Live from Canton, OH: Vikings down Steelers 14-3

After a long and icy NFL offseason filled by court dates and accusations and suspensions and all-round unpleasant tidings, the national game finally returned to the nation. Deep in the heart of Ohio, the city of Canton, the birthplace of that game in its finest form, American men did precisely what American men were born to do -- run into each other for money.


Though, the occasion being the Hall of Fame Game, the hitting was not particularly concise. Nor, indeed, was most of anything else. All told, the Minnesota Vikings scratched together two touchdowns and the Pittsburgh Steelers skidded by on a field goal as the first tale of the gridiron played itself out on Sunday night.

Here are the Pro Football Report's takeaways:

- The national game was played with a heavy heart, as it finds itself without Frank Gifford as a spectator. The former USC and Giants all-rounder took a knee on Sunday morning at age 84 in Connecticut. Natural causes, they said. It's the only way to go.

- Should the Steelers ever find themselves in need of the services of Landry Jones behind center, the first thing that comes to mind is, "Run it." Jones played himself into the second half on the night as Ben Roethlisberger, weighed down by several tens of millions of dollars, patrolled the sideline. His backup averaged all of 4 yards per attempt, slinging 32 of them, 15 of which found somebody. It was like watching a man who hasn't started a pro football game, which, incidentally, Jones hasn't. Rust takes time to blast off.

- The same prognosis goes for tight end Jesse James, who lived up to his infamous name, robbing Jones of two receptions, including one that surely was a touchdown on a goal-to-go situation from the Vikings 2. A Pittsburgh-area native, James was fearsome at Penn State, but outside the borders of the commonwealth, had a case of the drops. His second drop (or rather, chest bounce) ended up in the hands of the other guys.

- On a brighter note, Vikings signal caller Teddy Bridgewater looked confident in the pocket. He connected with Kyle Rudolph on a pair of catches for 22 yards as the Notre Dame tight end availed himself the middle of the Steelers' linebacking tandem. 

- But Pittsburgh's stoppers looked in sync in the early going. Former Ohio State backer Ryan Shazier (2nd year) was trying to get noticed. He was. Lawrence Timmons is still the leader of this group, but Shazier is finding his way to the ball easily. Sean Spence contributed to a triplet that has the makings of preserving the Steeler name behind the line. All three were fast and went to the play rather than letting the play come to them in the first quarter.

- Dri Archer (Steelers back) needs to learn how to run upfield, fast. There are ball carriers that run for daylight and there are those that do a Viennese waltz. The end zones aren't on the sidelines. 

- Minnesota's Stefan Diggs slithered through Steeler protection to the 1 on a splendid 62 yard punt bring-back. Highly recommended out of Maryland this spring, that effort must have brought a sparkle to Vikes coaches' eyes. Just as advertised. Joe Banyard slinked over for the last yard to finish the scoreline. 

- The Steelers got some grisly news about their kicker. Shaun Suisham suffered what the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called "potentially significant" on the third quarter kickoff. He's the only boot on the roster, so the club will have to go out and buy another one before too long. That could be important nowadays -- with the point after moved back to the 15, they may be asking themselves if a two-point conversion is their newest friend. 

- Reason to get up in the morning secured, at last: Football is back.