til the season is over. I know Marcus Epps Minnesota Vikings Jerseys , y’all are like, “but, Lucas it’s only the second preseason game.” You’re not wrong, but the season will come and go in a blink of an eye, so enjoy every bit of it. Minnesota kicks-off against Jacksonville on Saturday at noon. One of the biggest things to watch for that I’m not including on my three things, because it’s just obvious. That’s to watch these two defenses and see where one stacks up against the other. Here are the three things to keep your eye on throughout the game:3. Tight end competition Wednesday in practice, tight end Josiah Price suffered a season-ending knee injury. Now, the tight end depth lost one player. It’s debatable if Price would have even made the roster, but that solidifies a position battle between Blake Bell and rookie Tyler Conklin for the third tight end spot and ixnayed a spot for Price on the active roster. Conklin only caught one pass last week for two yards, but Bell caught zero passes. I got a thing for rookies beating out players who’ve been in the league for a few years. Conklin only appeared in eight games last season with Central Michigan after missing the first five because of an injury. He still managed to scrape up 28 catches for 406 yards and five touchdowns, averaging about 50 yards a game. Bell didn’t see much action last season with the Vikings. He only managed three catches for 19 yards in 13 games. He was placed on injured reserve after a shoulder injury he sustained on December 15. The year before that he was in San Francisco where he played in 13 games and only recorded four catches for 85 yards before going on the injured reserve Minnesota Vikings Jerseys 2019 , again. 2. Look for Forbath to strike backYes, Daniel Carlson had a fantastic first preseason game. Now, this week it will probably be Kai Forbath hitting field goals and extra points, while Carlson handles kick-offs. Forbath isn’t going to let Carlson just take his job. Last week Carlson hit what seemed to be a perfect 57-yard field goal and a 39-yard field goal earlier in the game. He managed to make all four of his extra attempts. He had a solid debut, but can Forbath match his performance? Why do I make a big deal about kickers? Well just look back on track records of former kickers who played for the Vikings and blew big games (cough, cough Gary Anderson and Blair Walsh, cough, cough). 1. Return of Dalvin CookFinally we get to see number 33 hit the field and take some live-game reps. Well, hopefully since it’s not a for sure thing. I feel like he might get a decent amount of touches, but this is also where we will get a hint of if he’ll be the same player that he was on pace to be last year before he got hurt. Before getting hurt last season Cook was on pace to exceed 1,000 yards rushing and some fantasy experts expect him to rush for over 1 Trae Waynes Jersey ,100 this season. I’d say pump the breaks a little bit, considering how well Latavius Murray played last season. I wouldn’t mind if offensive coordinator John DeFlippo decided to split the workload between the two or just run with whoever is feeling it that day. There is no way Murray will take a backseat to Cook. To get things started at U.S. Bank Stadium for their Week 9 matchup, the Detroit Lions won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half, giving the Minnesota Vikings the football first. Lions’ kicker Sam Martin got things started by slipping on the kickoff, with the short squib going to Brandon Zylstra, who took the ball to the 35. A run by Latavius Murray (who got the start in place of Dalvin Cook), and a pass from Kirk Cousins to Laquon Treadwell quickly moved the Vikings into Detroit territory at the 45 with a nice first down. Cook then got his first couple of touches on a handoff and a short pass, and the Vikings found themselves facing a 3rd-and-4 at the Detroit 39. Chad Beebe then made his first catch, but it was short of the sticks and the Vikings elected to go for it on 4th-and-3.Cousins then found Beebe again for a big gain down to the 24, and the Vikings kept possession. Cousins then hit Murray, and he rambled to the 8-yard line to set up a first and goal. A penalty on the Lions for illegal hands to the face on another Murray run moved the ball to the 1 Eric Kendricks Jersey , and Murray then took a handoff and stretched the ball over the goal line. . .and fumbled it. Fortunately, Kyle Rudolph was right there for the Vikings and recovered the fumble for a score! Dan Bailey added the extra point, and the Vikings were quickly on top by a score of 7-0.(For fantasy football purposes, Murray was ultimately credited for the touchdown, so there you go.)Bailey’s kickoff went through the end zone for a touchback, and Matthew Stafford and company took over at their own 25 for their first possession. Rookie running back Kerryon Johnson got things started with a decent run for the visitors, and Stafford then found Theo Riddick for a Detroit first down. A short run by Johnson and an incompletion from Stafford brought up a 3rd-and-9 for the Lions, and after burning a timeout Stafford’s pass attempt fell incomplete. Sam Martin punted it away to Marcus Sherels, who called for a fair catch at the Minnesota 18.Cook got things started on the next drive with a solid seven-yard run, but was stopped for no gain on second down to bring up another third down opportunity for the Vikings. Cousins made his first throw of the afternoon in the direction of Adam Thielen, but the pass fell off his hands incomplete for a three-and-out. Matt Wile came in to punt the ball away Infant Marcus Epps Jersey , and Brandon Powell called for a fair catch at the 35-yard line.Detroit started their drive with an end-around to Kenny Golladay that picked up eight yards, but the Vikings stuffed LeGarrette Blount on second down to bring up 3rd-and-2. Stafford found T.J. Jones for a short gain, but it was enough to move the sticks for the visitors. Stafford then found Kerryon Johnson for 11 yards and another first down for the Lions into Minnesota territory. Two short gains had the Lions facing 3rd-and-8, and the Lions converted another third down on a pass from Stafford to Marvin Jones to the Minnesota 21.Stafford then hit Marvin Jones again on a play that saw Xavier Rhodes fall to the turf in coverage, and the Lions had first and goal at the Minnesota 8. A penalty on Linval Joseph made it first and goal at the 4 (when it would have been third and goal from the 8), and that’s where we are as we move to the second quarter of play.Fifteen minutes of play in the books at U.S. Bank Stadium, and the Minnesota Vikings lead the Detroit Lions by a score of 7-0. Come join us for the second quarter of play!