Defensive end Everson Griffen has disputed claims from a Detroit Lions wide receiver that the Vikings were taking cheap shots at Lions players during Minnesota’s 26-16 victory at TCF Bank Stadium.
Lions wide receiver Golden Tate accused the Vikings of taking “a bunch” of cheap shots at Lions players in Sunday’s game.
“One hundred and ten percent,” Tate told the Detroit Free Press Monday. “After watching the film there were several holds, late hits that I thought should have been called. A couple of them I wouldn’t be surprised if we turn them in (to the NFL).”
The Vikings defense put some hits on Lions quarterback Matt Stafford, they also controlled the line of scrimmage and held the Lions to 38 yards rushing – the fewest rushing yards allowed by a Vikings team since Nov. 3. 2013.
One of the hits on Stafford came from linebacker Anthony Barr as the quarterback was scampering out of bounds. Barr was flagged 15 yards for unnecessary roughness.
Anthony Barr flag roughing Stafford: "I made contact with him before he stepped out of bounds. That’s just football, in my opinion… CONT.
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) September 21, 2015
More Anthony Barr: "But I understand the emphasis on player safety and especially QBs. So I’ve got to take that into account next time.''
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) September 21, 2015
Anthony Barr on roughing penalty: "I’ll try to keep that from happening in the future.''
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) September 21, 2015
However, Griffen – a Vikings defensive captain – offered a much different take on Pro Football Talk Live Tuesday.
“No. We don’t take cheap shots,” Griffen said. “We are not that kind of football team.”
Griffen raised some eyebrows last week when he guaranteed the Vikings would beat Detroit, but he wasn’t furthering the battle Tuesday.
“We are moving on from Detroit,” Griffen said. “Detroit played us hard and played us strong but we are moving on to San Diego.”
