Quotulatiousness

January 6, 2020

Vikings upset New Orleans Saints 26-20 in wildcard round

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , , , — Nicholas @ 05:00

The Minnesota Vikings visited the home stadium of the NFC’s #3 seed the New Orleans Saints for a wildcard game as heavy underdogs. The game started poorly for Minnesota, as wide receiver Adam Thielen fumbled a reception and the Saints recovered deep in Vikings territory. The Vikings held New Orleans out of the end zone and forced the Saints to settle for a field goal to open the scoring. The Vikings responded with a field goal drive of their own to end the first quarter with the score tied 3-3.

In the second quarter, Minnesota punter Britton Colquitt finally did something he hadn’t done all season long — punted the ball into the opposing team’s end zone for a touchback. While the Vikings seemed to have figured out how to defend against future hall of famer Drew Brees at quarterback, they were left without many answers when the Saints used tight end/quarterback/gadget player Taysom Hill under centre instead, and he started with a long pass to Deonte Harris to put the ball inside the Vikings’ 5-yard line. He then threw a block to free running back Alvin Kamara for the go-ahead score. The Vikings responded with a drive capped with a Dan Bailey field goal to stay within one score. On the following Saints drive, Brees had a long pass picked off by safety Anthony Harris and the Vikings turned that into a touchdown on a five-yard run by Dalvin Cook.

In the third quarter, the Vikings added a touchdown on a drive that featured long passes from Kirk Cousins to Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, capped off with another Dalvin Cook rushing TD.

The Saints got back into contention in the fourth, leading to a tied score at the end of regulation. The Vikings won the toss and elected to receive the kickoff to start overtime and drove down the field, scoring the winning touchdown on a Kirk Cousins to Kyle Rudolph corner of the endzone pass. Minnesota advances to the divisional round of the playoffs to face San Francisco next weekend.

Andy Carlson offers his winners and LOOOHOOOOHOOOOOSERS for the game:

At the Pioneer Press, Chris Tomasson says Kirk Cousins has answered his critics:

Enough of the talk that Kirk Cousins doesn’t step up in big games.

In the biggest game of his life on Sunday, the Vikings quarterback rose to the occasion when it mattered most.

Cousins led the Vikings to a 26-20 overtime victory over New Orleans in a wild-card playoff game at the Superdome with a decisive nine-play, 75-yard drive to open the extra session. The Saints never got the ball in overtime, and all future hall of fame quarterback Drew Brees could do was watch Cousins in action.

Cousins showed Brees-like poise in overtime, completing 4 of 5 passes for 63 yards. The Vikings won it on Cousins’ 4-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kyle Rudolph with 10:40 remaining.

“He got the game ball in the locker room,” Rudolph said. “He deserves it. All we’ve heard is Kirk Cousins this, Kirk Cousins that. Playoff games, big games on the road, so much nonsense. It takes 10 other guys on offense, and I said that all year long, and (Sunday) 10 other guys stepped up huge to allow Kirk to go out there and play well.”

Among the stats attached to him, Cousins has a career 0-9 record as a starter on Monday Night Football. His latest loss was 23-10 to Green Bay at home on Dec. 23, his last action until Sunday since he sat out the meaningless Dec. 29 regular season finale against Chicago.

Against the Saints, Cousins completed 19 of 31 passes for 242 yards and a touchdown as the Vikings advance to Saturday’s divisional playoff game at San Francisco. In overtime, he hit Adam Thielen with a 43-yard pass down the right sideline to the Saints 2 before Rudolph scored three plays later.

It was the first playoff win for Cousins in his eight-year NFL career, the first six with Washington. With the Redskins, he got into one playoff game as a reserve as a rookie in 2012 and another as starter in 2015.

At SKOR North, Judd Zulgad explains the impact Dalvin Cook had in the first half:

Dalvin Cook got only one carry on the Vikings’ opening series of their playoff game Sunday against the New Orleans Saints, but it was an important one. After missing two games because of a shoulder injury, Cook took a handoff from quarterback Kirk Cousins and gained 9 yards to make it second-and-1 at the Minnesota 39-yard line.

Wide receiver Adam Thielen’s fumble on the ensuing play turned over the ball to the Saints, but Cook’s initial carry provided optimism that one of the Vikings’ biggest offensive weapons was back. Cook would carry the ball four times for 16 yards on the Vikings’ next possession that ended with Dan Bailey’s 43-yard field goal that tied the score at 3.

The Saints’ defense knew at that point that one of the top running backs in the NFL, at least when healthy, was going to be a handful and had to be a focus of their attention. That was good news for everyone in purple, especially quarterback Kirk Cousins and play-caller Kevin Stefanski. It also was an important part of the reason the Vikings were able to depart the Superdome with a 26-20 overtime victory that set up a second-round meeting against the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday in Santa Clara, Calif.

“I’m excited. We won our first playoff game, I won my first playoff game and there are some guys in the locker room that won their first playoff game,” Cook said when asked about his emotions. “It’s big for the organization. I just want to do everything my team needs me to do and do it at a high level. We’ve got some guys in that huddle where when they’re locked in, we can play some good football.”

Cook played his best football in the first half, rushing for 84 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown and catching one pass for 19 yards. The touchdown came on a 5-yard run with 27 seconds remaining in the second quarter that gave the Vikings a 13-10 lead and followed safety Anthony Harris’ interception of a Drew Brees pass.

Cook also had the first touchdown of the second half, scoring on a 1-yard run to give the Vikings a 10-point lead, but the Saints slowed him in the final two-plus quarters. Cook had only 10 total rushing yards on 12 carries (in part because of a couple of plays that lost yardage) and caught two passes for 17 yards. But Cook played a big role in overtime, gaining 11 yards on a carry before Cousins completed a 43-yard pass to Thielen at the Saints 2 that set up the winning touchdown.

Paul Allen and Ben Leber have tried, manfully, to keep their exultation down to a dull roar in their “Between the Lines” post-game show:

At the Daily Norseman, Ted Glover gives us his Stock Market Report on the Saints game:

Junk Bonds
No one. Seriously? You want me to be “that guy” today? Sorry, I don’t have takes that hot. Let’s enjoy one of the biggest wins in franchise history, and focus on the 49ers starting tomorrow.

Buy/Sell
Buy: There was contact on the Rudolph touchdown. Hi, welcome to the NFL, both players were jockeying for position. If you want to say there was a foul on Rudolph there, you could just as easily say there was defensive holding while Rudy was still on his route. Honestly, I thought that although there were a few bad calls in the game, they weren’t tilted to favor one team or the other. For all the complaining we rightfully make about NFL officiating, I thought the ref crew did a good job and let the players play.

Sell: It was offensive pass interference. Just shut up with that weak ass sauce. Like I said above, if you call PI on Rudolph, you HAVE to call either defensive holding or PI on the linebacker covering him, because you can make a strong argument Rudolph was creating separation because he wasn’t allowed a clean break on his route by the defender.

Buy: Stefon Diggs, wide receiver. Loved the passion Diggs had on the sideline, and it seemed weird that the Vikings didn’t look his way more today.

Sell: Stefon Diggs, running back. But…you know, let’s not look at him as a running back. That play never feels like it’s going to work…and it didn’t again today.

Buy: The Saints season is over. I can’t tell you how much pure, unadulterated joy it gives me knowing that smug jackass Sean Payton had his season end three years in a row, in heartbreaking fashion, and two of those came at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings.

Sell: The Vikings season is over. It is far from over. The Vikes showed a ton of fight today and punched the Saints in the mouth while punching their ticket to San Francisco. The 49ers present another huge challenge, but if the Vikes can continue this kind of play, they’re going to be a tough out.

Quote of the Week
My wife doesn’t watch a lot of sports. She’s not a big football fan, but she’s sympathetic to my plight as a Vikings fan. Today, for some reason, she decided to sit and watch the game with me. There were the usual twists and turns, the peaks and valleys, and when it looked like Dalvin Cook had fumbled and the Saints returned it for a TD (which was overturned), she looked at me and said “I can’t take this” and went upstairs.

Two minutes later, when she realized it wasn’t a fumble, she was back, watching the game, all the way to the end. When it was over, she turned to me and said:

“Honey, why do you put yourself through this every week? I don’t know how you do it.”

Me either, baby. Me either.

So, Vikes win and we’re on to San Francisco. Let’s do it all again next week.

October 21, 2019

Minnesota Vikings 42, Detroit Lions 30

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 05:00

The 4-2 Minnesota Vikings visited the 2-2-1 Detroit Lions on Sunday afternoon. Minnesota was riding high from 18-point wins in their last two games, while the Lions were nursing a grudge from their bitter loss to the Packers on Monday night (largely due to bad officiating). By the end of the game, tempers were flaring along the line of scrimmage and there was a lot of pushing and shoving during the Vikings’ “victory formation” snaps, finally drawing a 15-yard penalty on the Lions.

Detroit Lions kicking off against the Minnesota Vikings at Ford Field, 23 December 2018. Minnesota won 27–9.
Photo by Michael Barera via Wikimedia Commons.

Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins had another very good game, both statistically and also by the non-statistic “eye test” fan evaluation, with 24 completions on 34 passing attempts for 337 yards and a passer rating of 141.4. Adam Thielen caught the first of four Cousins TD passes, but was injured on the reception and did not return to the game. Other TD receptions were by Bisi Johnson, C.J. Ham, and Kyle Rudolph (all three were the first TD of the season for each player). Dalvin Cook had his fifth 100+ yard rushing game of the season with two touchdowns. Defensive ends Danielle Hunter and Everson Griffen each got a sack on Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, although each was also penalized during the game. The Vikings’ secondary did not have a great day overall, giving up a season-high 30 points, and the corners seemed vulnerable to Stafford’s long passes too often.

As Matthew Coller points out, the Vikings appear to have found ways to get their tight ends involved after several weeks in the witness protection program:

The Vikings’ aim when they drafted Irv Smith in the second round was to create mismatches using him and Kyle Rudolph on the field at the same time. Throughout the victory over the Lions, the Vikings found ways to create open space with play-action throws for the third straight week and Smith played a significant role in that, catching five passes for 60 yards with two of the receptions coming on a key drive in the second half that put the Vikings up 28-21.

The tight end position has historically been difficult for young players to adapt from college to the NFL but Smith has become a weapon in the passing and blocking game early in his first season. Rudolph, who hasn’t been a big part of the offense this year, stepped up with four catches for 43 yards, including several key third down receptions.

“That was important, that will be a big part of our offense,” Cousins said of the tight ends’ big day. “We have three tight ends on the field a lot, we ask them to protect, we ask them to run block, we ask them to run the entire route tree and I can’t say enough about the way all three of them contribute.”

In other good news, the offensive line also seems to be getting better on pass protection, which will definitely make Kirk Cousins a much happier quarterback:

Most importantly the O-line gave Cousins all sorts of time to throw the ball. He was rarely pressured throughout the day, finding big plays down the field and intermediate throws that kept the chains moving. The Vikings had touchdown drives of eight, 15 and 12 plays and a missed field goal drive of 11 plays.

When kept clean, Cousins is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Coming into the matchup with their NFC North foe, he ranked third best in QB rating on throws in which he was not pressured. In the Vikings two losses — at Green Bay and at Chicago — he was under duress for most of the game and it appeared to have a cumulative effect.

On Sunday the confidence in the Vikings offensive line was obvious. Rookie playcaller Kevin Stefanski, who drew up another explosive gameplan, elected to have Cousins drop back and launch the ball to Diggs with just over two minutes remaining and the Vikings up by five points. The O-line gave Cousins a completely clean pocket and his high-arching throw came down in Diggs’ hands to put the game on ice.

“There was no safety help, that corner had to defend Diggs 53 yards across the field and 80 yards deep and we just felt like we don’t want to punt back to them and give them a chance to die or win this game so lets take advantage of the fact that they are going to load the box and call a play that puts Diggsy in a position to get open and he did a great job,” Cousins said.

Update: At the Daily Norseman, Ted Glover provides his traditional post-game Stock Market Report on the Vikings.

Buy: Olabisi Johnson was very good in place of Adam Thielen. It’s really hard to come in and take over for a guy that’s close to becoming a Vikings icon. But after Thielen went out after his 25 yard touchdown catch, his only catch of the game, Johnson stepped in and played well. he didn’t drop any passes, averaged 10 yards a catch, and had a big touchdown when the game was still in doubt.

Sell: Johnson is a long term answer to Thielen. Still, Thielen is a big part of this offense, and him out for any extended time is going to be tough for this offense to absorb. WR depth was an issue heading in to the season, and if this turns out to be a serious deal, you could make an argument that the Vikings might want to make a trade before the deadline next week. Still early to hit that panic button, but WR depth may need to be addressed.

Buy: Kirk has had three great games in a row. We’ve already documented how good Cousins has been the last three games. It’s flat out undeniable. Unless you work for Pravda, comrade.

Sell: All the questions surrounding Kirk have been answered. Still, I’m sure it’s not good enough for some people. Like I mentioned in the intro, folks who think this is a fluke will say Kirk and the Vikings haven’t beaten anyone in this three game roll, and will move the goalposts until whatever inane argument they’re making works. There’s still nine games to go, yes, and there’s a lot of football left to be played, but this team is clicking right now, and they’re going to be formidable as we move to the second half of the season.

Buy: The Vikings defense had a bad day. The Lions were 6-11 on third down, amassed over 400 yards of offense, and were 4-4 in the red zone. If you look at those numbers in a vacuum, you might think the Vikings not only lost, but lost badly.

Sell: The offense couldn’t bail out the defense. But they actually kicked the hell out of the Lions, thanks to the offense. One of the more notable things about the Kirk Cousins era has been when the offense has a good day, it wasn’t quite good enough, as the defense had a particularly awful one and the Vikes would end up losing. Today, the Vikes defense had a really bad day … and the offense picked them up and carried them. Minnesota went down 7-0, 14-7, and then after taking a 21-14 lead, Detroit tied it up at 21. From there, the defense was finally able to get off the field, and the offense took control of the game. Cousins threw for over 300, Cook ran for over 140, the Vikes rolled with over 500 yards of offense and had no trouble doing whatever they wanted.

Buy: Stefon Diggs saved the season after the Bears game. I am going to go to my grave believing that after Diggs spoke up (and Thielen, for that matter) about his frustrations over the offense, there was a come to Jesus meeting between Vikings ownership/management to the Vikings coaches/players. I don’t know if ownership was involved; maybe a players only meeting, or just the coaches to the players, but something went down. And in the aftermath this team has clicked, and it wasn’t just because of who their competition has been the last three weeks. This is a completely different team than what we saw take the field in Chicago, and I honestly don’t care who said what to whom and whether or not there had to be multiple hurt feelings reports filed, I’m just glad this team is living up to their potential right now.

Sell: There is no sell. That’s it. Diggs saved the season. Sorry, he did. Bitch all you want about him being selfish, or a whiner, or a prima donna. He’s not, and him speaking up was the catalyst for this turn around. Wait, maybe he is a selfish guy. Let’s check and see:

“SAM FROM ST LOUIS PARK I THINK DIGGS PLAYING CATCH WITH FANS IS HIS WAY OF SAYING HE WANTS ANYONE THROWING TO HIM BUT COUSINS THANKS I’LL HANG UP AND LISTEN.” — Some rube on talk radio after the game who’s still butthurt about Diggs three weeks ago, probably.

October 7, 2019

Minnesota Vikings pillage the New York Giants, 28-10

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 03:00

The 2-2 Minnesota Vikings visited the 2-2 New York Giants on Sunday afternoon, still smarting from last week’s drubbing at the hands of the Chicago Bears. Earlier in the week, media rumours began that the Vikings were looking to trade wide receiver Stefon Diggs, followed by reports that Diggs was very unhappy with the Vikings this season (particularly the lack of receptions for him and Adam Thielen). Diggs failed to show for a team practice and meetings and was heavily fined by the Vikings for the absences. Quarterback Kirk Cousins has been taking a lot of heat for his sub-par performance in the first four games, and fans were hoping to see some signs of improvement in New Jersey. Cousins delivered … but mainly to Adam Thielen and Dalvin Cook. Cousins threw for more than 300 yards and two touchdowns, both to Thielen, while Cook had a career day with 132 yards rushing on 21 carries and six receptions for 86 yards (but he did lose a fumble at the end of a run).

Christopher Gates:

This was exactly the sort of game that Kirk Cousins needed to have after his performance in Chicago. He completed 22-of-27 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns and looked as good as he has all season. Adam Thielen was the recipient of both of Cousins’ touchdown tosses, and finished the afternoon with seven receptions for 130 yards. After causing some controversy earlier this week, Stefon Diggs had three catches for 44 yards, while rookie Olabisi Johnson had four grabs for 43 yards.

Dalvin Cook had another outstanding game, both on the ground and in the passing game. He had his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the year, rushing for 132 yards on 21 carries. He also caught six passes for 86 yards, all in the first half. Alexander Mattison picked up 35 yards on six carries, and Ameer Abdullah chipped in with three carries for 24 yards.

The Vikings move to 3-2 on the season, and will host the Philadelphia Eagles next Sunday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Giants fall to 2-3, and have a short week ahead of them, as they’ll travel to take on the New England Patriots for Thursday Night Football.

The Minnesota Vikings get a victory over the New York Giants in Week 5 NFL action, winning by a final score of 28-10 at MetLife Stadium. Thank you to everyone that got their coverage of this week’s game right here at The Daily Norseman!

Judd Zulgad:

How fast can life in the NFL change?

A week ago, Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins was offering wide receiver Adam Thielen a public apology for getting him the ball only two times for 6 yards in a loss at Chicago. Another wide receiver, Stefon Diggs, decided to stay away from the team facility for a few days because of his frustration with the Vikings going to a run-first scheme under Gary Kubiak and Kevin Stefanski.

By halftime of the Vikings’ 28-10 victory over the feeble New York Giants on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, Cousins had a season-high 278 yards passing, Thielen had a season-best six receptions for 121 yards and a touchdown and Diggs had, well, his involvement remained a work in progress (two catches for 24 yards).

Diggs added a 20-yard reception in the fourth quarter to finish with three catches for 44 yards, Thielen ended up at seven catches for 130 yards and two scores and Cousins completed 22 of 27 passes for 306 yards and the two TDs to Thielen. It was Cousins’ first 300-yard passing game since a 24-17 victory last Nov. 25 over Green Bay at U.S. Bank Stadium. That was nine games ago and also marked the last time Thielen had more than 100 yards receiving.

The Giants’ inability to stop the pass and the run didn’t hurt matters, but this was the exact type of game the Vikings needed after a week of drama that centered around a unit that isn’t even supposed to be the key to this team. Did this signify a turnaround for an offense that was held to 222 yards in a 16-6 loss to the Bears? Probably not, considering Chicago’s defense can be dominant and the Giants defense belongs in the XFL.

As usual after a Vikings game, Ted Glover provides his essential Stock Market Report on the day’s activities:

Buy: The offense was way better today. It’s really hard to find fault with an offense that had 490 yards, while the QB threw for over 300, RB1 had over 130 yards on the ground, and one of two WR1’s had 130 yards and two TD’s. It was a performance that was sorely needed for the team and the fans.

Sell: The Red Zone offense was better today. But nothing is perfect, and the Vikings struggled for the first time in the red zone today. On the opening drive of the game, they got down to the 13, but had to settle for a field goal. On their third drive Cook fumbled inside the five and the Giants recovered when it looked like he was going in to score. Granted, it turned out to not be a big deal, as the Vikings won handily, but it was mildly concerning.

Buy: What Diggs said needed to be said. Whatever the issue was had been simmering for awhile, and after the Bears game, it needed to be said. It worked, and the Vikings came together and had a whale of a football game. Hell, if it ends up with games like this, maybe he needs to call someone out every week.

Sell: The way Diggs said it. I’ve never been a fan of complaining to the press, though. Had the Vikings lost today, what Diggs said and did on Wednesday would have gone nuclear, and it would have taken on a life of its own. I get the frustration, as we all felt it, and I have no issue with calling people out when they’re underperforming. But like Diggs said himself in the locker room after the game, he could have handled it a lot differently. And yes, he wants to be in Minnesota.

Buy: This was a needed win. This win settled a lot of jittery nerves in Vikings Land. Not everything is all unicorns and rainbows yet, but at least the Vikings gave themselves a launching point to get to the unicorns and rainbows stage. A loss today would have meant death, pestilence, and plague across the land.

Sell: This win cures everything that ails the Vikings. They still have a tough schedule ahead. Philly comes to town this week, then a big road game against Detroit. The defense still had problems with drive extending penalties on third down, the offense had some issues in the red zone, and were it not for two Daniel Jones overthrows this could have been a completely different ballgame. Still, though, it was a good win, and that’s what matters for today.

Buy: The Vikings have a problem with penalties. We mentioned the defense and their mind numbing third down penalties. It killed them against the Bears last week, and it cost them again today. The Vikings are one of the most penalized teams in the NFL this year, and after five games it’s now officially “a thing”.

Sell: The amount of penalties in a typical game is good for the NFL. All of that said, it seems like the NFL is doing everything they can to make this great game unwatchable. Rules changes in recent years are making the game unrecognizable from what it was just 4-5 years ago. Referees are over legislating what penalties they do understand, are screwing up replay calls over what rules they don’t understand, and throwing ticky tack flags where everyone goes “wtf was that call” are dragging the game down.

September 23, 2019

Oakland Raiders take home no plunder from Minnesota, losing 34-14, marking the Vikings’ 500th win in team history

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 05:00

After a very disappointing result last week at Green Bay, the Vikings welcomed the Oakland Raiders to US Bank Stadium for a week three matchup. The Vikings came in to the game favoured by the bookies in Las Vegas, but last year at this time, the Vikings were in a similar situation, having played Green Bay the previous week (a tie) and facing a down-at-the-heels AFC franchise as heavy odds favourites at home. The Bills stampeded all over the Vikings in week three last year, flying back to Buffalo with an impressive 27-6 victory to their credit. Oakland was probably hoping history would repeat this year.

A view of the Minnesota Vikings’ new home stadium by “www78”
“Viking Stadium” by www78 is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

Chris Tomasson:

On a day for nostalgia, the Vikings won by playing old-fashioned Minnesota football.

With the Vikings holding the 50-year reunion of their first Super Bowl team, they won the 500th game in franchise history Sunday, defeating the Oakland Raiders 34-14 at U.S. Bank Stadium.

It was a victory similar to many from back in the old days. The Vikings utilized a strong running attack and played defense that made the “Purple People Eaters” proud. The legendary linemen gathered around the Gjallarhorn before the game, with Jim Marshall sounding it, and then were introduced at halftime along with teammates and coaches from the 1969 team.

The Vikings rushed for 211 yards, including 110 on 16 carries by Dalvin Cook. He became the first player in team history to run for 100 yards in the each of the first three games of a season.

Minnesota took a 21-0 lead in the second quarter and held the Raiders to just one touchdown until they scored a meaningless TD with 1:23 left in the game.

The Vikings bounced back from last week’s 21-16 loss at Green Bay, a game in which they trailed 21-0 early in the second quarter. They were determined to start fast on Sunday, and they did, scoring on their first possession on a 35-yard pass from Kirk Cousins to Adam Thielen.

Cousins bounced back after a disastrous performance against the Packers in which he completed just 14 of 32 passes while throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble. He was turnover free Sunday, completing 15 of 21 passes for 174 yards.

The Vikings won their 500th game on second try. They are 480-398-11 in the regular season and 20-29 in the playoffs for an overall record of 500-427-11.

Matthew Coller:

If you thought the Oakland Raiders’ offseaon was bad, you should have seen their first two quarters on Sunday.

Before the smoke (not fire!) from the Minnesota Vikings’ dragon had cleared from pregame ceremonies, the Vikings were up by three scores. And the Raiders went out of their way to make each score as easy as possible for the Vikings.

On the opening play from scrimmage, quarterback Kirk Cousins heard a handful of boos from the crowd after tripping on an offensive lineman’s foot. Following a crushing loss to the Green Bay Packers last week, the possibility existed for Cousins to lose confidence out of the gate.

But the Raiders simply would not allow it.

The Vikings were shut down on their first drive on third-and-9 but Oakland committed a holding penalty, providing Cousins with a restart. Cousins quickly took advantage, hitting tight end Irv Smith with a 20-yard pass down the seam. Then Oakland showed that they didn’t bother to watch the Vikings’ loss in Green Bay as they bit hard on a play-action bootleg, leaving Adam Thielen wide open for a 35-yard touchdown.

At US Bank Stadium, seven point leads feel like double digits. The Raiders made it feel like even more than that with their first two drives of the game, in which they totaled 17 yards.

Oakland’s punting game — it’s only strength on Sunday — pinned the Vikings in their own zone on Minnesota’s third drive of the game but the Raiders promptly showed everyone that they are the Raiders with two 15-yard penalties, one late hit on Cousins by Arden Key and a facemask by cornerback Gareon Conley. Both infractions came on third down.

Over at the Daily Norseman, it seems that Ted Glover let his purple pen run wild for a paragraph before getting down to the traditional post-game Stock Market Report:

Today, like they did against Atlanta … and like they didn’t against Green Bay … Minnesota started fast, jumped out to a big lead, and then used a pummeling ground game to bludgeon and gash the Oakland Raiders like Jack The Ripper used to bludgeon and gash his East End London victims. Today, The Vikings had their blood up, US Bank Stadium transformed into Whitechapel for a few hours, and the Raiders were a smelly pirate hooker that stood no chance. For a skittish fan base that was ready to bolt and stampede, this was just what we needed…

And then the Buy/Sell recommendations:

Buy: Playing aggressively to open the game. In two games, the Vikings offense has started fast. Today, they went right down the field, scored, and once again, before you could really get settled Minnesota was up 21-0.

Sell: Playing aggressively to end the first half. During the off-season, head coach Mike Zimmer has talked about how important it is to try and score points before the half, and he’s right. Well, one of the things about the Zimmer era that has bugged the ever loving hell out of me is how rarely the Vikings, you know, actually score before the half. Today, they got the ball on their eight, with one timeout and 1:06 left on the clock. The odds of a touchdown were long there, but getting into field goal range seemed very doable. Especially after the first play, which was a Dalvin Cook draw that banged for 16 yards. Yet, with a 14 point lead, Minnesota just decided to eat the clock and call it a half. Offense was clicking, so I don’t understand why they wouldn’t at least try to get into field goal range.

Buy: You could probably call a penalty on almost every play in a typical NFL game. Look, being a referee is hard, I get it. On almost any play, if you wanted, you could call holding, or some other infraction. The game moves at a fast pace, and there is probably a technical violation of the rules committed by both sides on every play. Judgement is a big part of the job, and knowing the rules of the NFL is tough.

Sell: Calling a penalty on almost every play in this NFL game. But my God, quit throwing a flag on what seems like every play. It’s gotten so bad that no matter what, at the end of literally every play in an NFL game, no matter who is playing, I wait to see if there’s a penalty. The only thing that can kill the NFL is the NFL itself, and sometimes it really feels they’re intentionally trying to make their game unwatchable. Seriously, the only person that tunes in to watch the referee is either his wife or his Mom. No one else does, yet these guys get so much camera time they’re going to need to join the Screen Actor’s Guild and start paying union dues. Let the players play the damn game.

Buy: Eric Wilson, pass rusher guy. When the Vikings sent Wilson after Carr or had him spy him today, it was generally successful. He was credited with two sacks, and did a really good job.

Sell: Eric Wilson, pass cover guy. But as good as he generally was in run support and the pass rush, he struggled mightily in pass coverage. He was fooled badly on Oakland’s first touchdown, and on the next drive his guy was wide open, and the only reason the play failed was because of a poor throw by Carr. If Oakland completes that pass, they’re in business in Vikings territory, and it might have changed the momentum of the game.

December 31, 2018

Vikings’ playoff hopes end in dismal performance at US Bank Stadium

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 03:00

As a life-long Vikings fan, I had little faith in the “win-and-in” situation the Vikings found themselves in coming into Sunday afternoon’s game against the Chicago Bears … I’ve seen it happen all too often, so it wasn’t much of a surprise to have it happen yet again. The Vikings came into the game looking less-than-convinced, and the peformance on the field was less-than-convincing. The final score of 24-10 was just about right, although shading to flatter the Vikings a tiny bit more than they deserved. Even had they somehow managed to pull out a win late against Chicago’s backups, they didn’t look like they’d be more than one-and-done in the wildcard round anyway.

Lessons learned? Better offensive line players are required to get any significant benefit out of an $84 million quarterback, and you can never have too many good cornerbacks (but that’s always true in today’s NFL). Despite the disappointing finish, I don’t expect any significant changes in the front office, but I do expect a renewed emphasis on the offensive line during free agency and the draft. Despite Sunday’s underwhelming effort, this is still a team that can go deep in the playoffs if they fix the OL, and maintain the depth on defence.

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November 5, 2018

Vikings sack Detroit, 24-9

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 03:00

The headline would have been even more accurate had it been a road game played in Michigan, but setting a team record for sacks in a game (ten) certainly justifies a bit of hyperbole. In a surprising move at the trade deadline earlier this week, the Detroit Lions swapped their top wide receiver for a third-round pick in the 2019 draft. Through most of the first half, it seemed like the announcing crew had to work Golden Tate’s name into the discussion about every play, even when Minnesota had the ball. It got irritating quickly — not as irritating as a Joe Buck-/Troy Aikman-announced game, but nearly that quick.

Vikings defensive end Danielle Hunter had a career game with 3.5 sacks and a fumble recovery returned 32 yards for a touchdown. Adam Thielen’s streak of 100+ yard games came to an end at eight, as with Stefon Diggs not active, the Lions could double-team him frequently. Thielen shares the NFL record with Calvin Johnson, who set the mark in 2012. Dalvin Cook also showed that he’s getting back to his rookie-year form, rushing ten times for 89 yards, including a 70-yard effort that set up the Thielen touchdown. The Vikings let the Lions stick around a lot longer than they should have, but the end result was still gratifying:

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October 29, 2018

New Orleans Saints 30, Vikings 20, as the turnover bug bites hard

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 10:40

Even the hardcore Minnesota Vikings fans were getting tired of the replays of last year’s “Minneapolis Miracle”, as it turned up so often in media and social media coverage coming up to Sunday night’s rematch between the Vikings and the Saints. This time, largely thanks to Minnesota mistakes, the Saints got the win.

Both teams had turnovers, but New Orleans earned 14 points off Viking errors and Minnesota didn’t capitalize on Harrison Smith’s interception, as Matthew Coller explains:

At 13-10, with the Vikings in front, the much-anticipated contest appeared to be shaping up as expected. A Sunday Night Shootout in front of a crowd that was ready to drive Brees crazy all night.

Then the Vikings caught a break. An overthrown ball by Brees right into the hands of Harrison Smith set Minnesota up to take a double-digit lead into the half.

Instead the Vikings committed back-to-back mistakes that would turn out to not only shape the game but become the trend in the second half.

With 3:03 left in the second quarter, Cousins began dicing up the Saints’ defense again, hitting on two third-and-long conversions, one to Kyle Rudolph and the other to Aldrick Robinson. On first-and-10 from the New Orleans 18, the flung a quick pass to Thielen on a play the Vikings have used with great success throughout this season.

After four yards, the Vikings’ star receiver was drilled by a Saints linebacker, sending the ball tumbling into Lattimore’s hands. He returned it to the Minnesota 33, which might have made it possible for the Vikings to hold the Saints to a field goal, but Laquon Treadwell inexplicably took a 15-yard penalty, setting up an easy touchdown for New Orleans.

At the Daily Norseman, Ted Glover provides his Stock Market Report on the game:

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October 22, 2018

Vikings beat New York Jets, 37-17

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 05:00

On Sunday afternoon, the Minnesota Vikings visited New Jersey to play the 3-3 Jets and rookie quarterback Sam Darnold. I don’t think Darnold enjoyed his afternoon, racking up stats of 16 of 41 fpr 195 yards and three interceptions. Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen tied a long-standing NFL record with his seventh 100-yard game to start the season.

The New York Jets lost out on Kirk Cousins in March. On Sunday, they lost to him.

Cousins, who considered the Jets in free agency before signing with the Vikings, led to Minnesota to a 37-17 victory at MetLife Stadium.

On a chilly day, with the wind blowing 16 mph at kickoff, Cousins completed 25 of 41 passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns. He threw touchdowns of 34 yards to Adam Thielen in the first quarter and 34 yards to Aldrick Robinson in the fourth.

Thielen caught nine passes for 110 yards, his seventh straight game of 100 yards receiving or more to start the season. That tied the NFL record set by Charlie Hennigan of the Houston Oilers in 1961.

Vikings running back Latavius Murray had 15 carries for 69 yards and two touchdowns. He scored on runs of 11 yards in the third quarter and 38 yards in the fourth. Murray’s second score gave the Vikings a safe 27-10 lead.

With the win, the Vikings (4-2-1) moved into first place in the NFC North.

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October 15, 2018

Arizona Cardinals 17, Minnesota Vikings 27, as the Vikings discover you’re still allowed to run the ball

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 03:00

The Cardinals finally got their first win of the season last weekend and came into Minneapolis hoping to get their second. The Vikings, returning home after a hard-fought win against the defending Superbowl champion Philadelphia Eagles were just hoping that they didn’t have a relapse to the Buffalo game a few weeks back.

The Vikings had to re-shuffle their offensive line yet again, as starting left tackle Riley Reiff was unable to suit up for the game with a foot injury, so Rashod Hill slid over to the left side and rookie Brian O’Neill got his first NFL start on the right. Despite the change, the line was able to open some gaps for running back Latavius Murray (starting in place of the injured Dalvin Cook) who logged the Vikings’ first rushing touchdown and first 100-yard rushing game this season. That didn’t mean that quarterback Kirk Cousins was untroubled by the Cardinal pass rush: he had several passes batted down at the line and he was sacked four times and lost a fumble that Cards safety Budda Baker scooped and ran back for a defensive touchdown (and a tie game). The Vikings took a 3-point lead into the half, and then dominated most of the second half both statistically and on the scoreboard. The Cardinals put together one efficient scoring drive, but that was all they could muster.

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October 9, 2018

Vikings (hopefully) got back on track with Sunday’s win over the Eagles, 23-21

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 03:00

There were a lot of doubters (ahem) about the Vikings getting the ship back on course after the team’s struggles in the first four games, but going to Philadelphia and beating the defending champions on their own field is a nice sign that they’re making the right adjustments. Back from his African safari, the Daily Norseman‘s Ted Glover offers his post-game Stock Market Report:

It’s not the end. It’s certainly not the beginning of the end. Perhaps it’s the end of the beginning.

It’s tough to call the fifth game of the season a must win game, but that’s exactly what the Minnesota Vikings were facing in Philadelphia Sunday. A porous defense and a one dimensional offense had the Vikings looking into the abyss of one win in five games with a loss, and a shot at the playoffs would have seemed like a pipe dream.

But the Vikings would not go gentle into the good night. They planted their flag and made a stand, and quite possibly saved their season with an inspired 23-21 win over the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on the road.

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November 24, 2017

Vikings defeat Lions 30-23 and move to 9-2 record

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 05:00

It was Thanksgiving Day in Detroit, but not for the Lions as the visiting Vikings ran up a 17-point lead that Detroit chipped away at, but could never quite catch up to. Adam Thielen became the first Viking receiver since Sidney Rice to gain over 1,000 yards in a season. Everson Griffin took advantage of being in the spotlight after sacking Matthew Stafford to “announce” the birth of his third child and invite fans to suggest a name for the new baby (he’ll almost certainly face a fine from the league for putting a message on his uniform). Except for the first drive of the second half, the Vikings didn’t seem to be able to get much of a rushing attack sorted out, although Latavius Murray ended up with respectable-if-not-gaudy numbers (84 yards on 20 carries) despite seeming to get stuffed on every other attempt — Jerick McKinnon actually did get stopped behind the line on most of his runs.

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November 20, 2017

Vikings beat Rams 24-7 after a slow start

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 03:00

The Los Angeles Rams took the opening kickoff and marched down the field to score the opening touchdown of the game, and (probably like a lot of Vikings fans) I thought “Oh, no, here we go again.” Yet that was it for Rams scoring for the rest of the day. The Vikings were slow to start, but eventually reeled off 24 unanswered points (plus two missed field goals) to advance their record to 8-2 on the year.

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November 13, 2017

Vikings beat Washington 38-30 in DC

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 03:00

The Vikings play Washington so frequently, this almost seemed like a divisional game. Case Keenum was having a really good game up until back-to-back interceptions allowed Washington to (almost) climb back into contention. Both errant passes were intended for tight end Kyle Rudolph, but both went instead to D.J. Swearinger. For a $2 million investment, Minnesota has had fantastic production from their backup quarterback, but this game showed why he’s never been able to lock down a starting role. When the Vikings defence is on their game, all Keenum needs to do is keep the chains moving and avoid turnovers — this wasn’t one of the times that the vaunted Vikings D was showing at their best (Everson Griffen was not active for the game, and demonstrated how much he provides to the team).

That said, I still hope that the Vikings offer Keenum an extension to stay with the team for at least 2018, but still as a backup to Teddy Bridgewater (or, if Teddy really can’t get back to his pre-injury form, Sam Bradford).

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October 30, 2017

Vikings rally in the second half to beat Cleveland 33-16 at Twickenham Stadium

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 03:00

Early Sunday morning (North American time), the Vikings faced the Cleveland Browns at Twickenham Stadium in the last of four NFL regular season games to be played in the UK this year. Cleveland took advantage of an early break, scoring a touchdown after a Case Keenum pass was deflected and intercepted during the first offensive series (but they didn’t convert on the kick). As the TV announcers mentioned several times, this was only the Browns’ second lead of the season (the Browns were 0-7 coming into the game). At this point, long-time Viking fans may have suddenly started to feel that oh-too-familiar dread that the team had fallen into yet another trap game…

Minnesota took advantage of a muffed punt deep in Cleveland territory, but the drive stalled out quickly so Kai Forbath was called on to kick a field goal. Late in a sloppy first half, Keenum scrambled and passed the ball to an unmarked Adam Thielen in the corner of the end zone for the Vikings’ first TD of the game (the kick was blocked). The half ended with the Vikings trailing by 1 point, 13-12.

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October 2, 2017

Lions beat Vikings 14-7, in a game where if it could go wrong, it did go wrong (for the Vikings)

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 05:00

Two very good teams met in Minneapolis on Sunday afternoon, and the outcome was in doubt until the final minutes. Both teams’ defences held up very well, and both teams’ offences were lacking, so the outcome depended on penalties and luck. The officiating squad didn’t throw a lot of penalty flags (including some that were blatant, yet un-noticed), so the game came down to luck. The Vikings were in luck, but it was all bad.

Sam Bradford’s knee is still not back to normal, so Case Keenum got the start again for the third straight game. Keenum is a very good backup quarterback, but he tends to be a one-read player so he sometimes misses big opportunities because he’s watching the receiver he’s already decided to go to and doesn’t see a better chance elsewhere on the field. Against Tampa Bay, that didn’t matter, but against Pittsburgh and on Sunday against Detroit, it mattered a lot.

The Vikings defence played (mostly) lights-out against the Lions. Danielle Hunter started the game off with a bang, notching his first sack of the season on the opening play, and he got another sack during the game. Everson Griffin chipped in with a sack of his own and two tackles for loss. Linval Joseph also got a sack, and linebacker Eric Kendricks got two. On the other hand, it seemed like everyone in purple had a chance for an interception but none of them could hang on to the ball, and there were periods in the game where Lions ball carriers appeared to be coated in Teflon and the Vikings just couldn’t wrap them up on the tackle.

Injuries are always at least a background concern for NFL teams, and the Lions came in to Minneapolis with a long list of injured players, but the worst injury of the day was on a non-contact run by Vikings rookie sensation Dalvin Cook, who may have torn his ACL while trying to make a cut (he fumbled the ball at that point, but I’m certainly not going to hold it against him under the circumstances). He’ll have an MRI on Monday which will clarify the extent of his injury. Sadly, Eric Thompson’s tweet is still as appropriate as ever:

Update: Yes, coach Zimmer confirms that it’s an ACL tear and Cook is going to be put on the injured reserve, ending his season.

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