The Minnesota Vikings dominated the first half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, en route to a 21-3 halftime lead. RB Dalvin Cook opened the scoring with a rushing touchdown, and QB Case Keenum threw a pair of touchdown passes, one each to wide receivers Jarius Wright and Stefon Diggs heading into the halftime break.
Minnesota opened the second half with a second Diggs touchdown catch and didn't look back. Bucs QB Jameis Winston did notch two touchdown passes but also managed to throw three costly interceptions as the Vikings finished off a 34-17 victory. With that, we give you our PFF exclusive takeaways from the contest for each team.
Top 5 Grades:
QB Case Keenum, 89.0 overall grade
WR Adam Thielen, 86.6 overall grade
T Mike Remmers, 85.3 overall grade
WR Stefon Diggs, 83.6 overall grade
CB Trae Waynes, 82.2 overall grade
Performances of Note:
QB Case Keenum, 89.0 overall grade
Case Keenum had the game of his life as he torched the Bucs secondary up and down the field. When Keenum was pressured, he completed 9-of-11 attempts for 114 yards and a 109.8 passer rating.
HB Dalvin Cook, 80.7 overall grade
Dalvin Cook had shown his abilitiy as a runner in the first two weeks of the season, however against the Bucs, he showed his abilitiy as a reciver catching all five targets for 72 yards and forcing two missed tackles to go along with his six forced missed tackles in the run game.
S Harrison Smith, 80.0 overall grade
Harrison Smith may only have come up with one intercpetion, but if it wasn't for the strength of Winston's arm, he was always in with a shout of more. He read the Bucs' offense with ease, breaking on many passes to prevent any a single yard after the catch, all game long.
Edge Everson Griffen , 79.4 pass-rushing grade
Everson Griffen was too much for the Buccaneers offensive tackles to handle has he was too strong and fast, recording a sack, a hit and three hurries.
Top 5 Grades:
WR Adam Humphries, 83.1 overall grade
WR DeSean Jackson, 82.1 overall grade
T Demar Dotson, 78.7 overall grade
WR Chris Godwin, 78.2 overall grade
LB Kendell Beckwith, 77.8 overall grade
Performances of Note:
QB Jameis Winston, 75.7 overall grade
Jameis Winston had a solid game, hitting DeSean Jackson down the field and hiting his recievers in the middle of the field. However the struggle with Winston is desire to force the ball to his receivers when they are in tight coverage, these forced throws led to both his interceptions and took away the Buccaneers abilitiy to win the game.
WR DeSean Jackson, 82.1 overall grade
When coverage is rolled Mike Evans way, the Bucs need DeSean Jackson to be able to provide a spark on offense and he did that averaging 21.0 yards per catch and a touchdown. Jackson is the big play wide receiver that can open up the field they just need to be able to stop the oppositions. Despite an interception when targeting Jackson, Winston's passer rating was still a very respectable 99.1.
CB Vernon Hargreaves III, 39.1 overall grade
Second-year CB Vernon Hargreaves III was supposed to take a step forward this season after a diffcult rookie campaign. However, Keenum and the Vikings WRs where able to take advantage of Hargreaves all game long as he gave up 126 yards on 10 targets and seven receptions.
LB Kendell Beckwith, 77.8 overall grade
One of the lone bright spots for the Bucs defense was the play of rookie linebacker Kendell Beckwith who recorded nine total tackles. Most impressively, six of those where for defensive stops.
PFF Game Ball: Case Keenum, QB
*Grades are subject to change upon review
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