The 2025 preseason is in the books for the Minnesota Vikings, and they got a good look at a lot of the players fighting for roster spots in their preseason finale against the Tennessee Titans.
Quarterback Max Brosmer appeared to stake his claim to a roster spot with his performance, but the Vikings will have a lot of questions to answer over the next few days as they evaluate the preseason, including tonight’s 23-13 loss to Tennessee.
The Vikings drew first blood in this one, with Max Brosmer starting
at quarterback and moving the ball fairly well, considering that the third-string offense for the Vikings was facing a lot of Tennessee’s defensive starters. After the two teams exchanged punts to start the contest, the Vikings got a 42-yard field goal from Will Reichard on their second possession to take a 3-0 lead.
Tennessee answered on their next possession, a nine-minute drive that spanned the first and second quarters. The Titans converted on a 4th-and-1, and then had a third-down conversion via a Vikings penalty. In the end, the Titans got a 1-yard touchdown run from Julius Chestnut to take a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter.
Tennessee then added to their lead thanks to an ugly play from the Vikings’ defense. Titans’ backup quarterback Brandon Allen found veteran receiver Van Jefferson on a short pass, but the Vikings’ defense just couldn’t get a hold of him as he turned it into a 65-yard touchdown and a 14-3 Tennessee lead.
That’s how they went into halftime, as a 63-yard field goal attempt by Reichard at the end of the first half fell just short of going through for his first miss of the preseason. The Titans got the ball to start the second half, and they allowed Joey Slye to attempt a 63-yarder of his own. He connected. . .with room to spare. . .and the Titans extended their lead to 17-3.
Minnesota then finally got themselves into the end zone behind Brosmer. After finding fellow rookie Dontae Fleming for a big gain into Tennessee territory, Brosmer hit tight end Bryson Nesbitt for a 21-yard score to cut Tennessee’s lead to 17-10 midway through the third quarter.
That’s how the game went into the final quarter, and Reichard missed another field goal attempt, this one a 55-yarder that he pushed wide to the left. It appeared that holder Oscar Chapman may have mishandled the snap on the attempt.
Tennessee extended its lead on the ensuing drive, as Slye connected from 30 yards out to make it 20-10. Rypien took back over at quarterback again on the next Minnesota possession, and threw what appeared to be an interception, but it was ruled incomplete on replay. Reichard then came in for another long field goal attempt, and he knocked it home from 58 yards out to cut the Tennessee lead to 20-13. Just after the two-minute warning, Slye bounced a 53-yard attempt through off the upright and the crossbar to make it 23-13, and that’s how it ended.
Now, the Vikings will turn their attention to the final roster cuts. They have until 3:00 PM Central time on Tuesday, 26 August to reduce their roster from its current 91 players down to 53. We’ll have plenty of coverage of that over the next few days.
The Minnesota Vikings drop their 2025 preseason finale, falling to the Tennessee Titans in Nashville by a final score of 23-13. Thank you to everyone who got their coverage of this week’s preseason contest right here at The Daily Norseman!
