Vikings coach Mike Zimmer told reporters his players played with a “chip on their shoulders” in Sunday’s 26-16 victory over the Detroit Lions.
Just six days after an embarrassing season opener in San Francisco, the Vikings bounced back Sunday to control the game against Detroit.
“We played with a purpose,” Zimmer told reporters Monday during his press conference. “I’m proud of how they came out and performed.”
The victory showed more what the Vikings expected this season with Adrian Peterson’s return and a tough defense holding the Lions to 36 rushing yards during the game.
But Zimmer notes it’s not time to relax.
“I’ll have a chip on my shoulders this week,” Zimmer said about trying to keep the team motivated. “This is a good week to be demanding.”
Zimmer’s message is loud and clear. Now that they’ve evened their record, the Vikings can’t afford to get too comfortable.
With Peterson coming back, all of the promise around Teddy Bridgewater and an improving defense, the Vikings were thought to be one of the NFC’s up-and-coming teams.
But after their 20-3 loss to San Francisco in the season-opener, it didn’t take Zimmer a lot to motivate his players for the Lions on Sunday.
ESPN’s Ben Goessling notes Zimmer showed them only a few snippets of the 49ers game as a way of getting them to move on.
As for Zimmer’s players, they seem pretty focused.
"Guys were just coming to play (yesterday). Nobody on this team gets down." – @HarriSmith22http://t.co/h22wYeCvDG pic.twitter.com/PfA6LOY85m
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 21, 2015
“We work hard,” wide receiver Mike Wallace told ESPN. “We’re confident in the work we put in. It’s not that we feel we’re better than them or anything like that. We’re confident in the work.
“We all know we haven’t done anything. Who’s taking the cheese? We don’t have any cheese to take.”
