Las Vegas Raiders 26, Minnesota Vikings 20: Vikings fall in preseason in the desert

On Sunday afternoon at Allegiant Stadium, the Minnesota Vikings faced the Las Vegas Raiders in preseason action, and there were plenty of ups and downs to be had on both sides of the football.

In the end, the Raiders took advantage of some untimely penalties from the Vikings, among other things, to emerge with a 26-20 victory in Minnesota’s preseason opener.

The Raiders got on the board first, pushing their opening possession to the Minnesota 3-yard line before settling for a 23-yard field goal from former Viking Daniel Carlson to take a 3-0 lead. After a three-and-out by the Vikings’ offense, the Raiders added to their lead on a 4-yard touchdown run from quarterback Jarrett Stidham to make it 10-0 after the first play of the second quarter.

The Vikings’ third possession saw them push all the way down to the Las Vegas 2-yard line, but the drive stalled and Kevin O’Connell chose to take the points as Greg Joseph split the uprights from 20 yards out to make the score 10-3 with eight minutes left in the half.

After Kellen Mond took over for Sean Mannion at quarterback, the Vikings added more points on another Joseph field goal, this one a 23-yarder to cut the lead to 10-6 just after the two-minute warning. That’s how they went into the locker room at halftime.

The Raiders then added to the lead on their first drive of the second half, courtesy of a 35-yard touchdown pass from Nick Mullens to D.J. Turner to make it 16-6 (Carlson was kind enough to miss the extra point).

After Ty Chandler sparked the team with a big 56-yard kick return, the Vikings went down and got their first touchdown of the preseason, as Mond found free agent Albert Wilson on a slant from two yards out for a score. Joseph’s extra point was good, making the score 16-13 midway through the third quarter.

The Raiders then answered, adding to their lead on a 1-yard touchdown run from Brittain Brown to make the score 23-13 early in the fourth quarter.

For some reason, Mannion went back into the game at quarterback on the next drive, but the Vikings couldn’t get anything going. The Raiders then added to their lead with another Carlson field goal, this one a 47-yard blast to make it 26-13 with just over six and a half minutes remaining in regulation.

Then, the Vikings put Mond back into the game at quarterback, and the offense marched down the field again for a touchdown. Mond found Albert Wilson once again, this time for a 20-yard score, to cut the Vegas lead down to six at 26-20.

The Vikings could get no closer, however, as the Raiders got the ball back and ran out the clock to preserve their second preseason win of the 2022 season.

We’ll have more of a breakdown of some of the impacts of this game over the next day or two, and then it will be time to turn our focus to the Vikings’ lone home game of the 2022 preseason when they face the San Francisco 49ers at U.S. Bank Stadium on Saturday.

The Vikings fall to the Raiders by a final score of 26-20 in preseason action in Las Vegas. We hope that everyone has enjoyed the coverage of today’s game here at The Daily Norseman!