Five takeaways from Vikings’ 23-13 win over Titans

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — If a few plays went differently, the Vikings could’ve blown out the Tennessee Titans.

Instead, the Vikings will have to settle for a 23-13 win on Sunday afternoon at Nissan Stadium.

There were key contributors on both sides of the ball as the Vikings finished off an unbeaten run through the AFC South.

Here are five takeaways from the Vikings’ 23-13 win over the Titans.

The general consensus among pessimists last weekend was that the clock had struck midnight on veteran quarterback Sam Darnold. He threw a few costly interceptions against the Jacksonville Jaguars and many people assumed he had turned back into a pumpkin.

To his credit, Darnold bounced back this weekend, serving as the driving force for the Vikings against the Titans. He looked extremely confident while completing 20 of 32 passes for 246 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also showed a good understanding of when to stand in the pocket and when to use his legs to buy more time.

If the Vikings get this level of play from Darnold over the next couple of months, they are going to be in good position when the playoffs roll around.

It was pretty clear from early in game that the Titans had absolutely no answer for edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel. The result was the Vikings generating seemingly constant pressure on Tennessee quarterback Will Levis.

The stat line for Van Ginkel doesn’t even begin to describe how dominant he was for 60 minutes. He finished with a pair of sacks in total and could’ve had even more.

As the game progressed, Van Ginkel seemed to burrow his way deep into the subconscious of every player on the offensive line. Nobody could discern when he was rushing the passer and when he was dropping in coverage.

It was a master class from Van Ginkel.

Never mind that the Vikings sacked Levis a handful of times and managed to hold the Titans to 33 yards on the ground. There is still room for improvement on defense.

The most glaring moment came when safety Josh Metellus misplayed a ball in the air that directly resulted in Levis finding receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine for a 98-yard touchdown. There was also a long touchdown from Levis to receiver Calvin Ridley that got wiped off the board because of illegal procedure.

Those defensive breakdowns can’t happen against some of the better teams the Vikings face in the next couple of months.

After being limited at different times over the past month, the Vikings made a concerted effort to get receiver Jordan Addison involved. He hauled in a 47-yard touchdown early in the game that seemed to get him going.

It could have been an even more impressive game for Addison had he not be forced out due to cramping in his leg.

The fact that the Vikings were able to feed Addison is a good sign moving forward. It’s going to make opposing teams think twice about sending double coverage and triple coverage toward star receiver Justin Jefferson if Addison continues to emerge as an offensive weapon.

The biggest call of the game came when Addison absorbed a big hit in the end zone.

On the play, safety Mike Brown crushed Addison at the point of attack, causing the officials to throw a flag.

That resulted in a first down for the Vikings and they scored a touchdown on the very next play. Understandably, the Titans were upset in real time, and even more upset when replay showed Brown appearing to lead with his shoulder.

The explanation from the referee Clete Blakeman postgame essentially stated that the officials decided to throw the flag because they deemed the defender made helmet contact to the head and neck area of a defenseless receiver.