Collapse on the Ohio River

The Vikings had a two-score lead in the second half and gave it away to Jake Browning and the Bengals

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CINCINNATI — Everything looked like it was in order for the Vikings to increase their playoff odds massively in Cincinnati.

They were leading in the third quarter by two scores and Brian Flores’ defense was playing games with an inexperienced quarterback. Just get the game to the garage and the Vikings would be staring the postseason in the face.

Instead they fell apart, allowing Jake Browning to lead a two-score comeback and game-winning drive in overtime to drop the Vikings back to .500.

Here’s how it went down….

The first half started out like we might actually have some high entertainment between Browning and Nick Mullens but things quickly devolved right back to where we were last week when the Vikings won 3-0 against the Raiders.

To open the game, Browning found receiver Tee Higgins wide open down the sideline but he dropped the ball, taking away a 20-plus yard gain. Browning persevered, as he does, throwing short passes, flopping forward for a QB sneak first down and delivering a beautiful pass to receiver Ja’Marr Chase for 25 yards. Hey, maybe the last two weeks weren’t a mirage?

Following a 4-yard run and 5-yard pass, Cincinnati was set up with third-and-1 at the Vikings 12-yard line. For whatever reason, Zac Taylor pushed the “trick play” button and it immediately went sideways. Tight end Tanner Hudson received a pitch from Browning and then tried to throw a pass. Since nobody was open he ran out of bounds and the Bengals kicked a field goal.

That was all Cincinnati would get for the first half.

Similarly, Nick Mullens looked competent to start the game and then it quickly devolved into the dark depths of backup land.

On the opening drive Kevin O’Connell leaned on the running game for the first time in his life and it worked. Ty Chandler jumped out of the gate with a 9-yard run and then Mullens floated a 17-yard completion to Justin Jefferson over the middle. After another few handoffs and a 9-yard pass to TJ Hockenson, the Vikings called a fake tush push and flipped the ball to Chandler out of the backfield for a 16-yard gain on third-and-1. At the goal line, Chandler blasted into the end zone to give the Vikings a 7-3 lead.

A comedy of errors ensued for both teams. After a pair of three-and-outs, Browning had a chance to break the game open on third-and-15 at mid-field. The Vikings completely forgot about receiver Charlie Jones and he was screaming wide open deep downfield. The closest Viking defender was in Kentucky. But the ball was overthrown and the Vikings survived a close call.

Mullens got going on the next drive, converting a third-and-14 on a throw to Hockenson. He followed that up with an underneath throw to Josh Oliver for 12 more and then Jordan Addison broke open over the middle for 19 yards. Inside the red zone the Vikings had an opportunity to play for a field goal but O’Connell put his trust in Mullens. That trust was immediately broken with an underthrow over the middle for an interception.

However, that was far, far, far from his worst thing Mullens did in the red zone in the first half.

Flores’ defense kicked in after that. Danielle Hunter sacked Jake Browning like a WWE slam for a 14-yard loss and Hunter’s 15.5th sack of the year. He’s officially on Jared Allen watch.

Mullens had a chance to put the Vikings up by two scores before halftime after finding Addison again for a 35-yard gain that brought them into Greg Joseph’s range. On third-and-7, with a chance to hand off and take the points again, O’Connell pushed the “pass” button and boy did Mullens pass. As he was being sacked, the veteran backup tossed the ball right into the hands of BJ Hill. That doesn’t even begin to describe how funny and bizarre it was. Mullens was practically being cradled in Hill’s lap and tossed him the ball for no reason whatsoever. Even a sack would have been fine.

The Bengals looked like they had something going when Browning heaved a pass to Higgins down the sideline just before half but Higgins couldn’t completely pull the ball in and we mercifully went to halftime.

Coming out of the half, the Vikings committed a penalty on the kickoff and got pinned back at the 8-yard line. But Chandler’s blazing speed showed up with a 24-yard explosive run for a big first down. If you were making the argument that Chandler should have been RB1 for awhile now, this was a good day for you.

To his credit, Mullens has the accuracy to make some very good throws. He fired a perfect ball to Jefferson for a first down and then got the ball to Addison for another first down. Facing third-and-8 on the Cincinnati 37, O’Connell could have elected to run the ball and try a long field goal. Once again, pass. This time, the roulette wheel that is Mullens came up in the Vikings’ favor. He dunked the ball to Addison, who caught it by his shoestrings and ran 37 yards into the end zone to put the Vikings up 14-3.

Browning responded by turning into a pumpkin. He threw a pass directly to Akayleb Evans for an interception. The Vikings took advantage via an absurd Jefferson catch — his second or third of the day — and finished the drive with a Greg Joseph field goal to take a two-score lead late in the third quarter.

The Bengals offense was not toast just yet though. Browning started fluttering passes all over the field. Six yards there, seven here, 14 to Tanner Hudson for a first down, 14 to Irv Smith Jr. and then 16 to Ja’Marr Chase. To open the fourth quarter the Vikings had 100-plus more yards than the Bengals and 14 more points. A touchdown by Cincinnati could change the vibe though.

Browning then brought the Bengals within one score with an absolute dime to Higgins in the back of the end zone. Hey, look, a one-score game in the fourth quarter. Shocking!

A three-and-out by the Vikings later and suddenly it was anybody’s ball game.

Browning got back to dinking and dunking with a flip out of the backfield to his running back and then a 14-yard first down over the middle to Higgins. Browning’s wheel hit the wrong color again and he threw a ridiculous pass out of bounds for intentional grounding, pushing the Bengals back out of field goal position. Nothing is a guarantee when Ja’Marr Chase is on the field though. He flew over the middle for a 21-yard conversion on third down.

On fourth-and-goal, RB Joe Mixon took a big hit at the goal line and then blasted into the end zone to tie the game. Think of all the opportunities the Vikings had to put this one away. Instead a 14-point deficit was erased in a matter of minutes and the game stood at 17-17 with 7:46 remaining.

Jefferson, not to be upstaged by Chase, started the next drive by flying over the middle of the field and making a jumping grab to quickly bring the ball to mid field.

Unbelievably, Mullens threw a pick-six on a screen pass but pass rusher Trey Hendrickson was lined up offside. He didn’t even have anything to do with the play, yet it negated a potential game-winning play for the Bengals. The breaks give and take away.

It seemed the Bengals were a little worn down by their big play and celebration. Chandler picked up a chunk run and then Addison found himself open. Chandler then exploded for a 30-yard run to the goal line. Mullens finished the drive by putting in in the area code of Addison and the first-rounder brought it in for a touchdown.

Total whiplash.

With 3:48 left, the Vikings led 24-17. We can safely say that Addison broke out of his mini slump with 111 yards to that point.

With Chase on the sideline banged up, Browning got right back to his underneath passing game, completing three passes before the clock dribbled down to the two-minute warning. Out of the pause, he hit Higgins to bring the ball inside the Vikings 35-yard line. A quick screen moved the ball eight more yards. Another screen after that gained five more and a first down.

They tried it again and Harrison Smith batted it up in the air, coming inches away from running the ball back for a touchdown. Instead it went in the box score as a regular old incompletion.

Oh how the pendulum swings. Browning flung the ball wildly in the air like a punt and Higgins put Evans on a poster grabbing it at the goal line and then whipped the ball over the goal line for a touchdown. With 39 second left, game tied.

Mullens got sacked on first down, then threw a short screen to Chandler and scrambled short of the sticks. On to overtime.

The Bengals won the toss.

Talk about playing on the razor’s edge. Browning started OT by taking a sack and lofting a ball toward Higgins again. Why not? As the receiver went up to get it, Evans played him physically and the refs elected to eat their flags. Nick Mullens, this is your moment.

Mullens hit Hockenson over the middle to get the ball to the 50-yard line. The tight end nabbed another pass and fell forward to set up a short situation but on third and fourth down the Vikings attempted QB sneaks and both were stuffed, giving the Bengals the ball at their own 41-yard line.

Browning took advantage, enacting incredible revenge against the team that cut him in 2021. The former Viking QB rolled to his right and threw a perfect dart into the hands of Tyler Boyd for a 44-yard gain to set the Bengals up inside the 15-yard line. A chip-shot field goal dropped the Vikings to 7-7.

I suppose they couldn’t ask the defense to make stop after stop forever, particularly when the other team has multiple all-world receivers. But this is a game of regrets for the Vikings. Terrible, terrible regrets. Two red zone turnovers. A third-and-21. The fly ball to Higgins. One yard in overtime. A failure to put the game away offensively when they had chances.

Now the road to the playoffs likely requires winning two of the next three against division opponents. You could take away that the Vikings proved they can move the ball with Mullens and Ty Chandler might be a star or you could say that maybe the defense can’t be asked to be perfect and Mullens is a turnover waiting to happen.

Either way you look at it, the Vikings melted down and may have given away the postseason in the process.

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