The Minnesota Vikings Offense Can’t Keep Bailing Out The Defense
Christian Stoinev
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Imagine if Darnell Savage would’ve hung onto that interception with 2:08 to play. Imagine if that would’ve set up Aaron Rodgers with the ball on his own 37 yard line with the game tied at 31. We all know the outcome. We’ve seen this movie before. Rodgers brings the Packers back from 13 down to beat the Vikings in Minnesota, again torching the defense. The headline’s would’ve read “Same Old Kirk,” “Cousins INT sets up GB Win,” etc. etc.
The point is that the media and many fans are waiting to pin it on Kirk and the offense, but it’s time to look at the defense and appreciate all the times that Cousins and the offense keep bailing them out. The Vikings are worst in the league in points allowed in the last two minutes of of the half. So for all the criticism that the offense faces for not staying aggressive and holding leads, a good portion of that blame has to fall on the defense.
In the game vs. the Packers, it was no different. With the Vikings leading 16-3 with about 5 minutes left in the half, they ran a pitch to C.J. Ham on a 3rd and 1 that fell short of the first down and were forced to punt. The result was a widely criticized drive, or lack thereof, by fellow Vikings fans. The team punted and set the Packers up with the ball at their own 26 yard line.
As much as that three and out was criticized, it wasn’t like the offense turned the ball over or they had a brutal punt. A drive starting at the Green Bay 26 for the Packers should be manageable for the Vikings defense and is part of football. The Vikings offense did not put them in a bad position or set them up to fail; they had a three and out, which happens to the best offenses from time to time. They then punted to put their defense in a good position to hold the Packers and get the ball back on offense. The Vikings defense, of course, couldn’t hold and allowed the Packers to drive down the field for a touchdown to make it a 16-10 game going into the half. As much as the offense missed an opportunity to go for the jugular, so did the defense.
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In the second half it was a shootout. The Vikings offense struck first with a great drive to open the half, capped by a Justin Jefferson 9 yard touchdown on 3rd and goal to give them a 23-10 lead. This led to another opportunity for the defense to shut the door. Another opportunity, another letdown for the Minnesota Vikings defense to close the door as the Packers drove down the field to make it a 23-17 ball game. The next time the Packers offense got the ball, it was more of the same: another drive for the Packers that resulted in 7 to give them a 24-23 lead with 7 minutes left.
But unlike “same old Kirk,” Cousins and the offense bounced back and drove down the field to reclaim the lead with just over 2 minutes left, even converting a 2 point conversion, giving them and the defense a more comfortable 7 point lead at 31-24.
What we have, then, is another game where the defense lets the lead slip away and the offense bails them out. Another opportunity for the defense to shut the door and win the game. But yet again they didn’t. On the very first play for the Packers, Rodgers threw a 75 yard touchdown to tie the game up leaving the offense to have to bail the defense out yet again. To the offense’s credit, they did just that. Cousins drove the offense down the field to set up the game-winning 29 yard field goal as time expired.
That drive and the end result could’ve been drastically different had Savage hung on to that interception on a 1st and 5 with just over 2 minutes to play. The one bad throw that Kirk would’ve made would have put all the blame on his shoulders, despite the fact that he had just drove the offense down the field on the previous drive on what should’ve been the game winning touchdown had the defense done it’s job. This has happened far too often with this team this season and Kirk and the offense deserve more praise this season than criticism.
Give Kirk and the offense their credit. Maybe with more accountability on the Minnesota Vikings defense, they can start helping close games rather than waiting on the offense to bail them out time and time again. If we want to have playoff aspirations for this team, this is not sustainable. The defense needs to pull their weight and start contributing to holding leads just as much as the offense.
