Three Takeaways from Another One-Possession Vikings Win
Josh Frey
|
The Minnesota Vikings just have a knack for making games closer than they need to be. Even against a Bears team that had nearly half their roster out, multiple coordinators missing, and a rookie QB, the Vikings found a way to make this game end up as a one-score affair. It was their 13th out of 14 games in 2021. In the end though, they got a 17-9 victory over the Chicago Bears. It was an ugly football game, but here are three things to take away from this latest performance.
D.J. Wonnum Has Arrived
D.J. Wonnum has been a player of great debate throughout his young NFL career. He was selected in the fourth round of the 2020 draft, and he collected three sacks over the course of 14 games in selective snaps. Some have felt that they’ve seen great promise from him in limited time while others have wanted him to prove it for an extended period.
In year two, Wonnum has been terrific, and Monday night was the pinnacle. Sure, it was against a very poor Chicago Bears o-line, but D.J. Wonnum dominated this game from start to finish. He put up three sacks in this game alone along with a pair of TFLs.
The Vikings Survived Largely Without Their Stars
Every anti-Kirk Cousins fan woke up feeling validated on Tuesday after, well, whatever we saw on Monday night. Cousins had one good throw to Justin Jefferson on his touchdown pass, but other than that, it was check-downs and just the QB being out of sync with his receivers. This is frustrating because if there was a ever a game that, on paper, Cousins should have dominated, it’s the one where all four of the Bears defensive backs are out.
However, he was not the only Vikings star that had a sub-par game. First of all, there was no Adam Thielen again. Jefferson only caught four of 10 targets (you can decide how much of that blame goes on him vs. Cousins). Dalvin Cook got a lot of touches, but he didn’t have a ton of production to show for it. Eric Kendricks was ejected. Danielle Hunter is out for the season. And still, the Minnesota Vikings pulled out a key win to survive in the playoff race. Even against a weak roster, that feels miraculous given this team’s struggles at Soldier Field.
Kene Nwangwu is Electric
Rookie running back Kene Nwangwu has been an exciting development throughout the 2021 season. The Vikings selected Nwangwu with a sixth-round pick, so the fact that he made the roster at all is a win. Being dubbed as one of the best return men in the NFL is one of the best victories of the entire class, especially given Minnesota’s needs on special teams.
We’ve known Nwangwu’s potential on special teams, but his recent involvement in the offense has opened up a whole other realm of possibilities. On Monday night, he had three carries for 33 yards, including a couple runs of 10+ yards. Assuming Alexander Mattison comes back this week, the rookie’s carries will probably be few and far between for the rest of the year, but these continuous explosive plays are promising for the future.