Offense: A
No question, the Vikings' offense turned in their best performance of the season Sunday in London. The offense put up 34 points on a very old but still stingy Steeler defense, its highest point total of the season. Not only that, the offense had zero turnovers on the day, their lowest total of the season. While the great day wasn't just due to Matt Cassel's individual performance at quarterback, it's clear his presence had a major impact on this offense as a whole. Adrian Peterson had his best individual day of the season. The receiving corps played hard all day. The offensive line only gave up one sack after giving up six last week to the Browns. Even offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave had a solid day calling the plays for the Vikings, opening up the playbook far Cassel far more than he ever did with Ponder under center.
Quarterback: A-
Matt Cassel wasn't particularly great against the Steelers, he actually didn't play as well as his numbers would indicate. The offense was clearly excited by Cassel though, and he got more out of the team this game than Ponder ever has. Cassel started off inaccurate, especially when he had to look for his second read, starting off completing only 6 of his first 15 passes. He almost turned the ball over three times, but several of his teammates stepped up to make sure the ball did not wind up in the arms of the Steelers. Cassel got better and better as the game went on though, completing his last 11 passes and having no incompletions for the entire second half. Cassel was very decisive in the pocket, getting the ball to his receivers quickly, which in turn allowed those receivers to make plays for him that they never could have made for Ponder. Cassel made throws downfield that we haven't seen from Ponder all year, and he was asked to make several throws that Musgrave simply doesn't trust Ponder to complete. Cassel finished with a passer rating of about 123, almost double of Ponder's rating on the season. Matt Cassel is the starting quarterback going forward. Anything else is a joke.
Running Back: A
Adrian Peterson likes having a quarterback. Bill Musgrave's plan was pretty obvious from the start: quick throws to the outside by Cassel, in order to soften up the inside for Peterson. Mission accomplished. The Steelers defense is getting up there in years, and AP made them look ancient. Adrian broke several tackles on route to a huge 60 yard touchdown run in the second quarter, and finished the day with 140 yards and two touchdowns. AP still played tentative around the line of scrimmage at times, but he averaged over six yards per carry on his best day in 2013 so far. One of the reasons for his great day was the return of his Pro Bowl fullback Jerome Felton from suspension. Felton was clearly missed as a lead blocker, but barring injury Peterson won't have to be separated from his beloved fullback again this season.
Wide Receivers: A
Both Jerome Simpson and Greg Jennings sent compliments Matt Cassel's way before the game Sunday, and it was pretty obvious they were happy Cassel was on the field Sunday. The receivers made some spectacular catches throughout the day, including two great touchdown catches by Greg Jennings, the receiving corps' first touchdown catches of the year. Jennings showed why the Vikings gave him a handsome contract this offseason, spinning and breaking tackles for a 70 yard touchdown, after not being that noticeable the first three games of the season. Not only did the receivers make catches though, they did a lot of little things right that ended up being key to the offense's success. Cordarrelle Patterson knocked an interception out of Ike Taylor's hands on a deep pass from Cassel, which allowed the Vikings to kick a field goal. The downfield blocking was also fantastic from the receiving corps, as Jarius Wright was able to help spring Jennings loose on his long touchdown, and the receivers were able to keep defenders off of AP often.
Offensive Line: A
By far, this was the line's most complete game of the season, as they opened up plenty of holes for AP and only let Cassel get sacked once. The line was more physical with the Steelers and thus did better in both the run and the pass game, with no one member noticeably struggling. Matt Cassel had a big hand in that, as he made much quicker decisions and throws than Ponder would normally make, meaning the line had to hold onto their blockers for shorter amounts of time. I think I know who the line is going to want to start at quarterback in two weeks against the Panthers.
Offensive Line: A
By far, this was the line's most complete game of the season, as they opened up plenty of holes for AP and only let Cassel get sacked once. The line was more physical with the Steelers and thus did better in both the run and the pass game, with no one member noticeably struggling. Matt Cassel had a big hand in that, as he made much quicker decisions and throws than Ponder would normally make, meaning the line had to hold onto their blockers for shorter amounts of time. I think I know who the line is going to want to start at quarterback in two weeks against the Panthers.
Defense: B+
The Vikings' defense still isn't playing as well as many hoped it would before the season started, but the defense made plays to win this game. Most importantly, they exorcised their late game demons this week when they prevented the Steelers from marching down the field for a game tying score. They gave up 34 total points and 434 total yards during the game, mostly through the air because they were without both a starting cornerback (Chris Cook) and a starting safety (Jamarcus Sanford). The problems defending the pass also resulted in the Steelers converting over half of their first downs (8/15). The Vikings bent frequently but were tough to break, holding the Steelers to only three touchdowns on six red zone trips. They also forced two turnovers from the Steelers, including forcing a key fumble to seal the victory.
Defensive Line: A-
After a disappointing stretch of play the first three games, the defensive line came alive in London and was key to the Vikings' first win. The defensive line recorded four of the Vikings' five sacks, over doubling the unit's previous sack total. Jared Allen recorded two and a half sacks on a single drive, and rookie Shariff Floyd recorded the first sack of his career. The line was able to get pressure on quarterback Ben Roethlisberger most of the day, even though Big Ben was very hard to bring down. The Steeler running game also had a hard time finding consistency, as any runs up the middle were frequently bottled up. Defensive end Everson Griffen was also the one who stood Big Ben up for the ending fumble, and defensive tackle Kevin Williams was the one who recovered it.
Linebackers: B
The linebacking corp is still far from perfect, especially in coverage, but they were able to make things happen for this defense today. Chad Greenway owned the day defensively, recording 10 tackles, a sack, and an interception, and he was also in on the strip of Big Ben. Erin Henderson was less successful, and Big Ben was able to escape his grasp a few times. The linebackers continue to have problems in coverage, as Big Ben was picking them apart on intermediate routes all day and often Ben's receivers were able to get plenty of yards after the catch too. Part of that is on the secondary, but the linebackers need to have tighter coverage too.
Secondary: C+
It looked like it was going to be a rough game coming into London for the Vikings' secondary, as they were missing two starters and facing one of the better quarterbacks in the game. The thin secondary was thrown on all day, as the Steelers had over 50 passing attempts that netted them 383 yards. Josh Robinson was a major weak point covering the slot, giving up several big gains to the speedy Steeler receivers, as well as a 48 yard pass interference penalty that set up a Steeler touchdown. The corners on this group still have yet to record an interception on the year, meaning they have yet to give opposing teams a reason to do anything other than pass 50 times a game on them.
Special Teams: B
The Vikings' special teams was solid pretty much all day, and overall Mike Priefer has to be happy with what he saw today. His coverage units played much better than they have been playing, not allowing a big return by the Steelers all day. Cordarrelle Patterson still looks electric returning kickoffs, as he tallied 144 return yards on five attempts, and was dangerously close to breaking a return for a touchdown. Rookie Jeff Locke had a respectable average of 41 yards per punt, though according to Chris Kluwe on Twitter he had a bad hold on a Blair Walsh field goal attempt that went wide of the goalposts. Walsh 's miss would've put the Vikings ahead 13 points in the fourth quarter, which could have put the game away, so the unit has to lose points for that even though Walsh is still automatic from 50+ yards, drilling his twelfth field goal from that distance in as many tries earlier in the game.
Coaching: B
The coaches get credit for pushing this team to its first win, even though their decision making almost cost them the win. Alan Williams was able to get his defensive line motivated again after a dormant first three games, and his defense only gave up 10 points in half one, the lowest opposing halftime score of the season. His defense also continues to force takeaways, getting two more from the Steelers. Offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave has often been a scapegoat for Vikings' fans due to questionable play calling and a limited playbook, but Cassel provided evidence that Musgrave was limited by his quarterback, not the other way around. Musgrave opened up the playbook for Cassel and the result was a great offensive performance by the Vikings, spreading the ball more both down the field and across it. The offense's decision to go conservative near the end of the game is still frightening however, and it came dangerously close to costing the Vikings a win. Facing third and three at their own 40 yard line with less than two minutes to go, the Vikings surprised nobody with running straight up the middle with Adrian Peterson, resulting in only two yards. Cassel was hot and hadn't missed on a pass in the second half, and if the Vikings convert on that third down it's game over. Leslie Fraizer and Bill Musgrave have to learn to play to win in the NFL, as their conservative attitude are giving opposing teams plenty of extra chances.
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