Vikings cornerback Cam Dantzler steals ball from former teammate to secure win

Vikings cornerback Cam Dantzler went up against former teammate Ihmir Smith-Marsette enough in training camp this summer to know most of his tendencies. As shifty as Smith-Marsette can be at the point of attack, Dantzler knows he tends to be a little loose with the ball.

That proved to be the difference in Sunday’s game as the Vikings earned a 29-22 win over the Chicago Bears at U.S. Bank Stadium.

With the game hanging in the balance late, Dantzler ripped the ball away from Smith-Marsette to secure the win. Though a lot will be made about who Dantzler stole the ball from, he noted, “If it was anybody I’d probably do the same thing. I was going to go for the ball regardless.”

The play itself was spectacular. After missing the tackle initially, Dantzler stuck with the play as Smith-Marsette turned up the field. Not only did Dantzler catch Smith-Marsette — the former Vikings, current Bears receiver — he stripped the ball in the process.

On the opposite end of the field, veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson had a good idea what was going to happen after Dantzler got stiff-armed to the ground.

“He ended up getting up, and I saw Ihmir with the ball loose on his outside hand right where Cam was,” Peterson said. “He ended up taking the ball away from him. That was a great play.”

Meanwhile, veteran safety Harrison Smith had another perspective as the man staring down Smith-Marsette for a potential tackle.

“I was like, ‘I’m going to slow play it here,’ ” Smith said. “I saw Cam getting up, and was like, ‘OK. Let’s see what happens.’ And Cam made a heck of a play.”

That’s something the Vikings have worked on countless time in practice since the start of training camp. If a player ever has an opportunity to go for the ball, he’s instructed to do so as long as he doesn’t sacrifice the tackle in the process.

“We call it a non-aggressive angle coming from behind, and Cam did that perfectly,” Smith said. “He basically took it from him in stride. At such a critical moment, it was such a big play.”

Though that particular play got all the headlines after the game, and rightfully so, Dantzler had another moment that stood out when he drew a block-in-the-back penalty from Smith-Marsette to negate a long touchdown run by Bears quarterback Justin Fields.

Asked about that play postgame, Dantzler joked that he might have flopped a little bit.

“I was kind of dramatic with it,” he admitted. “Just a smart play by me.”

If anything is clear by now, it’s that Dantzler has a swagger to his game this season. He is an unquestioned starter, and he’s playing like it. As far as Peterson is concerned, the sky is the limit.

“I want the best for him,” Peterson said. “He has all the intangibles to be a top-notch corner in this league.”

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