Counting Snaps: Dolphins 37, Vikings 35

Thoughts while counting snaps from Sunday's 37-35 loss at Miami …

OFFENSIVE SNAPS: 61

QUARTERBACKS: Teddy Bridgewater 61, Christian Ponder DNP.

Thoughts: Bridgewater was fantastic. He threw only seven incompletions, and one of them was the interception that bounced off of Matt Asiata's hands. Unfortunately, when people look at raw stats at the end of a season, they forget which interceptions were the QBs fault or were Hail Mary throws at the end of halves. Bridgewater also had only one incompletion on third downs, going 6 for 7 for 97 yards, three first downs and a touchdown to Greg Jennings. He had another 24-yard completion to Jennings on third down that proved he can drop a deeper ball into a tight spot outside the numbers. A fourth losing season in five years shouldn't feel as hopeless for Vikings fans because of the young QB who should continue to improve.

OFFENSIVE LINE: LT Matt Kalil 61, LG Vladimir Ducasse 61, C John Sullivan 61, RG Joe Berger 61, RT Mike Harris 61, Austin Wentworth 3, G David Yankey DNP, T Carter Bykowski INA, G Charlie Johnson INA.

Thoughts: For all the grief Kalil gets, and much of it deserved this season, he played well on Sunday. Well enough to give Bridgewater a chance to post a 114.1 passer rating and complete 73.1 percent of his passes. Harris struggled, but that was to be expected. He was a journeyman backup facing Cameron Wake. Ducasse also got overpowered, but, again, he's not a starting caliber player. With Johnson inactive with the ankle injury, Yankey, the rookie fifth-round pick, was active for the first time in his NFL career. But he didn't play. Wentworth is proving to be a nice addition as an extra tackle in goal-line situations. The Vikings scored with him in there.

RECEIVERS, TIGHT ENDS: WR Charles Johnson 55, TE Rhett Ellison 47, WR Greg Jennings 47, WR Jarius Wright 34, TE Chase Ford 33, WR Cordarrelle Patterson 9, WR Adam Thielen 6, TE Kyle Rudolph INA.

RUNNING BACKS: RB Matt Asiata 45, RB Joe Banyard 16, FB Jerome Felton 10, RB Ben Tate DNP, FB Zach Line INA.

Thoughts: Asiata gets grief sometimes for having a limited skill set. He should be admired for knowing exactly the type of player he is and running as hard straight ahead as any back in the league. It's not his fault Adrian Peterson was removed from the offense in Week 2. Asiata was never meant to be a feature back. But the guy has strong value because he doesn't lose yardage, he catches the ball and doesn't mess around with unnecessary moves. Asiata set the tone early in this game. On the Vikings' first possession, Asiata touched the ball eight times on a 10-play touchdown drive, including the 1-yard touchdown to cap the drive. He had a 10-yard run. He caught a pass. And he even had a spin move that got him three yards to the 1-yard line. Don't worry about what Asiata isn't. Appreciate what he is. Banyard, meanwhile, had the best run of the game. And it could have been the pivotal play in the game had the Vikings won. Backed up near their own goal line with Miami calling time outs to set up good field position near the end of the half, Banyard exploded into the line on third-and-five. He plowed into Berger, moving the big guard forward a few yards before breaking free for a 16-yard gain. From that point, the Vikings were the ones who started calling timeouts to set up what became an 18-yard field goal and a 10-point lead at the half. Tate didn't play and it's safe to say the Vikings are becoming less interested in him long-term. He's not running with authority and isn't in the kind of shape they're looking for.

DEFENSIVE SNAPS: 85.

LINEBACKERS: Gerald Hodges 85, Jasper Brinkley 52, Chad Greenway 43, Audie Cole 13, Brandon Watts 6, Anthony Barr INA.

Thoughts: The defense collapsed in the second half, giving up four touchdown drives in four possessions. Three of them were 80-yard drives. No question this defense would be better with Barr in the game, but Hodges is getting valuable playing time that will help him become a starter in either 2016 or as early as next season, depending on whether Greenway can hold him off another season. Greenway injured his knee and left the game early. Cole stepped in as his primary backup, while Watts got his first NFL snaps on defense. Brinkley played an uncharacteristically high 61 percent of the snaps, especially considering the Dolphins threw the ball 47 times.

Thoughts: It was good to see Floyd back to handling his normal workload and putting together a very active game after a week off to finally rest that bothersome knee. He can be a rare inside pass rushing force if he can stay healthy. He also needs to keep his cool and not punch opponents in the facemask when he gets ticked off. He could have been tossed from the game on that one. Johnson continues to be a favorite player from this viewpoint. His reps are limited, but he gets the most out of them. He added another sack to extend his career-high total to 6 1/2. He also had two QB hurries.

SECONDARY: CB Xavier Rhodes 85, FS Harris Smith 85, CB Captain Munnerlyn 85, SS Robert Blanton 64, CB Josh Robinson 56, S Andrew Sendejo 22, CB Shaun Prater INA.

Thoughts: Rhodes is still having an extraordinary season and his future is as great as his determination and health will permit. Sunday was a good reminder to stay sharp with the techniques because sometimes — a lot of times — the officials call a tight game. The second half on Sunday was called especially tight. Heck, there was one play in which the officials called pass interference on both the offensive and defensive players. Rhodes was flagged twice, once for holding and once for pass interference inside the 5-yard line. His swagger is growing, which is good to see. As long as it doesn't come with sloppiness. Smith had a great interception on a pass rush that would have been discussed at length had the Vikings not lost. The pick gave him five on the season. He's the first Viking with at least five picks in a season since Darren Sharper had nine in 2005. Interesting that Blanton was healthy enough to play 64 snaps, but didn't get his starting job back after missing last week's game because of leg injuries. Sendejo started. Not a big deal since neither one really stands out above the other. Sendejo left to be evaluated for a concussion. He was cleared and returned briefly before Blanton came back in.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Most snaps: DE Justin Trattou 23.