Disaster vs. Atlanta highlights all Vikings' miscalculations
The Vikings thought they would be good this year and missed badly. It was never more clear than in an embarrassing showing vs. Falcons
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Everything has blown up in their face.
This offseason the Minnesota Vikings extended quarterback Kirk Cousins, traded Stefon Diggs, let all their corners walk, failed to address the offensive line in free agency, extended a running back, traded for an expensive one-dimensional pass rusher and doubled down on their head coach and general manager.
And it’s all blown up in their face. After a 40-23 loss to the abysmal Atlanta Falcons, they are now 1-5 and for all intents and purposes finished talking about playoff scenarios in mid-October.
Before Sunday, you could have argued that the Vikings’ 1-4 start was a product of some bad breaks. A slow start driven by the lack of an offseason. A tough schedule. A couple field goals by the Titans. A magical drive by Russell Wilson. A Michael Pierce opt out. A Danielle Hunter injury. Maybe they can turn it around, right?
But getting run out of US Bank Stadium by the winless Falcons proved that they are — like Bill Parcells famously said — exactly what their record says.
It was clear from the very first pass that it was going to be one of those days for Kirk Cousins. He dropped back, had time to throw, stepped and fired a pass right into the hands of Deion Jones.
In past years, the Vikings defense bailed out the classic Cousins’ turnovers by forcing field goals. Not this year. Twice last week against Seattle he turned the ball over and the Seahawks produced touchdowns and Atlanta followed suit with Matt Ryan hitting a wide open Julio Jones for six points.
It appeared rookie cornerback Cameron Dantzler was no match for Jones — as the Vikings’ young cornerback group has largely been for most of the season. This is the group that the Vikings believed would be alright rather than adding an experienced corner or two.
After a three-and-out in which Cousins threw short of the sticks, Atlanta put together a 13-play field goal drive to take an early 10-point lead.
The Falcons committed their first Falcons-y miscue of the game after that, fumbling the ball at the Minnesota 35-yard line. That briefly sparked Cousins and the offense as the Vikings’ quarterback hit on a 36-yard pass to wide open Irv Smith Jr. and completed throws to Kyle Rudolph and Justin Jefferson.
But without Dalvin Cook, red zone scoring became a little more tricky. The Vikings were stuffed for the second straight week on a key fourth-and-1 in which they got supremely creative and ran right up the middle.
Oh, there’s another thing that’s blown up in their face. The Vikings touted the fact that the system would remain the same after Kevin Stefanski’s exit but they’re one second-and-12 run away from falling into a time warp to 1993.
The Vikings’ failure on the goal line didn’t cause a great deal of damage as the Falcons punted back. Instead Cousins took care of that part, throwing his second interception of the game on what appeared to be a simple misread. Cornerback AJ Terrell came off his man and jumped in front of a Justin Jefferson hitch route for the pick.
Atlanta made quick work of the Vikings’ sorry pass defense, which rarely pressured ancient Matt Ryan on Sunday. The Falcons’ long-time quarterback found an open Calvin Ridley for his second touchdown pass to put Atlanta up by 17 points.
Still Cousins had a chance to get the Vikings back into the game. But the offensive line, which has consistently ranked among the worst in the NFL during Cousins’s tenure in Minnesota in pass blocking, gave up pressure on the Vikings’ QB and he wobbled another interception.
The Falcons had some mercy, kicking a field goal to go up 20 points. Ryan finished the half 19-for-23 passing. Cousins finished as the league’s leader in interceptions.
Ironically the Vikings’ most controversial offseason decision to trade Diggs hasn’t blown up in their face. His replacement Jefferson has thrived. Midway through the third quarter, Jefferson caught a 19-yard pass that set up an 11-yard touchdown for the rookie to bring the Vikings back within 16 points. He caught another bomb at the end of the game and finished with 166 yards.
Of course, the team’s depth at receiver behind the top two has remained underwhelming. Chad Beebe’s two catches for 13 yards were the only other receiver catches on Sunday.
The 16-point deficit didn’t last long as the Vikings’ defense turned Ryan into Patrick Mahomes on the following drive.
On a fourth-and-2 that would have given the Vikings a fighting chance for a comeback with a stop, they did the most 2020 Vikings thing possible. Ryan rolled out and with Eric Kendricks in his face, he flipped the ball to Jones who shed rookie Jeff Gladney and scampered for a 40-yard touchdown.
If you thought the Vikings were going to go down hard, you were disappointed. Following Jones’s touchdown, they went three-and-out and three-and-out again. Those drives made a touchdown pass from Cousins to Adam Thielen with just under 4:00 left irrelevant.
Even the Falcons couldn’t blow a 33-15 lead in four minutes. In fact, they poured salt right in the old wound of a team that no longer felt like playing, hitting Hayden Hurst for a 35-yard touchdown. It made for the second 40-spot on a defense that was said to be “making progress.”
In the end, the Vikings’ loss to the Falcons felt a lot different from tight L’s to the Titans and Seattle game but the bottom line is that the Vikings’ defensive shortcomings opened the door for a flood of explosive plays against that have made it impossible for them to prop up Cousins’s bad stretches. The QB’s mistakes don’t just wound them anymore, they blow them into smithereens.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve heard from the Vikings’ players and coaches about the need to improve — which was already quite the pivot from their high expectations going into the season. But there was no progress on Sunday. All the gaping holes they believed they could paper over in the offseason rather than committing to rebuilding the team were on display. As was the quarterback who has proven to need everything in his favor to win 10 games.
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I'm still viewing all of this as an extended preseason for 2021. It helps me mitigate the hysteria that would otherwise occupy my mind. There are realities out of Kirk's control that do not excuse his play, but need to be considered when we're looking at where the Vikings go from here. On defense, It is true we are missing Hunter (big loss), we are missing our nose tackle (big loss), Barr is out for the season (big loss). Consider all of them will be back in 2021 most likely. We will most likely still have Harrison Smith. I expect Harris and Rief to be gone. I have mixed feelings about Rudolph as a player but he's not worth that salary. The corners still have the potential of improving, I actually think they are but they are rookies and they are playing possibly the most difficult position in football given the slant in favor of the Offense and the difference between college and the pros. The issue to me, which you're probably sick of reading, is that Kirk Cousins cannot play at the level the team expects him to play. I'm convinced Diggs, Theilen, Rudolph, and now Irv Smith know that he is not the quarter back to take them over the top.
The dilemma is the handcuff from that enormous salary paid to Kirk and the lack of alternatives as a result. Benching Cousins? If you are expecting to win you will never play Mannion. I realize Cousins is pathetic but Mannion is pathetic +. If you resign yourself to losing, which I have, then play rookies you expect to develop as long term, get rid of the almost but not quite NFL players, bite the bullet on Cousins or just bench him. Frankly, I would not only bench him, I would deactivate him for the game he's benched to clearly send the message... get your #$&#*# together; I understand that this might not do much because he is who he is but he is also necessary to train the WRs in live action. Jefferson is an exception but he thrives in live action. O. Johnson seems to be lost. C. Kelly is a marginal player. I have zero confidence in Mannion. Even the O line, as ridiculous as this sounds, Kirk's pathetic play causes the O line to have to block longer than normal, they need the practice. O'Neill, Bradbury, and Cleveland need the work. Reiff will be gone and I think Dozier will be a back up. If they fire Zimmer and Spielman, wait until the end of the season in order to not add to the depression the players are already feeling. SKOL 2021!!