St. Louis Rams at Minnesota Vikings: Second Quarter Open Thread

In a bit of a change from the norm, the Minnesota Vikings actually won the coin toss before their game with the St. Louis Rams at TCF Bank Stadium. They chose to defer to the second half, giving the Rams the football first. The first kickoff of the game for Blair Walsh went for a touchback, so the Rams started from their own 20-yard line. St. Louis could get nowhere on offense, and they quickly went three-and-out after gaining just one yard. Johnny Hekker had to put the ball away for the Rams, and the Vikings got the chance to start in St. Louis territory at the 46-yard line after an awful punt.

Minnesota picked up a quick first down after a pass to Rhett Ellison and an offsides penalty on Michael Brockers of the Rams. Teddy Bridgewater, much like he did in Chicago last week, overthrew Mike Wallace on what would have been a sure touchdown, but kept the drive going with a 12-yard connection to Jarius Wright. Adrian Peterson then took the ball inside the 20, but the drive stalled at the St. Louis 16-yard line. The Vikings brought in Blair Walsh, and he continued his hot streak by knocking one through from 34 yards out. That kick gave the Vikings an early 3-0 lead just over five minutes into the game.

Walsh launched another touchback on his second kickoff, so the Rams started at their own 20 once again. Gurley picked up a first down for the Rams with an 11-yard burst on the first play of the drive, but the Rams punted once again after three more plays. Hekker got a much better punt away, and the Vikings started their second drive from their own 20-yard line.

The teams decided to trade penalties for a bit to start the next possession, and then Bridgewater found Charles Johnson for a 25-yard gain to put the Vikings into St. Louis territory. Bridgewater then found Peterson for nine, and then Kyle Rudolph for 15 yards to the St. Louis 17-yard line. Another St. Louis penalty and a pass to MyCole Pruitt gave the Vikings a first-and-goal situation at the Rams' 6, and Peterson polished off the drive by going over from six yards out for the touchdown. Walsh tacked on the extra point, and the Vikings quickly found themselves ahead 10-0.

St. Louis started at the 20 again after another touchback from Walsh, and St. Louis looked to be on the verge of going three-and-out again, but a pass from Nick Foles to Tavon Austin got them a first down. Then Foles hit a huge play, as he found Kenny Britt for a 55-yard gain all the way down to the Minnesota 6-yard line. A couple of plays later, Gurley found his way into the end zone from 1-yard out. For some reason, the Rams decided to go for two, and Gurley was denied by Linval Joseph and Harrison Smith, making the score 10-6 with just over a minute remaining.

As we move to the second quarter of play, the Vikings are looking at 3rd-and-3 from their own 28-yard line, holding a 10-6 lead. Can the Vikings keep the momentum going?