Monday Impressions: Minnesota Vikings Will Have a Tough Time Making The Playoffs

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Dec 14, 2020

Well, that went poorly. The Minnesota Vikings lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, further lowering their already modest playoff odds. Dan Bailey is getting most of the attention, but there is plenty of blame to go around. The offense and defense had solid but unspectacular games. The combination of disastrous special teams alongside a merely average offense and defense simply isn’t enough on the road against Tom Brady. It’s now an uphill battle for the Minnesota Vikings to get into the playoffs.

Offense

  1. It was a humdrum day for Kirk Cousins: 24/37, 225 passing yards, 41 rushing yards, and a touchdown pass. Perhaps the greatest flaw in his game rested in his indecision. How much should we blame Cousins for the six sacks? The blame will vary from play to play, but Cousins struggled to decide where to go with the ball.
  2. The fact that Adam Thielen and C.J. Ham had the same amount of catches is a massive issue. Before the game, we suggested that the Vikings ought to rely on their stud receivers — Thielen and Justin Jefferson — to help set up the run game. They found far more room on the ground than I anticipated, but their inability to integrate their elite receivers is a big issue.
  3. It’s time. Let Brett Jones start at left guard instead of Dakota Dozier.
  4. It was encouraging to see the tight ends have a nice day. Tyler Conklin had five catches for forty yards. Irv Smith Jr. had four catches, sixty-three yards, and a TD. Kubiak’s offense hasn’t relied on the tight ends as much as initially expected. Not only would we be well-served by leaning on Jefferson and Thielen more, but so too would increased opportunity for Smith be a welcome development.
  5. Cook had a nice day. He was relatively efficient, consistently putting the Vikings in a favorable position. His success on the ground largely contributed to Minnesota dominating the time of possession. Minnesota had the ball for more than 39 minutes. It’s unfortunate that his effort was wasted in a loss.

Defense

  1. Before the game, we highlighted the matchup between Cameron Dantzler and Mike Evans as one of the keys to the game. The video below offers one instance of Evans getting the best of the rookie corner. Even still, the Vikings didn’t lose this game because of the Bucs’ vast array of impressive pass catchers. Evans led the team with 56 yards receiving. In other words, Minnesota did a pretty good job of containing Tampa’s receivers.
  2. Jeff Gladney got robbed at the end of the first half. He should have had his first ever interception.
  3. The defensive line was able to generate some pressure, but we didn’t sack Brady all game. Perhaps this should have been expected, but it’s still disappointing. The injuries have really impacted Minnesota’s front seven.
  4. Jalyn Holmes had some nice reps in run defense. Minnesota will have some difficult decisions to make at defensive end in the offseason. Though they lack elite players, Minnesota has several solid players. Holmes should be kept for his ability to stop the run.
  5. During his post game press conference, Mike Zimmer very rightly suggested that some bad calls from the referees helped change the outcome of the game. Take a look at this video for another example. Keep in mind that Minnesota was the team who got the penalty. Did Minnesota lose because of the officiating? No. Did the officials contribute to Minnesota losing? Yes.

Special Teams

  1. Now isn’t the time to cut Dan Bailey. He has proven to be a great kicker and he just signed a big contract extension. The better move is to simply not dress him and allow him to repair his confidence. In the meantime, give another kicker a shot. It’s hard to do worse than 0/4.
  2. Special teams did feature a really nice tackle by Harrison Hand in punt coverage. Perhaps a Dan Chisena and Hand gunner combo is precisely what the Vikings need on their punt team. Britton Colquitt only had two punts on the day. One was downed inside the twenty and the other resulted in Hand’s excellent tackle after a minimal gain. Small victories, folks.

This article originally appeared on one of our partner sites: VikingsGazette.com. Check out The Vikings Gazette and follow them on Twitter for more exclusive Minnesota Vikings content and analysis!

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