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There are games when a team comes out and simply imposes its will against another team. Sunday night's 30-20 victory against the New Orleans Saints on Minnesota Vikings US Stadium was not part of those games.
The Vikings seemed to shoot themselves in the foot almost every turn. From turnarounds to penalty shoot-outs, bad designs, bad game designs, many problems were added to the Viking record on Sunday night.
The Vikings exchanged punches with the Saints from the start, as each team formed long distances between the Vikings and Vikings with a 13-10 lead with a chance to hold the Saints late in the half.
With three minutes left in the first half, Minnesota was intercepted by Harrison Smith this gave the ball to the Vikings with a chance to roll on the field, exploit the remaining time outside the clock and put points on the board before half time, and then get the ball to start the third quarter.
After Kirk Cousins achieved two intermediate passes, it seemed that the Vikings would have a chance to dig the gap with a lead of 20-10 before the half, but on a bubble screen Adam Thielenhe was hit and fumbled on the 14-meter line of the Saints. cornerback Marshon Lattimore picked up the fumble and ran 54 yards in the other direction. When he was finally shot, wide receiver Laquon Treadwell threw out his helmet, getting a 15-yard unsportsmanlike driving penalty that moved the ball up to the line of the 17 Vikings.
For Thielen, sure of himself, this unusual mistake is a mistake with which he will live and take responsibility. For all the great things he did – Sunday night and all season – Thielen knew the seriousness of this game and its impact on balance.
"That's probably the main reason we lost the match," Thielen said. "When you have the momentum that starts in the half, you will score points and you will then have the chance to get the ball in the second half, it's a huge game. It can not happen. Obviously, I will take possession of it. "
The Saints charged the Vikings, getting a hit of the turnover instead of Vikings scoring in the red zone. Instead of potentially heading to the locker room with a 20-10 lead, the Vikings followed 17-13 and things did not improve in the third quarter.
The Vikings started the third quarter with the ball and faced a fourth and one of their 45 yards in less than three minutes in the half. Minnesota has chosen to be aggressive and make a first run. But they lined up in a shotgun training with an empty backfield – tilting their hand to indicate that an obvious pass was going to occur and that the Treadwell pass was being pushed back to give Drew Brees the ball on a short court.
"I told the team that I was going to be aggressive and that every quarter track was tight, we were going to get there," said head coach Mike Zimmer. "It did not work, so what?"
The Vikings defense would have a red stand that forced the Saints to settle for a shot on goal, but the damage was done and the deficit was now 20-13.
With a game always deficit of one point, it would change for the next series, while things went from bad to worse. Poor communication between cousins and Stefon Diggs as Diggs stopped and the Cousins threw a light throw directly to New Orleans cornerback P.J. Williams, who easily grabbed the ball and ran 45 yards for a touchdown, opening the Saints" lead to 27-13 and leaving the Vikings in the rear-view mirror the rest of the game.
"I thought we had done very good things tonight," Zimmer said. "Unfortunately, some of the turnarounds – the fumble just before the half, and then the interception for a touchdown – have somehow placed us behind the ball."
If it were otherwise, it is because the Saints did not dominate the Vikings. Brees started only 120 yards. The Vikings defeated the Saints 423-270. In just about every statistical category, the Vikings stood up, with the notable exception of one – the dashboard.
"Among all the problems to have as a team, those that we want to inflict oneself are those that we wish to have," he added. Stephen Weatherly I said. "You can fix them. You know how to fix. It's not a staff problem. It's a problem "we". We are fighting ourselves and we can not continue in this direction, especially against such a team. It's something we're going to work on. "
With all the hype around the Miracle of Minneapolis, it's the painful reality that critical mistakes have transformed what could have been a huge win to keep the Vikings." In 2018, the Vikings have the wind in their sails: the Los Angeles Rams and the Saints – two teams in which the Vikings played and lost in the first half of their season.
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But just as the Vikings did not feel self-confident when they won in October, they would not let themselves down. Sleep may not be easy after this game, but it remains a critical division match by their week in two weeks and the Vikings will have to refocus, knowing that this is not a match in which they have been dominated; they caused most of themselves.
"Everyone makes mistakes and we had our share tonight," said an attacker Rashod Hill I said. "We& # 39; re We're going to have a bad taste tonight, but we have to come back tomorrow and get ready for Detroit. In the NFL, if you make mistakes, they come back to you. But we can not dwell on it, just as we do not dwell too long on victories. There is always another team coming.
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