Vikings' offense finds end zone, completes winless preseason
The Minnesota Vikings wrapped up their preseason schedule, falling to the Kansas City Chiefs 28-25 on Friday night.
The Vikings played Friday's game without several starters on defense and it showed against Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs quarterback dissected the Vikings' defense on a five-play drive to open the game that ended with a 35-yard touchdown to Tyreek Hill.
While the Chiefs' offense appeared to be in midseason form, the Vikings looked like a work in progress. The Vikings moved the ball well on their first drive, highlighted by a pair of catch-and-runs by Irv Smith Jr.
After driving deep into Chiefs territory, Greg Joseph kicked a 27-yard field goal to put Minnesota on the board.
The Chiefs answered with a five-yard touchdown from Mahomes to Blake Bell and added a 23-yard touchdown from Shane Buechele to Marcus Kemp toward the end of the first half. The Vikings drove into field goal range for Joseph but he missed a 52-yard attempt wide right to send Minnesota into halftime down 21-3.
In the third quarter, the Vikings offense finally found the end zone when A.J. Rose ripped off a 32-yard run to make it a 21-10 game.
After Derrick Gore put the Chiefs back up by 18 with a 56-yard touchdown run, the Vikings responded with a 10-yard pick-six by Parry Nickerson. Rose plunged in for his second touchdown on the night in the fourth quarter but it wasn't enough to avoid a winless preseason.
The Vikings will open the regular season on Sept. 12 when they travel to face the Cincinnati Bengals.
