Minnesota Vikings at Tennessee Titans: Second Quarter Open Thread

At Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, the 2016 season for the Minnesota Vikings got started with a Blair Walsh kickoff, as the Tennessee Titans won the toss and elected to take the ball first. Marc Mariani returned a short kickoff to the 29-yard line, and the game was underway. The Titans got across midfield thanks to a trio of run plays and a pass from Marcus Mariota to rookie Tajae Sharpe. DeMarco Murray then blasted over the left side for 12 yards to the Minnesota 35-yard line, and the Titans were threatening. However, Brian Robison put a stop to that, deflecting a pass on first down and getting a tackle for loss on second. The Titans couldn't convert on third down, and the Titans were forced to punt. Brett Kern put the ball into the end zone for a touchback, and the Vikings' first drive of 2016 started at their own 20-yard line.

Minnesota's drive started with. . .get this. . .a handoff to Adrian Peterson for a gain of one. Shaun Hill then found Charles Johnson for a gain of five, and that was all the Vikings could get as Hill's third-down pass for Stefon Diggs fell incomplete. The Vikings brought Jeff Locke in to punt, and Jeff Locke got a decent kick away. The punt went 57 yards in the air, and Mariani returned it to the Tennessee 37-yard line to set up Tennessee's second possession.

The Titans got things going early on the second drive, as Mariota found rookie running back Derrick Henry for a big gain down to the Minnesota 30-yard line. Henry caught the pass short on the right side of the field, and came all the way back to the left to get the big gain. Mariota then found Rishard Matthews to get the Titans into the red zone, and then ran one himself to get down to the 8-yard line. But, the Vikings' defense tightened, with Eric Kendricks picking up a tackle for loss to help stymie the Tennessee drive. The Titans called on Ryan Succop for a 28-yard field goal attempt, and he knocked it through to give Tennessee the first lead of the game at 3-0.

Succop's kickoff resulted in a touchback, and the Vikings started their second possession from their own 25-yard line (thanks to the new NFL rule). Hill started the drive off with an 8-yard pass to Diggs, and Peterson picked up a first down on his second carry of the day. Hill then found Diggs again for 12 more yards to get the Vikings a first down to near midfield. Peterson then picked up seven more to get the Vikings into Tennessee territory at the 46-yard line. The Vikings then found themselves facing 3rd-and-2, and Hill converted with a 10-yard pass to Kyle Rudolph to move the chains. Hill then found Diggs for another 12 yards down to the Tennessee 22-yard line. Peterson then hit a 9-yard run to finish the quarter.

As we move to the second quarter of play, the Vikings are looking at 3rd-and-1 from the Tennessee 13-yard line, trailing 3-0. Can the Vikings get some points on the board? Join us for the second quarter of play!