3 Takeaways From An Ugly Vikings’ Loss to the Rams
The Minnesota Vikings showed who they really are against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. Matthew Stafford ended the game with 3 interceptions and only a 46.8 quarterback rating. Despite the Minnesota defense doing everything they can to win the game, the offense constantly stalled out. How did Minnesota throw away an easily winnable game? Here are the three biggest takeaways from the Vikings’ loss to the Rams.
A Baffling Offensive Performance
At first glance, the stats for the Vikings’ offense looks like they had an excellent game. Kirk Cousins finished with 315 yards. Alexander Mattison stepped up filling in for Dalvin Cook, finishing with 70 total yards and a touchdown. Justin Jefferson had 116 yards. KJ Osborn had 66 yards and a touchdown. Despite all of those flashy numbers, here are the most telling statistics. The Vikings’ offense only scored 2 touchdowns. They also went 2-12 on third downs. When it mattered the most, the Vikings couldn’t score points.
Placing blame for this confounding offensive performance is hard to do. There are to many people to blame. Let’s start with Rick Spielman, who consistently builds one of the worse offensive lines in the NFL. Cousins has shown time and time again that he needs a clean pocket to play well. Despite that, Oli Udoh finds a way to start almost every game. Spielman’s time as general manager for Minnesota is seemingly coming to an end. Next, there’s Kirk Cousins. At first glance, Cousins’ stats would seemingly justify extending him before the 2022 season. However, Cousins consistently cracks under the pressure. It wasn’t a pretty sight on Sunday. Cousins was running for his life in the first half from Aaron Donald. This offense needs big changes in this offseason.
Confusing Situational Defense
The defensive performance from Minnesota is somehow even more baffling than the offensive performance. The defense did not play well today. The run defense was again the biggest liability for the Vikings. Sony Michel finished with 131 yards, a touchdown, and an average of 4.9 yards per run. The Rams ran the ball all day. Everyone knew what was going to happen, but somehow the Vikings still couldn’t stop the run. The pass rush wasn’t a factor either. The Vikings’ secondary got torched throughout the game, including an Odell Beckham touchdown in the fourth quarter where Cameron Dantzler was left in the dust.
Despite that, the 3 Stafford interceptions kept the Vikings in the game. 2 of those interceptions were caught by Anthony Barr. Those interceptions almost changed the course of the game, but ultimately the Vikings offense wasn’t able to do anything with them. The Vikings defense also held up in the red zone multiple times. Twice in the second quarter and again in the fourth, the Rams would have to settle for 3. Patrick Peterson deserves a lot of the credit for those stops, as he was batting passes down in the end zone. There are some positive takeaways from a confusing defensive performance. However, a run defense with Eric Kendricks, Michael Pierce, and Dalvin Tomlinson shouldn’t be this awful.
The Vikings Are Wasting Another Great Receiver
Justin Jefferson etched his name in the history books today. His stat line is impressive at first glance as well. 116 yards in a game is nothing to shy away from. However, the Vikings’ offense went stretches of the game without targeting Jefferson at all. Almost all of Jefferson’s yards came after half time. Jalen Ramsey was covering Jefferson for much of the game, but Jefferson still appeared wide open for much of the game. The Vikings would be winning games every week if they were throwing to Justin Jefferson a lot more.
In the 2019 offseason, Stefon Diggs forced a trade from Minnesota. The move at the time was baffling, as the Vikings had just ended a postseason run with moderate success. Diggs revealed later that he disagreed with the Vikings’ offensive mentality. Now, with Diggs’ replacement who is arguably better than him, the Vikings same to be doing the same thing. The fact of the matter is that Justin Jefferson is arguably the best wide receiver in the league. He’s to good to let walk away. It’s well past time that Justin Jefferson gets the Randy Moss treatment and gets the ball 40% of the time.
Final Thoughts
The Vikings’ playoff destiny is now out of their hands. Even if they win the next 2 game against the Packers and Bears, the Vikings will need help to make the wild card round. It wouldn’t matter if the Vikings found a way to sneak into the playoffs anyways. This team is to poorly led to be a serious playoff threat.
Other Notable Factor
- Adam Thielen seemed to reaggravate an ankle injury that has caused him to be sidelined.
- Alexander Mattison proved once again he’s a starting caliber running back.
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