Zimmer blames “too many mistakes” in loss to Cowboys
Joe Johnson
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Zimmer blames “too many mistakes” in loss to Cowboys
Well, that was fun while it lasted.
Things had been so amazing in Vikingsland these past few weeks that some overlooked the fact that, while the team was winning, they were committing a lot of mistakes that were bound to catch up to them at some point.
Despite some second-half heroics by quarterback Kirk Cousins, that point was Sunday against the lowly Dallas Cowboys. Costly penalties, blow coverages, and two first-half turnovers proved too much for a Vikings team that already had a razor thin margin of error (if they want(ed) to make the playoffs).
Clearly Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer agreed, saying after today’s game that the Vikings had a shot to win today, if not for those mistakes.
https://www.vikings.com/video/zimmer-we-had-an-opportunity-to-win-but-made-too-many-mistakes
Zimmer said “I don’t think we played enough to win today, we had our opportunities, made too many mistakes, three fumbles in the first half, lost two, had too many penalties, weren’t good in the red zone on defense, and then, obviously, we can’t get the fourth down play to win the game”
Zimmer seemed surprised, though, as he said the Vikings “had a good week of practice” last week.
While some growing pains are to be expected, it’s clear that this Vikings defense should be looked at as a week-to-week/boom-or-bust unit as the season progresses. Something we all had buried our heads in the sand and hoped could be schemed away by Zimmer and… Zimmer (and Patterson).
Cameron Dantzler and Chris Jones, another corner the Vikings recently picked up from obscurity, were the causes of two vital touchdowns thanks to blown coverages/missed tackles. That clearly made all the difference and, while not surprising considering, was something we hadn’t see since the bye.
The Vikings season isn’t lost, but they’re going to have to at least split the Bucs/Saints games (and win the rest) if they want to make the playoffs, which, considering the inexperience on D, perhaps should’ve been obvious.
But, we all get caught up in the amazing feeling that comes along with winning and the comeback story we all thought was unfolding before our eyes. So, while again all is not lost, this definitely was a BIG blow that was based on things that we can’t be certain or confident won’t happen again next week, or the rest of the season.
At least Cousins looked amazing and Green Bay lost. Yay! Silver linings!