Vikings at Titans Preseason 2018: Second Half Open Thread

We’ve got ourselves a barnburner at Nissan Stadium in Nashville between the Tennessee Titans and your Minnesota Vikings. And, by that, I mean that we’re tied 3-3 going into the locker room.

(Hey, we’ve got to try to sell this somehow.)

Here’s a list of things of interest for Vikings fans:

Stephen Weatherly had an up-and-down first drive. He was called for roughing the passer early on, but collected a sack of Titans quarterback Luke Falk to force a Tennessee punt.

The Vikings, after stopping the Titans on their first possession, started Trevor Siemian at quarterback, with Danny Isidora starting at center (!?), and the newly-acquired Brett Jones starting at left guard. They went three-and-out.

The full Vikings starting offensive line for this one was Aviante Collins at left tackle, Jones at left guard, Isidora at center, Colby Gossett at right guard, and Brian O’Neill at right tackle.

Minnesota’s second drive, following a 16-play effort from Tennessee that resulted in a Ryan Succop field goal, didn’t go any better than the first. They went three-and-out again, and also had a false start on Collins.

The Vikings’ defense forced a three-and-out of their own on the Titans’ next drive. The Vikings finally got a first down on a Trevor Siemian completion to Roc Thomas. Thomas then got tackled from behind on a run and suffered what appeared to be a left ankle injury. He walked off the field under his own power, but did so gingerly from the reports I’ve seen on social media.

Couple of injury updates:

With Thomas possibly out for the remainder of the night, it appears that the RB3 spot is going to end up with Mike Boone. He picked up 30 yards on seven carries in the first half, while Thomas had four carries for 12 yards and a pair of receptions for 15 yards.

The Vikings finally got a drive into Tennessee territory, and went for it on fourth down from near midfield. Siemian found Brandon Zylstra, the pride of Concordia College (Moorhead version) for a 20-yard gain to extend the drive.

That drive stalled, and the Vikings brought in Daniel Carlson to attempt a 39-yard field goal after the two-minute warning. Carlson, following his adventures against the Seattle Seahawks in the previous preseason game, split the uprights to tie the score at 3-3. That’s how we went into the locker room at the half.

I’ll take Ms. Cronin’s word for it. After all, she’s actually watching what’s happening.

The Vikings’ offense went just 1-for-6 on third down in the first half, which is less than ideal.

That’s what happened in the first half in Nashville, ladies and gentlemen. Here’s where you can talk about the second half of action. Enjoy, everyone!