Rookie first-round pick Christian Darrisaw made his NFL debut at left tackle during the Vikings' 19-17 victory over the Lions on Sunday.
Darrisaw sporadically replaced starter Rashod Hill for four drives throughout the game. He first appeared in the second quarter, starting the offense's third drive. Darrisaw's debut went smoothly considering he was mostly unnoticed — a good thing for an offensive lineman.
"I didn't even see him sneak out there on his first drive," running back Alexander Mattison said. "I just had conversations just to let him know, this is what you do. Go out there and play fast and play physical. He did some good stuff out there [Sunday], and it was good to see him. He has a lot of potential."
Coaches have planned to ease Darrisaw back into the mix after an Aug. 12 surgery cleaned up a lingering core muscle issue and kept him out of the preseason. After five consecutive weeks of practices, including the past two weeks as a full participant, they decided Sunday was a good time to get his feet wet.
Darrisaw played 28 snaps on his four drives, compared to 36 snaps from Hill in his eight series. On Darrisaw's first snap, Mattison bounced a run off left tackle and found room for 11 yards. The next snap, Darrisaw missed a block and Lions edge rusher Trey Flowers blew past him to tackle Alexander for a 3-yard gain.
"He's still got a ways to go," coach Mike Zimmer said. "We're just trying to break him in easy. It's really got nothing to do with conditioning now. It's about practice time."
Coaches put Hill back into the game for the final three series, including the winning drive in which quarterback Kirk Cousins completed three passes for 46 yards to put the Vikings in field-goal range.
'An awesome feeling'
Kicker Greg Joseph came full circle for the Vikings with the winning 54-yard field goal against the Lions, a redemption of sorts for the 37-yard miss at the end of the 34-33 loss to the Cardinals in Week 2. Joseph's teammates rushed the field after he cleared the crossbar, hoisting him onto their shoulders after he made four of five field-goal attempts and his only extra-point try.
"What an awesome feeling," Joseph said. "Personally, I don't need to be carried off because they deserve just as much credit as I do. I was like, 'Put me down!' They were like, 'No!' So, it was kind of funny, but yeah, it's an awesome feeling. Happy for everyone in the stadium. To hear that stadium erupt was pretty amazing."
Joseph's lone miss Sunday was a 49-yard try that had the accuracy but not the distance, which Joseph attributed to his foot catching "too much" ground.
Barr returns after 13 months
Linebacker Anthony Barr's first football game in 13 months was a "special" moment, according to fellow linebacker and close friend Eric Kendricks, who enjoyed lining up next to Barr again for the first time since Week 2 of the 2020 season. Barr's most recent absence stemmed from a knee injury suffered in training camp and lasted two months. He was credited with four tackles against the Lions while returning to his full-time role.
"Anthony Barr's my boy," Kendricks said. "Just what he's been through these past couple years obviously with some injuries, and I know it meant a lot to him. He's a guy who cares about football a lot, cares about the team. Nobody wants it more than him, so it was special."
Thielen connection sputters
Receiver Adam Thielen was less than a minute away from his first catch-less game since the end of the 2019 season. But on the final drive, Cousins found one of his favorite security blankets for connections of 19 and 21 yards to help set up the game-winning field goal. Zimmer said a "mixture of things" led to Thielen's quiet afternoon.
"They were mixing up coverages a lot," Zimmer said. "[Lions coordinator] Aaron Glenn [played] with me before, so he kind of knows how to take some guys away when they're trying to. So, they'll roll the safety over there to them, they'll double them, and they'll do the same thing with [Justin Jefferson]."
Etc.
- Running back Dalvin Cook (ankle), nose tackle Michael Pierce (elbow), cornerbacks Cameron Dantzler (COVID quarantine) and Harrison Hand (COVID quarantine), and receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette (toe) didn't play against the Lions.
- Lions receiver Quintez Cephus exited the game in the third quarter because of a shoulder injury. Cornerback Corey Ballentine left in the fourth quarter because of a hamstring injury.
