from Osborn. There was none of the explosive deep passes I was hoping for this week. A big day will come for Osborn this season, but it wasn’t to be this week.
Patrick Peterson
Although Tyreek Hill tallied up 177 yards and Jaylen Waddle 129 yards, it was a good day for the Vikings secondary. The soft shell plan of keeping everything in front of you was designed for this type of offense.
For all the speed Hill and Waddle possess and all the yards they racked up. Miami struggled to threaten the Vikings end zone for most of the game. Patrick Peterson was superb, with four tackles, three pass deflections, and an interception which as good as sealed the win for the Vikings. He scored an overall grade of 89.9 from PFF, his highest grade as a Viking.
It wasn’t just Peterson, though; Harrison Smith had six tackles, two pass deflections, a forced fumble, and an interception of his own. Chandon Sullivan had his best game as a Viking, while Camryn Bynum forced the ball loose for Smith’s interception and pounced on the ball for the recovery when the Hitman forced a fumble.
The Edge Department
One of the keys to the Vikings secondary working is the Vikings defensive front being able to bring the pressure on their own. They did it in spades in Miami, and the pressure came from all angles. Za’Darius Smith led the way with 10 pressures and two sacks, while Danielle Hunter wasn’t far behind with eight pressures and his first sack since Week 1 against the Packers.
There were also two sacks for Patrick Jones, who impressed, stepping in for DJ Wonnum, who missed Sunday’s game due to illness. Jones played a career-high 37 defensive snaps and had two QB hits and two tackles for loss to add to the sacks. An impressive outing for the second-year Viking.
Wonnum’s absence also gave undrafted rookie Luiji Vilain an opportunity for the first time this season. As well as being a regular on the field for special teams, he chipped in with three pressures of his own, playing in 17 defensive snaps. The best praise to give Vilain is the Vikings defense didn’t visibly slow down when he came in. It was a solid debut from the Canadian edge rusher.