Oh, wait. No, it actually is a repeat of the last two weeks. This time the team had a 20-point lead to fritter away, and the Detroit Lions had to go to overtime to win.
Christopher Gates sums it up nicely:
The Vikings took a team that had been averaging 37.5 points per game over the first two weeks of the year and won by 45 points the week before, and held them off of the scoreboard in the first half. In the first thirty minutes of play, they held that offense to 50 total yards.
And then, in the second half, it all happened again. . .Stafford tore apart a soft zone again. Adrian Peterson got hardly any touches in the second half again. Percy Harvin, like many of us, spent a great deal of the second half throwing up. Donovan McNabb did very little in the second half.
Jim Souhan renews his call from yesterday to bench Donovan McNabb and give Christian Ponder his first NFL start:
This is what a football apocalypse looks like: Fans jeering, players screaming on the sideline, coaches making irrational decisions, players committing destructive penalties, and a proud group of veterans collapsing in the second half for the third consecutive week while their owners beg for a new stadium.
The meaningful portion of the Vikings’ 2011 schedule concluded on Sept. 25 at the Metrodome, as they blew a 20-point halftime lead and lost in overtime, falling to 0-3. Only three teams since 1990 have made the playoffs after starting 0-3, and none of them was outscored 67-6 after halftime in their first three games, as the Vikings have been.
[. . .]
So it’s time for the Vikings to start thinking of “Ponder” as a noun, not a verb.
The decision to sign veteran quarterback Donovan McNabb made sense. If he played well, he could guide an ambitious team into the playoffs. If he didn’t, he could buy time for rookie quarterback Christian Ponder to develop.
Having failed at the former, McNabb has already accomplished the latter. Ponder has had a full training camp and three game weeks to learn the Vikings offense.
[. . .]
McNabb is not solely responsible for the Vikings’ woes, but he is the only member of the organization whose demotion could prove beneficial. You can’t fire a head coach or coordinator three games into their tenures, and changing left tackles has never inspired a team or changed the direction of a franchise.
The Vikings will play at Kansas City on Sunday. Giving Ponder his first NFL start there would make sense. The Chiefs are 0-3, and Ponder, having played at Florida State, may think that all of the Indian symbolism was put in place to welcome him.
Eric J. Thompson tries to put it in perspective:
Yep folks, that’s what the 2011 season has come to already. Bad attempts at humor to deflect pain from the worst 0-3 start imaginable. And when I say “imaginable”, I mean it — because you couldn’t make this sh*t up. Seriously: outscoring your opponents 54-7 in the first half only to be outscored 67-6 after halftime?! And all of that incredible ineptitude without committing a single second half turnover? You couldn’t even lose like that on purpose if you were playing Madden. We’d all be amazed if we weren’t all so damn depressed.
But fear not, fellow Vikings fans. I’m giving you an out. I’m saying right here and now, before the calendar even turns to October, that it’s OK to emotionally check out from expecting anything for the 2011 season.
Now before you jump all over me in the comments section calling me a sell out or a fair weather bandwagon jumper, let me explain. I’m still going to watch all 13 Vikings games that remain on the 2011 schedule, and I’m still going to vehemently root for them every step of the way. I’ll still be extremely pissed when they lose and I’ll still be overjoyed when they win. It’s in my DNA, whether I like it or not. But I am officially done believing that this season will result in anything else but watching other NFC North team(s) in the playoffs after Week 17 is completed. It’s awful to admit, but them’s the facts, folks.
Vikings fans can console themselves that with three straight losses, and each loss blowing a double-digit halftime lead, they’ve set an NFL record.
Not a record anyone would like, but sometimes you can’t be choosey.
Comment by Brian Dunbar — September 26, 2011 @ 11:12
You’re not making it any easier on the guys with the purple-and-gold face paint, waking up from yesterday’s “give me another beer, maybe I can forget the game” binges with today’s hangovers pounding loud and clear.
Kansas City fans must be trembling with anticipation for the Vikings to run up a 24- or even a 27-point halftime lead this week, and then to blow it again.
Comment by Nicholas — September 26, 2011 @ 11:17
Kansas City fans must be trembling with anticipation for the Vikings
I live in Wisconsin.
My sister lives in Kansas City. Big fan of the Chiefs.
No matter what happens it’s win-win for me.
Comment by Brian Dunbar — September 26, 2011 @ 12:58
Ah, I see. Like during yesterday’s Green Bay-Chicago game, I ended up cheering for the officiating team?
Comment by Nicholas — September 26, 2011 @ 13:39
Oh, and a bit more on the first point Brian made:
Vikings fans can console themselves that with three straight losses, and each loss blowing a double-digit halftime lead, they’ve set an NFL record.
Here’s Ted Glover:
Comment by Nicholas — September 26, 2011 @ 13:45
While we’re beating the Vikings up for their futility so far this season, how about this alarming little statistic: according to Tom Pelissero at ESPN1500.com, the Vikings have had the lead for 173 of the 180 minutes in their three games so far. That’s both amazing and depressing.
Comment by Nicholas — September 27, 2011 @ 12:02
the Vikings have had the lead for 173 of the 180 minutes
The other guys got inside their OODA loop.
Or is that mixing ‘military’ bits and ‘sports’ bits a bit too much?
Comment by Brian Dunbar — September 27, 2011 @ 14:55
For casual readers who may not recognize the term, the OODA loop is discussed in this Wikipedia article. It’s the “observe, orient, decide, and act” cycle most often used in discussions of military operations. It seems to be appropriate to use it in this case, certainly.
Comment by Nicholas — September 27, 2011 @ 15:14