With his mother Carla Weatherly proudly watching from the stands, Vikings defensive end Stephen Weatherly raced onto the field when the starting lineup was announced before Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills.
It was the first NFL start for the 24-year-old Weatherly. He made it was even more memorable by recording the first sack of his career in the Vikings’ 27-6 loss.
“It’s a step in the right direction for me,” Weatherly said, adding that the milestone was overshadowed by the Vikings’ humbling defeat.
Weatherly performed well filling in for an injured Everson Griffen, who sat out the game with a knee injury and was not on the sideline because of a personal issue. In his place, Weatherly finished with a team-high seven tackles, including a sack of Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
“It wasn’t enough obviously because we didn’t win,” Weatherly said. “It was a lack of execution in all three phases of the game. It’s hard to overcome that. I just have to look at the film and figure out where I could’ve optimized my chances on the field and take advantage of those.”
Weatherly was a seventh-round pick by the Vikings in the 2016 NFL Draft, and spent a few months on the practice squad as a rookie before being promoted to the active roster on Nov. 21, 2016.
Since then, he has learned the ropes from elite pass rushers like Griffen and Danielle Hunter, and has emerged as a key rotational player on the defensive line.
As Weatherly discovered during Sunday’s game, it’s a different beast taking all the reps.
“Previously, when (Griffen) and (Hunter) went out there they would always come back to the sidelines and be like, ‘He’s doing this,’ ” Weatherly said. “They knew I was only going to have a select number of attempts out there, so they wanted me to understand what was coming. Now that I know what it’s like, I have to learn to adjust the same way they do so that I can make more plays and we can get the W.”
It’s still unclear whether Griffen will be available for Thursday’s game against the Rams in Los Angeles. If he’s not, Weatherly vows to be ready to go.
“It’s a short week and we’re going up against a good team,” Weatherly said. “I have to learn quickly and implement it. That’s my mindset right now.”
