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In what was once the All-Important Third Preseason Game ™, the Minnesota Vikings chose to seat many of their major contributors to avoid injury. If the preseason was any indicator, the team had better hope that they will continue to avoid injuries to their stars in the games that matter too.
Defending AFC champions Kansas City Chiefs got two early touchdowns from Patrick Mahomes and did enough the rest of the way to secure a 28-25 victory over the Vikings.
The Chiefs got into this one first, thanks to a 35-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes to Tyreek Hill. Hill beat former Chiefs teammate Bashaud Breeland on the play and shot the pass for the score. The extra point gave the home side a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.
The Vikings responded with a 26-yard field goal from Greg Joseph on their first possession to reduce the lead to 7-3. Training saw some nice wins from Kirk Cousins at Irv Smith Jr., but he ultimately stalled in the goals-to-go situation.
The Chiefs offense had no such issues, as Mahomes pushed them into the end zone again, this time hitting former Vikings tight end Blake Bell five yards to carry. Kansas City’s lead at 14-3.
Rookie Shane Buechele then led the Chiefs on a long run to close half-time, completing the run with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Kemp to make it 21-3 as he entered the locker room at mid-point. -time.
Kellen Mond came out to start the second half for the Vikings, and on his second pass attempt he threw an interception. But, in the next game, the Chiefs attempted to execute an option and missed the shot attempt, with Cameron Dantzler recovering from a turnaround for Minnesota.
The Vikings took advantage of the second chance and scored their first offensive touchdown of the preseason, thanks to rookie running back AJ Rose Jr.! He took a stint from Mond and sprinted 32 yards for a score, with Joseph’s extra point pulling the Vikings to 21-10.
But the good vibes didn’t last long, as the Chiefs added a touchdown in their next practice thanks to a 56-yard screen pass to Derrick Gore. That made it a three-point game again, with the Chiefs extending their lead to 28-10.
In the possession that followed, Mond flipped it again as he got knocked down on a pass attempt and the ball was free. He was ruled a fumble on the field and the Chiefs recovered to regain the ball once more.
Once the Vikings got the ball back, Mond put in a very solid workout, hitting Whop Philyor and Brandon Dillon for long wins. After a penalty against the Chiefs on a fourth down play, the Vikings won with the first and the goal of the 2-yard line, then. . .nothing, because the Chiefs got up and stopped the Vikings on four straight games to keep them out of the end zone.
But, in the Chiefs ‘first game of practice, Buechele threw a pass straight to Parry Nickerson, and he did the rest for the Vikings’ second pick of the preseason! He only had to turn it over 10 meters, but he got it there. The Vikings scored two goals and managed an assist from Mond to Myron Mitchell to bring the score to 28-18.
After forcing the Chiefs to kick again, Mond had a very good practice from Minnesota 11. He pushed the team all the way down the field, Shane Zylstra shooting a pass interference penalty in the end zone. to set up first and start of the 1-yard line. AJ Rose then got his second touchdown of the night, and Joseph’s extra point made it 28-25 with less than a minute and a half to go.
Unfortunately, Joseph’s kick was picked up by the Chiefs and they knelt down to secure the win. At least the Vikings made it exciting in the end.
Mond had by far his best game of the preseason in this one, finishing 16 of 23 for 196 yards. Yes, he had both turnovers, but he also looked really good on the last practice and would probably look a lot better with the first teams on the pitch. We will have more discussions on this in the coming days.
This ends the preseason for these two teams. They will both start the 2021 regular season on September 12. The Vikings, as we know, will face the Cincinnati Bengals in the first window on Sunday, while the Chiefs host the Cleveland Browns in one of Sunday’s late games.
Thanks to everyone who covered tonight’s game and throughout this preseason, right here at The Daily Norseman!
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