Walter Rouse did not get the story’s headline moment Friday night. Jacob Thomas did, leaving the game injured on the seventh play as the Minnesota Vikings ended preseason with a 34-6 loss to the Denver Broncos in Denver.
Thomas had already made one of the game’s sharper defensive plays this month: he recorded an interception at New York in his NFL debut. Friday brought a different outcome, and it came before the game settled into the backup quarterback and punting evaluations that followed.
Jacob Thomas leaves early
Thomas started alongside Jakobe Thomas and was slow to get up after defending a pass and landing out of bounds. He was replaced by Kahlef Hailassie, who later recorded an interception in the second quarter to set up Minnesota’s first score. Jacob Roberts also left the game with an injury.
The sequence mattered because Thomas had been turning chances into production. His interception at New York showed he could make a play in coverage, but the preseason finale cut that run short before Minnesota could learn much more about how he would hold up over a fuller workload.
Carson Wentz and Max Brosmer
Carson Wentz started at quarterback and played two series before handing the offense to Max Brosmer. Wentz finished 3-for-4 passing for 15 yards with a passer rating of 80.2, and his longest completion was a 6-yard gain to Gavin Bartholomew.
Brosmer took over and drove the Vikings 55 yards into the red zone late in the second quarter before the drive stalled. Will Reichard finished that 4:00 series with a 28-yard field goal. Brosmer ended 20-of-35 for 166 yards and a passer rating of 69.5.
Sam Ehlinger and the Broncos
Denver answered on the next possession with a 65-yard drive in 1:08. Sam Ehlinger went 4-for-5 for all 65 yards through the air on that sequence, and Jaleel McLaughlin caught a 20-yard touchdown pass on the drive. Ehlinger finished 15-for-20 for 233 yards and three scores.
Kevin O'Connell and Sean Payton rested starters on both sides of the ball, so the game turned on backup snaps, coverage chances and special teams work rather than any first-unit matchup. Johnny Hekker and Brett Thorson each punted three times for 156 yards and averaged 52.0 yards per punt, with Thorson’s longest at 58 and Hekker’s at 57.
For Minnesota, the practical takeaway from Friday is simple: the preseason is over, the quarterback and punter evaluations have another set of tape, and the injury list now centers on Thomas and Roberts after a game that ended 34-6 in Denver.
