Minnesota Gets Knee-Bitten: Three Stand-Outs in the Vikings Loss

Oct 10, 2021; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings free safety Xavier Woods (23) and safety Harrison Smith (22) break up a Detroit Lions pass during the second half at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

After a disheartening loss in San Francisco last week, the Vikings (5-7) were looking to bounce back against the winless Detroit Lions (1-10-1). As you can tell by the records, and whatever defense Minnesota was playing on that final drive, no such thing happened. The Lions jumped out to an early lead, allowed the Vikings offense to storm back, and then Jared Goff led a 75-yard two-minute drill to win the game for Detroit. Here are the things that stand out in this latest Vikings loss.

Minnesota Lost Too Many Players

Look, as convenient (and deserved) as it is to put all the blame on Mike Zimmer and Klint Kubiak, one things can’t be overlooked. The Vikings injuries simply got out of hand in this game. They lost Dalvin Cook, Patrick Peterson, Eric Kendricks, and Anthony Barr prior to this game. Then during the game, they lost Adam Thielen and Dalvin Tomlinson was banged up. It’s just a lot to overcome for any team. You’d hope what they had would be enough to beat the Lions, and by the way, it should’ve been. It just didn’t work out.

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Zimmer/Kubiak Are not the Answer

Following the Packers game, I gave Klint Kubiak a lot of praise for his play calling in the win. The Vikings were aggressive throughout the game, and it led to a big divisional win. However, more often than not, this duo has been under scrutiny for conservative and questionable playcalling.

Minnesota went for two points on three of their touchdowns, which and and of itself should be promising, but their playcalling in those moments were just lackluster. Running Alexander Mattison straight into the defense, slow developing pass plays, and just poor execution ultimately led to this loss. Don’t even get me started on the “keep everything in front of us” defense the Vikings ran on the game-winning drive.There were rumblings of Zimmer being fired if Minnesota lost their first game against Detroit. I wonder if we get the actual news early this upcoming week.

Blake Lynch is Good!

In response to the losses of Barr and Kendricks, the Vikings gave Lynch a big opportunity in this game. He was one of the few players that can say he delivered in this one. He ended up with six tackles, a pair of sacks, and a forced fumble and recovery. That FF and FR came on a fourth-and-1 strip sack on Detroit’s 22-yard line. He set up the touchdown for the Vikings to take lead, and it really should’ve been enough for Minnesota to win the game.

Ultimately, the Vikings loss will likely put them out of playoff contention. At 5-7, they are currently 9th in a tightly contested NFC race, but their closing schedule features teams like Pittsburgh, LA Rams, and Green Bay. To have a realistic shot at the postseason, the Vikings have to win two of these games and both games against Chicago. It’s not impossible, but it seems quite unlikely. It’s a short week for the Vikings, and they’ll play the Steelers on Thursday night.

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