The Minnesota Vikings are 4-1. Through five games, that’s the most important statistic. Three of the four wins have been one score, anxious, nerve-wrecking games. The Vikings have recently made a habit of thrilling their fans with such games. Unlike last year, the Vikings this year have done what’s needed at the end of the close games. They’ve scored the needed points and they’ve prevented their opponents from scoring. Through five games, the Vikings have scored 115 points and allowed 102 points. It’s a delicate point balance. There’s been a multi-point win and a multi-point loss. The other three games, the last three games, have been decided by 4, 3, and 7 points. Here’s a little closer look at the points through five games.
Scoring by quarter (Vikings Score-Opponents Score):
1st Quarter: 21-17
2nd Quarter: 51-38
3rd Quarter: 6-33
4th Quarter: 37-14
It’s easy to see that the third quarter has been a problem. With that in mind, it’s interesting that their only loss through five games was a game in which there was no third quarter scoring. In Week 2, the Vikings shut out the Philadelphia Eagles in the third quarter. They shut out the Eagles in the fourth quarter as well. The Vikings lost to the Eagles because they couldn’t score in the third or fourth quarter either. Despite several trips into the Eagles red zone, the Vikings couldn’t score in the second half.
The Packers, Lions, Saints, and Bears have outscored the Vikings in the third quarter. If a team can only manage a couple field goals in the third quarter through five games, that’s going to happen.
Third quarter scoring:
Packers: 7-3
Eagles: 0-0
Lions: 10-0
Saints: 7-3
Bears: 9-0
The third quarter is why the Vikings have needed fourth quarter heroics the last three weeks. They’ve trailed in the fourth quarter in all but the opener against the Packers. They even trailed by two scores to the Lions. It’s stressful way to play football.
The Vikings are 4-1 because of their play in the second and fourth quarters, especially the fourth quarter. The offense has scored the needed points and the defense has made the needed stops. The latter has been critical. The Vikings defense is nowhere near where it needs to be. They bend a lot through much of the game but they’ve kept the score manageable. They also get much more sturdy at the end of games. They had a late fourth down stop to seal the win against the Packers. They got an interception to seal the win against the Lions. They forced the Saints to need a second field goal of more than 60 yards. Cam Dantzler stole the ball to seal the win against the Bears. The defense is still an often frustrating work-in-progress but they’ve made the needed stops in all four wins.
The Vikings start fast and end strong. This past game against the Bears was a perfect example of that. The Vikings opened with a dominating 21-3 lead. From the final minutes of the second quarter, through the third quarter, and into the fourth quarter they kinda went into hibernation. Then they woke up and did what was needed to finish. The Vikings should’ve cruised to an easy win. Instead, they made it interesting. Too interesting. This pattern probably isn’t sustainable. It’s certainly not the way to play against some of the teams that dot their remaining schedule (Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, etc.). The good thing is that this Vikings team is still coming together. With new coaches and systems, everything’s new. What we’ve seen through five games is snapshots of what this team could be. That is especially true of the offense. This offense has yet to score over 30 points. This offense has the talent to routinely score 30 or more points. An offense that rolls to 21 points on their first three possessions against the Bears shouldn’t go scoreless on their next four possessions. A defense that can do what’s needed at the end of the game shouldn’t be a sieve in the second and third quarters. It’d sure be nice to see this Vikings team play a complete game. I know that it’s in them. I just know it.
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