Takeaways from Vikings vs. Titans: Lewis Cine, Jaren Hall show flashes

Cine also went low on a tackle attempt against Titans running back Tyjae Spears and got burned, as Spears hurdled him and ran for a 33-yard touchdown.

"The missed tackle on that one run, he's coming downhill," head coach Kevin O'Connell said. "He's trying to fill his responsibility. Those are going to happen, especially when he's really just getting back going again. That's the one thing we can't simulate in those joint practices, is tackling. To see him make the play on Malik, on the red zone scramble, that's a tough guy to bring down. There was a couple other times where he pulled the trigger, came downhill and made a play. I think Lew is in a great spot."

Hall also shows signs of progress

Another player with plenty to prove in Saturday's game was rookie QB Jaren Hall, who had a tough time in his preseason debut (to be fair, he didn't get much help from his offensive line). Hall again played the second half and although his stat line was unremarkable — 4 for 7 for 49 yards, 2 rushes for 14 yards — he showed some signs of progress against the Titans.

On Hall's first series, he threw two passes to Blake Proehl that could've potentially been caught. On the Vikings' next possession, he had a play where he slid left to avoid pressure and made an accurate throw into a tight window, but Thayer Thomas couldn't come down with the ball between two defenders. That's three incompletions, but Hall looked much more comfortable in the pocket and threw three balls that Justin Jefferson probably catches.

Hall took a sack on his third possession, but got going on his fourth series. With the Vikings trailing 24-9 in the fourth quarter, Hall marched the offense 88 yards on 12 plays for the lone Minnesota touchdown of the evening. He completed three short dump-off passes for 44 yards and added two scrambles, one of which moved the chains on third down. DeWayne McBride capped the drive with a one-yard rushing score.

"We got it to one score there, we just couldn’t get that last stop," O'Connell said. "I tried calling some timeouts to see if I could get one more drive for Jaren. I would have loved to see him in that end-of-game, two-minute drive. ... (It) was good to see him engineer that touchdown drive, use his legs to steal a third down conversion."

The backup O-line is still a concern

One of the stories of the Vikings' preseason opener was the struggle of their offensive line, with both Nick Mullens and Hall being pressured on more than 40 percent of their dropbacks. That remained a weakness on Saturday. The Titans had six quarterback hits and three sacks, and Vikings offensive linemen combined for four penalties (and two more that were offset or declined).

Fifth-year tackle Oli Udoh has 18 career starts and should theoretically be one of the Vikings' best preseason linemen, but he had a rough outing. Udoh was flagged for illegal use of hands and holding on consecutive plays in the first quarter and generally seemed to struggle in pass protection. That's not an encouraging sign for the Vikings, who would love to have confidence in Udoh as their swing tackle.

Any injuries to the Vikings' starting OL this year could be crippling.

Bonus thoughts

• The Vikings have some serious tight end depth. T.J. Hockenson, Josh Oliver, and Johnny Mundt didn't play, which opened the door for Nick Muse, Ben Sims, and Colin Thompson to combine for 115 receiving yards on seven catches.
• NaJee Thompson looks like a difference-maker as a punt gunner. He's almost certainly making the 53-man roster, assuming he can make a quick return from the concussion protocol.
• Nick Mullens was solid enough in this game that he still seems likely to remain the Vikings' No. 2 QB for the foreseeable future, despite progress from Hall.
• Ty Chandler and DeWayne McBride couldn't get much going on the ground, but McBride had an impressive catch-and-run for 11 yards. The Vikings RB who had the best night was newly-signed Aaron Dykes, who had three carries for 19 yards and popped a 38-yard kickoff return to open the game.
• Greg Joseph is a perfect five-for-five on field goals this preseason.
• The Vikings got gashed for 281 rushing yards by the Titans, but O'Connell said after the game that they weren't playing their normal looks because it's the preseason. These were second, third, and fourth-stringers playing a vanilla scheme. It's not something to be concerned about at this point.
• Players who had at least one nice moment on defense include Troy Dye, Sheldon Day, Andre Carter II, Theo Jackson, and Benton Whitley. Ivan Pace Jr. was also impressive again in limited early-game action.
• Offensive coordinator Wes Phillips called plays for a stretch in the second half, which allowed O'Connell to evaluate all three phases while Phillips got in some reps. O'Connell said they'll do that again next week against the Cardinals and that another offensive coach or two may also get a shot to call plays in that game.