3 Stats Led to the Vikings Loss in Cincinnati
The Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals met at Paycor Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The two teams came into the weekend at 7-6 and in need of wins in order to improve their playoff odds. Unfortunately for Minnesota, it was the Bengals who were able to grab the overtime win by a score of 27-24.
There are plenty of reasons why the Vikings were unable to come away with a win, but here is a look at 3 stats behind the seventh Vikings loss of the season.
Turnovers
Once again, turnovers were an issue for the Vikings in Week 15. After having no turnovers last weekend against the Raiders, Minnesota coughed the ball up twice against the Bengals and lost the turnover battle yet again.
Making matters worse, both turnovers were interceptions from Nick Mullens on Cincinnati’s side of the field. The first interception occurred on a throw by Mullens to the goal line which was picked off by Mike Hilton.
Then, towards the end of the first half, Mullens threw an interception right into the lap of B.J. Hill, which took away a chance at a field goal at the end of the half. Minnesota has struggled to take care of the ball all season, and they are once again hovering around the bottom of the league in that turnover category following Saturday’s results.
Fourth Quarter Defense
Minnesota has relied on their defense to keep them in games during recent weeks, and they did so once again early on in this game. However, Brian Flores’ group stumbled down the stretch of this game, particularly in the fourth quarter.
They allowed 21 points during the final 15 minutes of the game, and they were gashed for 146 yards of offense by Cincinnati during the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, the Vikings offense scored one touchdown and had only two true drives during that final quarter. The other ended in a three-and-out punt. Minnesota’s offense certainly needed to do more in this game, but the defense became far too leaky late in the afternoon as well.
Third and Fourth Down Efficiency
Cincinnati was able to get back in this game largely because of their efficiency on third down late in the game. The Bengals converted four of their six third downs during the second half, and one of the few times they didn’t covert, Joe Mixon punched in a one-yard touchdown run on fourth down.
In total, the Bengals converted seven of their 14 third or fourth down attempts while Minnesota was successful on just five of their 13 attempts. The Vikings had been one of the better third-down teams all season on both sides of the ball, but it proved to be their downfall this weekend.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.