Vikings top Steelers 14-3 in Hall of Fame game

Tight end MyCole Pruitt, a rookie from Kirkwood High and Southern Illinois University Carbondale, caught a 34-yard touchdown pass for the first TD of the NFL exhibition season to help Minnesota beat Pittsburgh 14-3 on Sunday night in the Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio. Peters grabbed the loose ball for a fumble on the play. Combined, Bridgewater, Heinicke and Kafka went 19-of-26 for 159 yards, one touchdown and one interception. At the end of that series, Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons had a huge hit on third down and on the next play the Steelers made a fourth-down stop. With Terence Newman there to mentor and Mike Zimmer as his coach, I think Waynes will be fine in the long term.

Overall, Jones’ performance wasn’t all that impressive on paper. and he did overthrow several receivers on plays you have to make if you want to be an NFL quarterback.

It is expected that promising young quarterback Teddy Bridgewater will get some time on the field for the Vikings. He went 5-of-6 passing for 44 yards against the Steelers’ first-stringers.

Coach Mike Tomlin sat out Bell, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, wide receivers Antonio Brown and Wheaton, tight end Heath Miller, center Maurkice Pouncey and guard Ramon Foster on offense. Of course, given his absence last season, he might need some extra reps to get back in the swing of things. “A lot of these guys have never played in the NFL before, either, so I’m sure they were nervous like me”.

Jones led the Steelers on their only scoring drive, finding Shakim Phillips for a 35-yard strike that set up a 36-yard field goal by Shaun Suisham, who later left with a left knee injury.

Justin Roem of Still Curtain here on FanSided is curious to see what cover-2 techniques the defense will have on display this evening.

The Steelers’ next preseason game will be hosted by the Jacksonville Jaguars this Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Jones also accounted for two delay of game penalties that could have been more if not for a false start and a timeout.

On the flip side, it is doubtful anyone will see the likes of Adrian Peterson for the Vikings, so most of the superstars will be in street clothes on Sunday.

Minnesota will be back in action on Saturday, 15 August, as they will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at TCF Bank Stadium.