The Vikings and Raiders played a game Sunday that set football back 30 years.
But the Vikings found their way to a 3-0 win at Las Vegas to improve their playoff chances, so let’s take a look at the positives, starting with the defense.
Undrafted rookie Ivan Pace Jr. was an absolute monster Sunday, registering 13 tackles, a sack that ended the first half and a game-sealing interception late in the fourth quarter. Not only did Pace have the highest grade of anyone at Allegiant Stadium, but he had the best defensive grade in the entire league entering Monday night’s game.
Do-it-all safety Josh Metellus was close behind Pace with an 89.6 defensive grade, good for eighth best in the league, after he accounted for seven total tackles and a forced fumble.
Rookie cornerback Mekhi Blackmon registered his fourth plus-75 defensive grade in his last six games after picking up a fumble and totaling four tackles in just 19 snaps.
Danielle Hunter may not have registered a sack — the first time since Week 9 without one — but he was a menace to Raiders rookie QB Aidan O’Connell, pressuring him seven times.
Davante Adams, the leading receiver for the Raiders, was restricted to a 50.2 offensive grade, while O’Connell finished with a 56.1 offensive grade. In actuality, right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor (74.7) was the only offensive player for the Raiders to finish with an offensive grade above 70.
But to dance their way to a 3-0 victory, two incompetent offenses are required. All the information you need to understand how badly the offense struggled on Sunday is provided by Josh Dobbs placing among the top five offensive players for the Vikings.
Just two members of the Vikings’ starting five, Dobbs (
who was benched in the fourth quarter) and David Quessenberry (who took Brian O’Neill’s place at right tackle) played more than 25 snaps.
Dobbs’ performance and that of Nick Mullens, the quarterback who replaced him late in the game, differ significantly in sample size, but it is still sufficient to draw comparisons.
At 69.5, Dobbs’ passing score was greater. The passing score for Mullens was 62.7. However, a closer look at the data explains why Kevin O’Connell, head coach of the Vikings, made the change, which will probably remain for the final four games of the season.
With 13 pass attempts, Mullens released the ball almost a full second sooner than Dobbs did (2.67 seconds).
Austin Schlottmann has the lowest offensive rating of the day overall, but there’s a big disclaimer: he only had two snaps. Dalton Risner and Brian O’Neill’s injuries limited the Vikings to using seven offensive linemen, including Schlottmann.
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