Here are the top takeaways and highest-graded players from the Minnesota Vikings’ 16-10 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Kansas City Chiefs
– With RB Jamal Charles injured, the running game was non-existent for the Chiefs as Charcandrick West (-3.9) and Knile Davis (+0.2) combined for only 46 yards on 14 carries. They forced just one missed tackle between them while West compounded the issues by losing a fumble in the fourth quarter. This may be a weekly issue as both West (-4.4) and Davis (-1.1) have negative grades on the season.
– Conversely, the run defense did an excellent job of bottling up RB Adrian Peterson. DE Allen Bailey led the way with a +5.8 grade against the run while NT Jaye Howard continued his breakout season at +2.2 in the run game (now +15.1 on the season). Backup defensive linemen Mike DeVito (+1.6 vs. run) and Nicholas Williams (+1.5 vs. run) did their part as well as the defensive line combined for an impressive +11.1 grade against the run.
– The offensive line struggled in pass protection as all five starters ended with negative grades in that department. Left tackle Donald Stephenson gave up four hurries on 46 pass attempts, while left guard Ben Grubbs gave up five hurries and a hit. It’s been a common theme for the Chiefs as four of the five starters have negative pass protection grades on the season, with only RT Eric Fisher grading positively (+3.3).
Top performers
DE Allen Bailey (+5.1)
OLB Justin Houston (+4.5)
CB Marcus Peters (+2.8)
LB Derrick Johnson (+1.8)
FB Anthony Sherman (+1.7)
Minnesota Vikings
– WR Stefon Diggs was the go-to guy for QB Teddy Bridgewater (+0.5), as he gained 129 yards on seven receptions while running a variety of routes along the way. He turned both starting cornerbacks, Sean Smith and Marcus Peters, completely around with his deep-out routes in the first quarter before catching a well-placed back-shoulder throw on Smith later in the quarter. Six of Diggs’ seven catches went for first downs.
– The clear dominant pass rusher for Minnesota was DT Sharrif Floyd who finished at +5.4 with a sack, hit, and four hurries on 31 rushes. Floyd beat OG Ben Grubbs on four pressures, all to his outside shoulder, even busting out a spin-move that worked on Grubbs once and RG Zach Fulton another time.
– With starting DE Everson Griffen out for the game, rookie DE Danielle Hunter nearly doubled his career snap total with 50 on the afternoon. He had a strong game with a +1.2 overall grade that featured a sack and three hurries on his 38 rushes along with two run stops. He pressured OT Donald Stephenson inside multiple times and he was stout at the point of attack on a key third-and-one stop at the 3:20 mark of the second quarter. Overall, it was an encouraging outing for the third round rookie.
Top performers
DT Sharrif Floyd (+4.3)
WR Stefon Diggs (+3.6)
CB Captain Munnerlyn (+2.9)
LB Eric Kendricks (+2.6)
DT Linval Joseph (+1.6)
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