Minnesota Vikings at Kansas City Chiefs: First half recap and second half discussion

We are at halftime at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, and in another pretty blah performance, the Minnesota Vikings trail the Kansas City Chiefs by a score of 21-3 in the final preseason game of the year.

It didn’t take long for the Chiefs to get on the board, as Patrick Mahomes and company made quick work of the Vikings’ defense on the opening possession. The drive ended with Mahomes finding Tyreek Hill for a 35-yard touchdown after Hill beat Bashaud Breeland. The extra point was good, and less than three minutes into the game the home team had a 7-0 lead.

After the kickoff went for a touchback, Kirk Cousins led the Vikings’ offense onto the field for their first possession. They put together a solid drive, highlighted by Cousins finding Irv Smith for a couple of nice gains, and the Vikings eventually got themselves into a first-and-goal situation. But, the drive stalled out and the Vikings settled for a 26-yard field goal from Greg Joseph to cut the lead to 7-3.

The Chiefs marched straight down the field on their next possession as well, with the Vikings’ defense putting up very little resistance. The drive ended with another Mahomes touchdown pass, this one to former Viking Blake Bell from five yards out. With the extra point, the Chiefs extended their lead to 14-3 with just over three minutes remaining in the quarter.

The next possession for the Vikings started with Cousins getting sacked by Anthony Hitchens, and that led to a three-and-out. The Chiefs showed some mercy and put in rookie Shane Buechele at quarterback for the next possession, which was nice of them. The Chiefs punted it away on that possession and the Vikings took over at their own 12-yard line.

Once again, the Vikings’ offense did nothing, managing to go three-and-out. The ensuing punt appeared to have been returned for a touchdown by former Vikings’ cornerback Mike Hughes, but a penalty on the Chiefs brought it all back.

The Vikings forced a punt, and then made a change at quarterback by bringing Jake Browning into the game to lead the offense. The result was the same. . .a three-and-out. The Chiefs were kind enough to return the favor with a three-and-out of their own, ending things with a sack by the returning Everson Griffen.

Of course, save for a penalty on the Chiefs, the Vikings’ offense once again could not generate anything behind Browning and punted it away again. Buechele then led the Chiefs on a long drive to finish the half, capping the drive with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Kemp to make the score 21-3.

The Vikings got Greg Joseph in position to attempt a 52-yard field goal at the end of the half, but he pushed it wide to the right and we went into the locker room with the Vikings trailing by 18.

The first-team offense had its moments, but it’s pretty difficult to evaluate things without Dalvin Cook, Justin Jefferson, and Adam Thielen on the field. Hopefully their lack of playing time in the preseason won’t bite this team in the regular season. The defense, likewise, was without a number of starters: Danielle Hunter, Patrick Peterson, Harrison Smith, Eric Kendricks, and Anthony Barr were all out for this one.

We’re at halftime at Arrowhead Stadium, and the Vikings trail the Chiefs by a score of 21-3. Will it get better in the second half? Will the Vikings actually score an offensive touchdown? Come hang out with us and see!