EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — Kentrell Brothers had plenty of plays to give himself an honest assessment after his first

taste of NFL game action.

The Vikings rookie linebacker was on the field for more than half of Minnesota's defensive snaps Friday in Cincinnati, finishing with three tackles and a quarterback hurry.

"I don't feel like I did horrible, but I definitely made a lot of mistakes," Brothers said. "Being my first game and all, you know that's kind of expected, but I expect more from myself.

"I've seen the film, seen what I need to get corrected," he added. "(I) corrected it and had a decent practice [Sunday] and plan on building from it."

Brothers said he had a mix of excitement and jitters before the game, something that carried over into the action. The fifth-round draft pick entered the game on the Vikings second defensive unit and quickly learned he needed to take a deep breath.

"Just slowing down. I'm so anxious to be out there that I'm moving too fast," Brothers said. "I'm filling holes too fast and not seeing pullers or not seeing flashers, just little things I need correct."

A former standout at Missouri, Brothers led the nation with 152 tackles last season. He played almost 60 percent of the Vikings defensive snaps Friday and nearly half of the Vikings special teams snaps.

His playing time included plenty of teachable moments on Cincinnati's 22-play drive that lasted more than 12 minutes. Brothers helped put an end to the drive when he teamed with Emmanuel Lamur, Danielle Hunter and Justin Trattou to stuff Cincinnati running back Cedric Peerman on fourth-and-1 from the 3-yard line.

"I've been a part of an 18-play drive before but that 22 was longer," Brothers said. "But (Cincinnati came away) with no points scored."

Brothers said the rapid transition from one unit to the next caught up with him at times in his first game.

"Once fatigue sets in, that can really take a toll on you," Brothers said. "Going from special teams to defense and then keep doing it.

"But it's something I need to adjust to and get used to since special teams is something I'm always going to be on," he added. "If I get the call to play defense, then I'm going to be ready at all times."

For the most part, however, Brothers' first impressions of how fast he thought the speed of the NFL would be was spot on.

"I think it was just about what I thought it'd be," Brothers said. "I knew it'd be fast and knew it'd be physical." 

Brothers is now prepping for Seattle and an offense that includes zone-read plays. 

"They have great quarterbacks that can run," Brothers said. "All of them can run the zone read, and that's something we have to be ready for. We'll need to prepare well."