Kevin O’Connell, what were you doing on Sunday? There’s no logic behind running a jump pass with Dalvin Cook on 1st and goal from 3 before halftime. Just run the ball and either score or force Detroit to use their final timeout. It’s not a hard decision. Hell, it’s not even a decision since it shouldn’t have even been a choice. The entire game shifted at that point. You had a chance to receive the second half kickoff tied at 14. You had a chance to potentially play with a lead. And what chart is telling you to go for 2 down 15? What is to be gained there? Throughout the season you’ve mostly made good decisions minus a few minor mistakes, but Sunday’s decisions were mind-boggling.
There’s one decision, though, where I know exactly what you were thinking. You chose to kick an onside kick in a situation that didn’t call for it because you know your defense can’t stop anybody. You risked giving Detroit the ball in field goal range because you knew the minuscule odds of recovering an onside kick were better than the odds of your defense making a play. You now have a defense ranked dead last in the league in yards given up. Your defense has now surrendered over 400 yards in 5 straight games, a franchise record. It’s time to try something different, personnel isn’t 100% of the problem. A defense with Harrison Smith, Za’Darius Smith, Danielle Hunter, Eric Kendricks, Patrick Peterson, and Jordan Hicks shouldn’t be the worst in the league.
Beyond all of that, Kirk Cousins was amazing on Sunday, playing one of the best games of his career, finishing 31 of 41 for 425 yards and 2 Touchdowns. He and Justin Jefferson were clearly on fire as Jefferson set the team record for receiving yards in a single game with 223. It’s a shame both performances were squandered in a loss, due to Minnesota’s rushing game being absent combined with my aforementioned grievances, the team’s longest run of the day was 5 yards. Jefferson should have even had 32 more yards and a touchdown. He was mistakenly ruled out of bounds on that spectacular play late in the game, it should have been a 71 yard touchdown. It was clear on the replay that he did not step out of bounds.
The roller coaster is feeling pretty rickety right now. Luckily, for the moment, Sunday’s loss does not impact playoff seeding whatsoever. The Vikings are still sitting as the 2 seed. I believe that’s why the team decided to rest a few starters who could have played if more was riding on the game. It’s much more important for Garrett Bradbury, Harrison Smith, and Christian Darrisaw to be healthy in the playoffs than in a game that didn’t change the Vikings’ playoff outlook. And I have not lost faith in this team, it’s clear many people have, including some Vikings fans, and nobody outside of the Vikings’ fanbase has any respect of the team. They’re still going to host a playoff game or 2, and Minnesota can beat anyone at home. The score might be 34 to 33, but they can beat anyone, and Coach O’Connell is too good of coach to not learn from his mistakes.
Thomas Tom Wendelgass
Ramblings of a Lifelong Vikings Fan by Tom Wendelgass 