The Minnesota Vikings used their running game and defense to pound the Saint Louis Rams on Sunday. Cordarrelle Patterson had more rushing yards than Adrian Peterson, 102 versus 75, while Matt Cassel was efficient in his performance.
The game started off well for the visiting Vikings. Peterson was strong and Cassel was sharp, but the drive ultimately stalled out at the St. Louis 34 yard line. Blair Walsh connected on a 52 yard field goal to make it 3-0 Vikings. Both teams then traded punts before St. Louis had a chance to tie the game. However, Greg Zuerlein missed his 50 yard field goal to the left and the game remained at 3-0.
The ensuing drive saw Blair Walsh connect on his second field goal of the game, this time from 46 yards out. The drive was started with Patterson's 23 yard run on an end around.
The Minnesota defense did well to stop the Rams from getting very far into Vikings territory. The closest they got after the missed field goal was Minnesota 41. With less than two minutes remaining, Shaun Hill threw a pass for Jared Cook, but the pass was intercepted by Josh Robinson at the St. Louis 35 yard line.
Minnesota put themselves up double digits thanks to a Matt Cassel touchdown pass to Greg Jennings from 8 yards out. It was a nice throw by Cassel over the defender and at the back of the end zone. Jennings did well to tap his feet in bounds and the Vikings lead 13-0.
St. Louis did get on the board with their first drive of the second half. Zuerlein hit a 56 yard field goal to get the game to a 13-3 score line.
Late in the third quarter, Minnesota had the ball on their own 33 yard line. Cassel pitched the ball to the right to Cordarrelle Patterson and he did the rest. He ran past tacklers, through tacklers, and cut back to make tacklers miss. He was tackled as he went into the end zone on a fabulous 67-yard touchdown run.
Cassel added a 7 yard touchdown pass to Kyle Rudolph to make it 27-3. St. Louis' next drive saw Austin Davis' pass intercepted by Harrison Smith, who took it back to the house for an 81 yard interception return and put the topping on the cake at 34-3. Zuerlein added a 46 yard field goal in the final two minutes to make it 34-6.
Cassel finished 17 of 25 for 170 yards and 2 touchdowns. Patterson ran for 102 yards on 3 carries and the long touchdown run. Adrian Peterson added 75 yards on 21 carries. Greg Jennings led the Vikings with 6 catches for 58 yards and a touchdown.
Shaun Hill started the game for the Rams, but a quad injury caused him to be replaced by Austin Davis. Hill went 8 of 13 for 81 yards and threw an interception. Davis went 16 of 23 for 192 yards and the pick-six to Harrison Smith.
The Rams found it difficult to get any traction with the running game. They ran 22 times as a team for a total of 72 yards. Zac Stacy led the Rams with 43 yards on 11 carries.
Brian Quick led the Rams in receiving with 7 catches for 99 yards. Jared Cook also caught 4 passes for 56 yards.
Minnesota (1-0) will have their home opener next week at TCF Bank Stadium against the New England Patriots (0-1). The game is scheduled for 1 PM Eastern Time on Sunday, September 14. The Vikings are playing their home games at the University of Minnesota's stadium while their new stadium is being constructed. The stadium should be ready in time for the 2016 season.
St. Louis (0-1) will hit the road next week and travel to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-1). Game time for Sunday, September 14 is set for 4:05 PM Eastern Time.