Viktor
Well-known member
- Mar 19, 2019
- 2,552
- 0
Mattison did the bulk of his damage on two separate carries, as tallied 40 yards on those attempts in the first half.
He took a handoff and went 23 yards down the right sideline on the final play of the first quarter and then scampered 17 yards in the second quarter that brought Minnesota to the Falcons 1-yard line, as Cronin mentioned above.
Although Mattison just missed his first NFL touchdown, he said he would rather protect the ball than potentially fumble while going for the end zone.
“Out there on the field, it looks a little different sometimes,” Mattison said Monday. “I thought I might have made a bad decision, could have done something different, but after going over the film, it was kind of a smart decision not to really lay out or go for the touchdown. But yeah, I just have to finish that run.”
As for the rest of Minnesota’s rookies, second-round tight end Irv Smith, Jr., was on the field for 26 snaps on offense.
Bradbury, Smith, Jr., and rookie tight end Brandon Dillon provided key blocks for a Vikings ground game that ran for 172 yards and three touchdowns on 36 attempts (not including kneel downs).
Wide receiver Bisi Johnson played 11 total snaps between offense and special teams, while cornerback Kris Boyd was on the field for 27 combined snaps. Cornerback Mark Fields (eight total snaps) and safety Marcus Epps (seven total snaps) also made their NFL debuts. Long snapper Austin Cutting was on the field for 11 plays.