Ty Chandler Was Given Every Opportunity, Until He Wasn’t
Brett Peterson
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Second year running back Ty Chandler had a career game in Cincinnati but the same old same happened to the Vikings in the end.
Minnesota was given every opportunity to win on Saturday vs the Bengals. They continued to shoot themselves in the foot time and time again. Turnovers have been an issue all season for the Vikings and it continued vs the Bengals.
Two ugly turnovers by Nick Mullens in the red zone derailed two promising drives by the Vikings in the first half. An interception at the goal line and then a horrendous turnover that resulted in Mullens throwing a blind pass right into a defensive lineman’s lap.
Where the Vikings excelled at vs the Bengals was in the run game. Viking fans haven’t been able to say that much this season, as the Vikings rank 23rd in rushing yards per game this year via Pro-Football-Reference. Alexander Mattison, who has been the lead back for the majority of the season, has only mustered 3.9 yards per carry on 168 attempts.
Ty Chandler Deserved More Opportunities Down the Stretch
Ty Chandler, when given the opportunity, has proven to be a much more effective back, and hopefully his usage continues to rise the rest of the season. The second year man out of North Carolina carried the ball 23 times for 132 yards and a score. He was gashing the Bengal’s defense all afternoon.
Chandler has the explosiveness and elusiveness that adds an element to an offense that needs some speed, and it was put in full effect on Saturday as he averaged 5.7 yards per carry and had a 30 yard rush to add to his stat line.
So, why in the most important drive of the game does Kevin O’Connell dial up two straight “tush pushes” with Nick Mullens? The Vikings had a 3rd and inches situation in overtime and the Vikings failed to convert as Mullens attempted a quarterback sneak.
In this situation it wasn’t upsetting to see O’Connell fire up the quarterback sneak play call. It works a lot of the time in the NFL and is usually very effective, but Cincinnati stuffed the attempt. The frustrating part was they attempted the same play again and failed miserably as Mullens actually lost yardage.
Many fans and media questioned the play calling, because Ty Chandler had been ripping through the Bengals defensive line all game, and he wasn’t called upon in the most important drive of the ball game.
Cincinnati has the 28th ranked defense against the run this season, and the Vikings were taking advantage of that all game long. Kevin O’Connell called a pretty great game all the way up to the final two plays. Many fans are speculating on whether O’Connell should be on the hot seat.
It’s easy to overreact but a lot of good things came out of Saturday’s loss. O’Connell shouldn’t be on the hot seat, as he carries a 20-11 overall record, and his team is in the thick of the playoff race while starting four quarterbacks this season.
This doesn’t dismiss the fact that some of his decision making has been questionable, and the decision to not run Chandler at least once on the most important series of the season looms large.
Week 15 Worked Out Well Enough for the Vikings and Their Playoff Hopes