Week 7 Thoughts

Well. That was disappointing.

The Buffalo Bills get a touchdown reception from Sammy Watkins with a second to go. The Bills edge the Minnesota Vikings 17-16.

The Vikings defense played well until a couple of plays on that final, unfortunate drive. The have the Bills on the edge with a 4th & 20 on the Buffalo 40-yard line. Quarterback Kyle Orton connects with tight end Scott Chandler for 24 yards. An 18-yard catch and run to Watkins on 3rd & 12. A 28-yard toss to Chris Hogan that set the Bills up at the 2-yard line for one final play. That was the touchdown throw to Watkins. With the game on the line, the defense has to end the game on 4th & 20.

Minus that final drive, the Vikings controlled the second half. Much of that was due to the defense. The offense managed a single field goal. That field goal turned out to be the difference in the game. The Vikings had a 1st & goal from the 7-yard line. Two sacks had the Vikings sitting at 3rd & goal from the 23-yard line. A touchdown there and the Bills heroic drive at the end would not have mattered one bit. You can trade touchdowns for field goals in those situations.

Vikings rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater had a mediocre game. He had modest passing totals. 15 of 26 for 157 yards and a touchdown. His first career touchdown pass. Two interceptions. One was on a tipped pass. The other was on a poor pass. That one led immediately to Sammy Watkins' first touchdown catch. For the second game in a row, Bridgewater was rarely given enough time in the pocket. Like last week against the Lions, the Vikings were facing a terrific defensive line. The Lions and Bills might have the best two lines in the league. It showed. The Bills talent showed and the Vikings difficulties in handling that talent showed. Bridgewater made some clutch throws. 3rd & 18 from midfield to start the 4th quarter, he hit Jarius Wright for 21 yards. He converted a few 3rd & longs with clutch throws. Those clutch throws made a play call on the Vikings last possession a little questionable. Facing a 3rd & 14 on their 45-yard line, the Vikings were clearly turning the game over to the defense. Offensive coordinator Norv Turner called a read option that Bridgewater kept for a 7-yard gain. They chose to play it safe rather than try to keep the ball and control the game.

The Vikings game plan was clearly ball control and it would have worked nicely if they could have stopped the Bills on a single drive. The Vikings ran for 158 yards on 29 carries. An average of 5.4 yards/carry. Solid running against a great run defense. Rookie back Jerick McKinnon had 103 yards on 19 carries. He had a real nice 30-yard run. A run that might have been an ankle tackle away from a long touchdown. Matt Asiata provided a nice change of pace.

The Vikings have a good thing going forward with McKinnon, He's getting better with each game. If the Vikings can get some consistency in the passing game, and they will with better protection, they should have nice balance.

The Vikings offensive line hasn't played well. It didn't help when center John Sullivan and guard Vladimir Ducasse left the game with injuries on the same play in the first half.

The Bills had a couple of significant injuries of their own in the first half. Running backs Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller both left the game. Spiller will undergo surgery and is likely done for the season with a broken collar bone. That left the running game in the hands of Anthony "Boobie" Dixon.

The Bills had 118 yards on the ground. 53 of those yards came on a single run by Spiller. He was injured on that play.

The Vikings defense did play well. That last drive, in particular, and Watkins, in general, were the problems. They handle Watkins better and that last drive wouldn't have mattered. They stop that last drive and Watkins simply had a decent game. Either way, the Vikings would have won.

Kyle Orton is going to be treated as a hero in this game but Watkins was the hero. The rookie is going to be one of the best receivers in the game. I'm not sure what it is about him that sets him apart. He's no faster or bigger than other top receivers but he's a very sound receiver in fundamentals and he's got some special skills. He's tough to stop now and he's going to get better.

The Bills have a lot of talent. They just have to solve the always significant quarterback question. Orton provides some stability for now but they have to decide if EJ Manuel is the "guy." Watkins is great. Or, very good now with all of the potential to be great. I really like Robert Woods. Running back could be an issue with the injuries to Spiller and Jackson. The Bills defense is solid and they are missing their very promising linebacker Kiko Alonso. Their defensive line is outstanding.

Speaking of defensive lines, the Vikings defensive line played very well. 6 sacks. Defensive end Everson Griffen finall broke out with 3 of those sacks. He also forced an Orton fumble on one of the sacks.

The secondary has played better but they hardly played poorly yesterday.

Pretty soon, rookie linebacker Anthony Barr is going to make a game-changing play. He's making plays but he has yet to make that singular game-changing play. It's coming. Soon.

On the 4th & 20 conversion by the Bills on that game-winning drive, it looked like linebacker Chad Greenway was less than ready for the snap. He was looking back toward the secondary at the snap. He was also the one with coverage on Scott Chandler. It's tough to say that it was a factor in the play.

Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer was dealing with kidney stones yesterday. I hear that's fun stuff. He has an operation scheduled on Tuesday.

In his postgame press conference Zimmer was fairly positive in his comments about his team. It was a drastic change from his postgame comments of the past two weeks. Understandable, as his team's play in the past two games was terrible. This was a very frustrating loss but it was a huge improvement over the last two weeks. It was good to hear Zimmer speak to that improvement.

The Vikings are now 2-5. 4-5 at their ninth week bye is the obvious goal. They visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next week and host the Washington Redskins in two weeks. They can win those games and gain momentum for a stretch run.

Speaking of Washington, Colt McCoy led Washington to a victory over Tennessee. Colt McCoy!

The Buccaneers will be coming off of a bye when the Vikings visit them next week.

It was a bold move by Jeff Fisher and the St. Louis Rams to run a fake punt from their own goal line at the end of their game against the Seattle Seahawks. It worked and the Rams were able to run out the clock and secure a 28-26 win. It was wonderful and fun to see a flustered and defeated Pete Carroll. The Super Bowl champs are 3-3. That's good for third in the NFC West.

The Green Bay Packers are playing as well as any team in the league. They have won four straight games after a somewhat rough start. Three of the four wins were blowouts. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers had three incomplete passes in 22 attempts against the Carolina Panthers yesterday. He's on a roll.

The Indianapolis Colts have also put a rough start behind them. With the way that they are playing now, it's difficult to believe that they were 0-2. Five straight wins. They beat up on the Cincinnati Bengals yesterday, 27-0. The Bengals had thoughts of being one of the best in the league only a few weeks ago. Andrew Luck to TY Hilton will be a terrific pitch-and-catch combination for years.

Postgame words from Chicago Bears receiver Brandon Marshall:
"We're 3-4. We need to play better. That's unacceptable. Unacceptable. Unacceptable. Shouldn't have lost today. Shouldn't be 3-4. Offense gotta play better. Simple as that...We're 3-4. We're 3-4. It's unacceptable. Unacceptable. Want me to say it again? 3-4 is unacceptable."

The Bears had an "unacceptable" 27-14 loss to the Miami Dolphins.

Congratulations to the Jacksonville Jaguars on their first win of the 2014 season. They took care of the Cleveland Browns 24-6. The Browns entered the game riding high on a two-game win streak.

The Dallas Cowboys just keep winning. Six straight now with a 31-21 win over the New York Giants. The Cowboys are just cruising behind a dominating offensive line. The level of play of this line is amazing in that they are young and still learning. DeMarco Murray is gaining yards at a rapid clip and Tony Romo is throwing from a comfortable pocket. It's funny to think back to the expectations before the season. The Cowboys were supposed to be buried at the bottom of a weak NFC East. Instead, the Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles each have a single loss and are at the top of a pretty strong division.

Another surprise one-loss team is the Arizona Cardinals. This is another team that was supposed to struggle after losing several key defensive players. Instead, they are finding ways to win games. Their only loss is to the Denver Broncos.

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Cairo Santos kicked a 48-yard field goal with 21 seconds remaing to defeat the San Diego Chargers. This was probably the surprise of the day. Outside of the Bills last second win, of course. The Chargers had been cruising with five straight wins after a season-opening loss to the Cardinals. That loss was one that they really should have won. At 5-2, the Chargers are in good shape. At 3-3, the Chiefs are still in it.

Congratulations to Peyton Manning and his new career touchdown passes record. I was watching when Fran Tarkenton made the record his in 1975. It's gone from Dan Marino to Brett Favre since that day. It's Manning's now.  510 and counting.

The Denver Broncos made easy work of a seriously depleted San Francisco 49ers defense. 42-17. The Broncos can make a lot of defenses look silly. They have so many weapons. The 49ers were missing stars NaVorro Bowman, Aldon Smith, and Patrick Willis just form their linebacker group.