It's never easy.
The Minnesota Vikings were supposed to easily handle the Jacksonville Jaguars yesterday. It was a home game for the Vikings. Playing at home hasn't been much help this season but it was a home game. The Jaguars had lost ten consecutive games after an season-opening win. The Vikings' season was heading in the right direction. The Jaguars' season was heading in the wrong direction. It was supposed to be an easy game for the Vikings as they head to the final quarter of the season. It wasn't easy. It wasn’t easy at all. The Vikings edged the Jaguars by a score of 27-24 and they needed overtime to do it.
It's never easy. The Vikings need an easy game. My heart needs an easy game. This was supposed to be that easy game and it wasn't easy at all.
Despite the difficulties, it's a win. The Vikings are now 6-6 and control their path to the playoffs. They won't control much of anything for long if they continue to play like they did yesterday.
The Vikings' offense started poorly. The Vikings' defense started poorly. Things got a little better later in the first half. Things got a little better compared to the start. The offense scored a touchdown in the second quarter. The defense allowed none. 9-6 Jaguars at the half. The second half started worse than the first half when Kirk Cousins served up a pick-6 on the first play. If the Vikings had managed to dodge a couple Kirk Cousins-Dalvin Cook miscues, this might've been a fairly easy win. The pick-6 was the result of a miscommunication between the two. Instead of throwing to where Cook was going Cousins threw to where he thought Cook was going. Each had a different opinion as to where that place should be. The only player that seemed to know what was happening was Jaguars linebacker Joe Schobert. He and the Jaguars had an easy touchdown. The second Cousins-Cook miscue was the first play of the fourth quarter. With a first-and-goal inside the one-yard line and the Vikings confidently looking at going up by 10 points, Cousins and Cook botched the exchange and the Jaguars recovered at the two-yard line. The Vikings score there and they probably cruise to the win.
It's a win but a terrible start and up-and-down play to finish made it a much more difficult win than it needed to be. Good teams find a way to win when they have a rough game. Maybe the Vikings are a good team. I think that they can be a good team but they can't keep playing like this. They can't beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers playing like this. They can't beat the New Orleans Saints playing like this. The Vikings probably have to beat both teams if they want to make their playoff dreams a reality.
Some good from the game.
The defense.
Other than the start to the game and giving up the game-tying drive at the end, the defense played well. That was highlighted by some big plays.
2 interceptions
2 fumble recoveries
2 sacks
1 safety
The rough start might've been partly due to the last minute scratch of linebacker Eric Kendricks. During pre-game drills, he aggravated a calf injury and couldn't play. Losing a difference-making player and leader like Kendricks is a tough blow. Losing him minutes before the start of the game is an even tougher blow. The defense looked like it was scrambling to start the game. They eventually settled things but the Vikings were fortunate to only be down 9-0 before the offense finally scored a touchdown. The play of the defense, especially in the second half, made up for the wildly inconsistent play of the offense. The Vikings offense was pursuing an elusive touchdown throughout the fourth quarter. It was a touchdown that could've put the game away. They were in position to score it on a couple of occasions but just couldn't get into the end zone. The defense stood up each time the offense failed to punch in that game-clinching touchdown.
Rookie cornerback Cameron Dantzler had his first career interception. He also forced and recovered a fumble. He's been playing well for a few weeks and filled the stat sheet yesterday. The Vikings needed it.
Harrison Smith had the second interception. It set up the game-winning field goal.
Rookie receiver Justin Jefferson is really good.
9 catches, 121 yards, 1 TD (20 yards)
He went over 1,000 yards for the season.
With each week Jefferson impresses more. He simply does everything really well. He's a terrific route-runner, he has great hands, he catches contested passes, he gets separation from coverage, he has some wiggle and physicality with the ball in his hands, he's introduced a dance-craze to the NFL. He doesn't play like a rookie.
Adam Thielen returned from the COVID list to post a productive game.
8 catches, 75 yards, 1 TD (3 yards)
Dalvin Cook put up a lot of total yards on a lot of touches.
32 carries, 120 yards
6 catches, 59 yards
Some bad.
The offensive line had one of it's roughest games of the season. Cousins had little time to throw and Cook was often met by numbers before he could even get to the line of scrimmage. I'm not sure what the issues were but the Vikings' offensive line should've handled this defensive line. They were trending in the right direction before right guard Ezra Cleveland was injured in Week 10. He'd missed two games. Maybe his return this week brought some continuity issues. Who knows? I don't. I do know that the Vikings offensive line has to play better than they played yesterday.
Special teams atrocities have been a significant problem all season. The Vikings have lost games due to them. They were fortunate not to lose some games due to them. They nearly lost this game due to two missed extra points and a missed 51-yard field goal that would've won the game in regulation. That missed field goal gave the Jaguars an opportunity to win the game in regulation with their own long field goal attempt. Fortunately, for the Vikings, Chase McLaughlin missed that 62-yard attempt. Every punt return is cringe-inducing. As is every extra point and field goal attempt. Most of the special teams problems feel more like execution issues than scheme issues. For example, Kris Boyd has had an alarming streak of penalties on the punt team. Hell, he had penalties on consecutive plays against Dallas. These games are too damn close and a single special teams mistake can be the difference. The Vikings have to stop making those mistakes.
It's a win. The Vikings are now 6-6. .500! It wasn't all that long ago that hitting the .500 mark this season felt impossible.
A trip to Tampa Bay is next.
