Five observations from the Vikings' practice at TCO Performance Center on Monday:
1. Defenders struggled mightily early on, but rebounded nicely to make two stops in the situational team drill near the end of practice.
The situational drill started with the offense trailing 20-14 with 55 seconds left and 75 yards to go.
First, the offense failed to convert on fourth down near midfield. Then, given a fresh set of downs, the offense drove about 25 yards to the 11-yard line.
With nine seconds left, linebacker Nick Vigil broke up a pass over the middle and into the end zone to tight end Irv Smith Jr. Then, with four seconds left, quarterback Kirk Cousins again threw to Smith in the right corner of the end zone. Safety Myles Dorn had Smith blanketed and swatted the pass away easily.
Another defensive highlight was an interception by linebacker Ryan Connolly at the goal line on a pass intended for rookie receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette. That came in a red-zone passing drill for skill position players only.
Also in those drills:
- Smith beat safety Harrison Smith for a nice grab and crowd-pleasing touchdown.
- Tight end Tyler Conklin had one of his handful of good plays when he beat safety Xavier Woods before making a one-handed grab as he was falling to the ground.
2. Anthony Barr was back in pads after being given a couple of veteran rest days of late. He was moving well, although he did get beaten badly on a deeper route to Irv Smith.
