On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, the Vikings took the field against the defending Swedish champions – the Stockholm Mean Machines. In what was expected to be a tough game against a very good opponent, the Vikings showed some flashes of quality that bodes well for the future.
Defensively, the Vikings have had a rough start to the season, but at the halfway point of the season it looked like this defensive unit started to find their groove. Statistically, giving up 34 points and 400 yards of offense isn’t great, but if we look past the numbers there were positives to be found. Tackling has been an issue for most of the season, but against the Mean Machines the Vikings defense were able to bring down ball carriers far more efficiently. There were some missed tackles here and there, but for the most part the Vikings defense stopped giving away free yards via poor tackling.
On the offensive side of the ball the Vikings were fortunate to have receivers #3 Matthew Snawder and #9 Linn Byrd back into the mix, along with QB #12 C.J Fowler. Scoring 21 points and gaining 326 yards of offense is not the level of production this Vikings team needs, but this offense kept fighting to the end and helped the Vikings stay in the game longer than many would have expected. The biggest improvement was definitely third down efficiency, where the Vikings were finally able to get the first down more often than not.
Standout performances
#23 Anthony Thach kept on producing for the Vikings. For the game, he had 37 yards rushing, averaging 6.2 yards per carry, along with 107 yards returning. On the season he has put up 235 returning, good for second in the league. This youngster has been productive on the field this season, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he breaks out in a big way in one of this seasons remaining games.
At times this game it almost seemed like #1 Will Sewell was in two places at once. The Mean Machines struggled to account for Sewell, who racked up 13 total tackles, 3 of them for a loss of yards and 1 sack. As if that wasn’t enough, Sewell ripped the ball out twice, forcing two turnovers on the game. With one less game played due to injury, Sewell still has the most solo tackles, most total tackles, AND is tied for first in tackles for loss and forced fumbles.
Wide receiver #3 Matthew Snawder returned to the field with a bang this game, putting up 6 receptions for 135 yards and a touchdown. Snawder is an explosive playmaker that regularly finds room to operate and creates explosive plays. Another receiver that returned in this game was #9 Linn Byrd, who had 4 catches for 17 yards and a touchdown. Two of those catches came on the Vikings last drive of the first half where he displayed some nice footwork and timing with QB Fowler to get open and make the catch along the sideline, gaining the first down and stopping the clock at the same time.
Game recap
The Mean Machines scored on their opening drive, aided by two defensive penalties. This was not a good start by the Vikings defense. 0-7
The Vikings responded with a good return by #1 Will Sewell. The good return would not be enough for the Vikings offense however who would turn the ball over on downs after an unsuccessful 4th & 5 attempt.
Sewell made an immediate impact on defense again, forcing a fumble that was recovered by #20 Vetle Skagmo. The momentum change and appearances by #2 Daniel Nygaard, #8 Matthew Snawder, and #9 Linn Byrd propelled the Vikings to their first touchdown of the day. 7-7
The Mean Machines answered with a 27 yard touchdown. This felt well deserved after multiple drops and overthrows on deep passes on the drive. 7-14
Another Vikings drive ended without a score and the Vikings were forced to punt. The mean machines managed to make it deep into Vikings territory but had to settle for the field goal. 7-17
Another huge return, this time by #23 Anthony Thach set the Vikings up well on their own 44 yard line. This did not matter much because a throw by #12 C.J Fowler was tipped by his own receiver and ended up in the grasp of a Mean Machines DB.
After QB #9 Mateo Renteria of the Mean Machines ran for a first down, WR #12 Anton Blomgren ran free down the sideline for a 63 yard touchdown. 7-24
Twice in a row Fowler pulled out his best Houdini impression. He escaped pressure in the pocket and made defenders look silly while picking up solid yards. This sparked a two minute drill to end the half where the Vikings looked their most impressive offensively in the first half. Fowler found Byrd twice on the sideline for consecutive first downs, hit #6 Harald Daniel Lomax Bjerke for another one, before rifling off a ball to Snawder for a 24 yard TD. A blocked PAT made the score 13-24 with 27 seconds left in the first half.
A good kick off by #7 Vegard Tysse and a good tackle by #55 Anton Pettersen set the Mean Machines up at their own 18 yard line. The Vikings defense barely held strong, but the Mean Machines were held out of the endzone.
The Vikings started the second half with the ball. Fowler found Snawder twice on deep passes before he called his own number and ran the ball in for 6. The Vikings went for two on the extra point and got it, score 21-24.
The Mean Machines answered with a long drive capped off with a touchdown. The Vikings could not reach the end zone on the ensuing drive and were forced to punt. Heading into the 4th quarter the score was 21-31.
The Mean Machines drove the field but couldn’t get into the end zone and had to settle for a field goal. 21-34.
The Vikings offense was hot and cold, producing a first down and some nice plays before going backwards, ending up with a 4 & miles to go.
With 4 minutes and 14 seconds to go in the game, the Vikings were in serious need of a comeback. #10 Sigurd Stenseng made a tackle for loss, which set the Mean Machines up with a 4 & 17.
The Vikings couldn’t quite answer the bell. Fowler and co drove the ball into the red zone, but turned the ball over on downs. The Mean Machines knelt down twice to end the game. Final score: 21-34.
**Photos credit: @shotbyanika (Instagram)
The Vikings travel to Kristianstad next, where they will look to earn their first win of the season against the 1-2 Predators on Saturday, May 11th. Kickoff is at 15.00.