*Stefon Diggs opened U.S. Bank Stadium with a career night as Trae Waynes earned his first career interception late in the fourth quarter to secure the Minnesota Vikings' 17-14 victory over the Green Bay Packers. *
- The Vikings couldn't have asked for much more out of Sam Bradford in his Minnesota debut. Bradford stepped in for the injured Teddy Bridgewater and benched Shaun Hill and took control of the offense. The journeyman, who joined the Skol squad in a preseason trade with the Eagles just three weeks ago, made few mistakes, completed some impressive throws and found a new friend in Stefon Diggs. His 286 passing yards were the most by a Vikings quarterback in his first game.
Diggs' 182 receiving yards on nine targets were the most yards by any Bradford receiver in any game, per NFL Network research. The wideout's yardage was also the most productive outing from a wide receiver of this young season. If Bradford can stay healthy -- he bruised his non-throwing hand in the first half -- we think he and Diggs will get along quite well.
- A poor night for Adrian Peterson got worse with one hit. The Vikings running back was ruled out of Sunday night's game after suffering a right knee injury in the third quarter. Peterson hopped off the field without putting any weight on his right leg before being helped to the locker room. Peterson had amassed just 26 total yards on 14 touches at the time of his exit. The news could not come at a worse time for the Vikings, who were hoping to open their new stadium with a full slate of franchise stars, but now may have to play the remainder of the season without their two franchise players, Peterson and Teddy Bridgewater.
- The return of Jordy Nelson has not ignited the Packers' vertical passing game. For nearly three quarters, Aaron Rodgers attempted to find Davante Adams, not Nelson, deep outside the numbers to gain chunk yardage at least five times, but only succeeded when Adams drew two pass interference calls; the wideout also committed one O.P.I. Green Bay's offense moved better in the second half when Rodgers distributed the ball via intermediate routes to new tight end Jared Cook and swiss army man Randall Cobb. Nelson's 39-yard grab in the fourth quarter to set up Green Bay's final score was too little, too late as Minnesota learned its lesson and took away the deep ball on ensuing drives.
- The Vikings' defense is no joke. Minnesota sacked Rodgers four times, two of which effectively ended Packers drives in the fourth quarter. The Vikings also forced four Packers fumbles, but recovered only one of them. After Minnesota caused a Mariota meltdown in Week 1 and punched the Packers like Peanut in Week 2, there's no doubt that Mike Zimmer has a championship-level defense on his hands.
- Kudos to the Vikings organization for building a modern football temple. Minnesota opened U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday night to a record home crowd of 66,813. Bradford called the atmosphere the "loudest" he'd ever heard a stadium. We're looking forward to watching many prime time, and playoff, games at that facility for years to come.Â
