Numbers Check: Some Stats Behind the Vikings First Win of 2021
The Minnesota Vikings went into their home opener with a bit of desperation. There’s an argument to be made that Minnesota should have been 2-0 after two weeks, but a couple of silly mistakes had them at 0-2 and in the NFC North’s cellar. It wasn’t going to get any easier as Sunday brought a date with Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks.
To make things worse, Dalvin Cook did not play with an ankle injury. However, the Vikings stepped up in a big way on both sides of the field. Minnesota won 30-17, and they now find themselves in the middle of a divisional battle once again. Here are the numbers that made this victory possible.
171
It cannot be overstated how well Alexander Mattison played in Cook’s absence. He took the challenge of replacing the star RB’s production by the horns, becoming a major reason for the Vikings victory. Mattison finished the day with a career-high 171 yards from scrimmage off a whopping 32 touches.
Especially in the second half, the third-year RB was a catalyst for Minnesota’s long, methodical drives. When playing Russell Wilson, oftentimes the easiest way to beat him is just keep him off the field, and the Vikings did just that.
7
Not only did the Vikings do an excellent job of keeping Russell Wilson off the field, but when Wilson did get on the field, Minnesota sent him back to the sideline very quickly. In the second half, the Seahawks had four possessions, and none were longer than five plays nor two minutes and 46 seconds long.
In all, the Seahawks had the ball for just over seven minutes in the entire second half. Their drives went as follows: punt, punt, turnover on downs, end of game. That’s how you win a football game.
16
Again, impeccable second half execution is what truly won the Vikings this game. In my fantasy football preview this week, I said a big key to a Vikings win would be holding Chris Carson in check. They weren’t exactly able to do that in the first half, especially during his 30-yard touchdown run. After that point though, the Vikings defense locked in and did a much better job at defending the run.
In the second half, Minnesota allowed just 16 yards rushing. Only six of these yards went two Chris Carson, and Seattle had just four carries throughout the half. Of course, this happens when a team is trying to play from behind and in long yardage situations. The 10 points Minnesota scored on their two-for-one to close the first half and open the second half were key to this being a possibility.