Vikings-Browns

Well, that was very disappointing. The Cleveland Browns “officially” scored seven more points than the Minnesota Vikings. 14-7.

The Vikings defense played well enough to win. The Vikings offense didn’t play well enough to win. 

A phantom holding call on Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks might’ve been the difference in the game. On 4th-and-goal from the two with 1:33 to play in the first half, Baker Mayfield threw incomplete to David Njoku. Vikings ball! Nope. The officials pulled a penalty out of the air. The Browns were gifted more opportunities and scored three plays later. 

A couple more Vikings mistakes allowed the Browns to score another five points over the final minute-plus of the first half. 

The Vikings must do something about the way the close the first half of games.

Week 1: Bengals scored 14 points in the final two minutes of the first half. 

Week 2: Cardinals scored 17 points in the final 3:15 of the first half. 10 points in the final 1:33.

Week 4: Browns scored 11 points in the final 1:16 of the first half. 

If the Vikings had managed the close of the first half reasonably better, they’re probably undefeated.

As it is, the Vikings are 1-3.

The Vikings couldn’t run the ball. Perhaps it was Dalvin Cook’s sore ankle. Aggravating that ankle in the first half forced him to miss much of the remainder of the game. The inability to run allowed the Browns pass rush to tee off on Kirk Cousins. He was hassled nearly every time that he dropped back. The Vikings lone offensive highlight was that first, beautiful drive. The offense rarely had any rhythm for the remaining three and a half quarters. 

From the phantom holding call on Kendricks to the officials ignoring Greedy Williams interfering with Adam Thielen on the final play of the game, it’d be easy to bitch about the Vikings being robbed. But this loss is on an offense that just couldn’t get anything going. 

The line between being 4-0 and 1-3 is so damn fine and the Vikings have been on the wrong side of it on three occasions to start the season. 

The Vikings defense played well enough to win. The offense did not. 

The Vikings are a playoff caliber team. The Cardinals and Browns are two of the better teams in the league and the Vikings could’ve taken both games. They have to clean up the way they close out the first half. They’ve allowed 92 points through four games. 42 of those points have come in the closing minutes of the first half. The reason for the 1-3 start can be found in those minutes. 

I believe that it’s time for Christian Darrisaw to step into the starting lineup. Rashod Hill has done an admirable job. He’s had some fine moments. He was also tossed about by Myles Garrett on too many occasions. There’s a reason that Darrisaw was a first-round pick and Hill was undrafted. The talent difference is significant. The sooner that Darrisaw gets up to speed the sooner the offensive line gets to where it has the talent to be. The Vikings need the line to get there. Cousins needs the line to get there. 

The Vikings host the Detroit Lions next week. In the fifth week of the season, the Vikings face a must-win game.