NFL Hall of Fame Game 2015: What we learned
The 2015 NFL Hall of Fame Game is in the books, with the Minnesota Vikings beating the Pittsburgh Steelers, 14-3, at Canton, Ohio. Minnesota was not able to generate much offense but did score the only two touchdowns of the night, with one being setup by a Stefon Diggs 62-yard punt return to the Steelers’ 1-yard line.
However, Diggs’ return won’t be leading the news cycle. Here are the three top takeaways from Canton:
1. Trae Waynes has work to do
The Vikings invested their first-round pick in the corner from Michigan State University, hoping to land a stud. While they may have done that, Waynes looked brutal in his first outing. Of course, this was going to cause people to massively overreact and do everything short of asking him to retire. Waynes was consistently beaten by Pittsburgh reserves and took a trio of penalties out of necessity.
Waynes does not have to start right away with Xavier Rhodes and Terence Newman penciled in, but head coach mike Zimmer was likely hoping to see the youngster play a big role. If Sunday night was any indication, Waynes could need some seasoning first.
2. Landry Jones is terrible
Jones played the entire game for the Steelers at quarterback with head coach Mike Tomlin wanting to give Ben Roethlisberger the night off. Backup quarterback Bruce Gradkowski was also out with an injury, giving Jones a great chance to showcase his skills.
Instead, the third-stringer out of the University of Oklahoma was brutal. Jones only completed 15-of-32 passes for 128 yards with zero touchdowns and an interceptions. Jones looked lost most of the evening, consistently overthrowing open receivers. Roethlisberger better stay healthy.
3. Preseason games are meaningless to stars
The preseason is a great time for the 32 NFL teams to get a good look at players trying to make the roster. For some clubs that are weaker and young, the preseason is also a good time to evaluate some up-and-coming players who might be able to start, However, for the established players, it is a complete waste of time.
On Sunday, Roethlisberger stayed on the sidelines and was joined by Le’Veon Bell, Heath Miller and Antonio Brown. On the other sideline, Adrian Peterson was just chilling.