Confidence in Vikings Should Be At An All-Time Low
K. Joudry
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Well, that was quite the game. As expected, the Vikings found a way to bounce back to defeat the Steelers on Thursday Night Football. Under normal circumstances, a win in prime time gives fans reason to have confidence, and yet yesterday’s performance ought to have the exact opposite effect on Vikings fans.
At first, things went about as great as they could have. In fact, the Vikings looked as good as they’ve looked in quite some time. Their first-half performance is likely what the team’s leadership had in mind coming into the year. The defense completely shut down Najee Harris while similarly making Ben Roethlisberger’s night miserable. Dalvin Cook was getting chunk yards with ease, putting together otherworldly stats before the half:
Before the game, I published piece where I argued that playing Cook on TNF was a mistake; that opinion aged poorly within just a few hours. It was easily his best performance of 2021. The Vikings don’t win that game unless Cook is sensational.
Even as things got started in the third quarter, the game looked good for the Vikings. Confidence was likely at an all-time high as the Vikings added onto their already formidable lead with a Greg Joseph field goal at 6:15 in the 3Q. The Steelers got their first points of the game at the 2:11 mark of the third quarter. Part of what made that score so discouraging was that it came off a taunting call on Kris Boyd:
To my mind, it was the turning point of the game. Bashaud Breeland was pulled from the game due to an illness. Boyd was then put in, indicating he leapfrogged Cameron Dantzler for the CB3 spot following the Lions debacle. On 2nd & 10, Big Ben threw a short pass to James Washington. Boyd, a physical player, stepped up for a great tackle, dropping the Steelers WR for a -2 yard gain. Rather than head into 3rd & 12, though, Boyd’s taunting penalty made it 1st & 10. The Steelers scored a few players later.
Kirk Cousins came back on the field, promptly throwing an interception. The offensive drive lasted 8 seconds and the Steelers had the ball at the Minnesota 42. They scored a touchdown a couple minutes later.
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After yet another clunker from the offense – this time a 3 & out – the Steelers again got the ball back. They scored a TD in just over a minute. They failed on their 2-point attempt, but it was now a game at 29-20 and most of the fourth quarter still on the clock. The performance from both the offense and defense was pathetic during this stretch.
Thankfully, the offense was able to make this happen:
That TD ended up being crucial. The Vikings held on at the end for a 36-28 win, but it’s remarkable that it even came to that. During his post-game press conference, Mike Zimmer quipped that it was “another fun night” before admitting that he was concerned “the whole time in the second half.” So were we, coach.
The issue, of course, is that what we saw last night is what we’ve seen all year. Horrendous play from the corners. The defense being unable to stop the bleeding once things start going poorly. The offense forgetting how to play football during the second half. Klint Kubiak mixing brilliance with incompetence. The kicking game taking points off the board. It was all there, folks.
The Vikings, thankfully, have plenty of time before their next game, a MNF road game against the Bears. Generally speaking, Vikings fans aren’t brimming with confidence when it comes to Soldier Field. Nothing about last night’s game ought to change that perspective.
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