One Down, Three to Go

five thoughts
Image courtesy of Vikings.com

1. One down.

As the saying goes, you can’t win the last four if you don’t win the first one of the last four. Or something like that.

I gave my call to arms on last week’s Bump & Run, and while I delivered it in a wholly ridiculous manner (as I’m wont to do with these things), I fully believe everything that was said. The Vikings have an agreeable schedule the last quarter of the season, they’ve shown they can put together a winning streak, and if they do finish 10-6, they have a good shot to make the playoffs. Now, part one of that four-part plan is accomplished (yeah, it was probably the easiest part, too, but you can only play who they put in front of you). Up next is part two against the Colts at home, another very doable task. The season isn’t over.

2. Two whole offensive touchdowns.

After managing just a single touchdown against Dallas last week (and having a chance to win), the Vikings offense blew the doors off with two touchdowns against the Jaguars (and won). The way things are going, it isn’t out of the question for this team to capitalize on this momentum and find the end zone a scintillating three times against the Colts next week.

Seriously though, it might seem sad (it is), but two touchdowns and a basket of field goals is about all we can ask from an offense so decimated by injuries and bad offensive linemen. I’ve been saying for months now it’s about making the best of a bad situation; the Vikings are naturally limited in what they can do on offense, so we need to temper our expectations. Sometimes they’re going to throw a dump-off on third-and-nine, and sometimes they’re going to play for field position. We have to accept that—it beats strip-sacks and interceptions. This is a defensive team that needs to control the ball to win and play steady and, often, conservative on offense. It’s not the most exciting thing to watch, but this week, it got a win.

Now about those goal-line plays…

3. Getting one yard: woof.

After being stuffed at the goal line twice more in Jacksonville—one turnover on downs, and one Matt Asiata fumble—it’s obvious that the ability to convert in short yardage situations is this team’s biggest flaw. (“But we already knew that,” you might be saying, and you would have a point. But Sunday’s continued struggles further cement the notion, and provide more context to suggest this isn’t an easy fix.)

Even if it is against the NFL’s fifth-ranked defense, the Vikings simply need to find a way to gain a yard on third- or fourth-and-short. With the two drives that stalled out inside the one-yard-line, the Vikings left at least six points on the table, and as many as 14 if both were punched in for touchdowns. They are getting nothing from their jumbo packages and extra blockers; the offensive line wholly lacks the requisite push to convert in these situations. I’d like to see the Vikings stop with the tightly-bunched formations and instead spread the field and get creative around the goal line, simply because that’s the only thing that has a chance of working (as we saw with the Bradford rollout in the fourth quarter that resulted in a touchdown to Kyle Rudolph). Which brings me to…

4. Put the ball in Bradford’s hands.

It is becoming more apparent to me that the best way for the 2016 Vikings to convert key plays is to let Sam Bradford throw it. He wasn’t great against the Jaguars—he was uncharacteristically inaccurate for a lot of the day—but he was able to make plays in crunch time. We saw him hit Thielen, Rudolph, and Patterson for big first downs (and one touchdown) in the second half, and those plays stand in stark contrast to the failed short-yardage running plays.

Bradford of course didn’t do it on his own—his lack of mobility necessitates a clean(ish) pocket, which he got for much of the day Sunday, and there are times when receivers need to make plays after the catch to pick up first downs. But that’s football; it takes more than one guy to score points, and to win. All the players need to do their job, and there is a better chance of this happening when the Vikings throw than when they run.

5. I do not care what other teams did.

There was an attempted mood dampening late Sunday afternoon, when the reports came in that, yes the Vikings won, but Teams W, X, Y, and Z also won, and those teams need to lose for the Vikings to have a better shot of making the playoffs. I understand this hurts the odds—the Vikings need help, even if they do win out—but I find it hard to care at this point. As Vikings fans, our hopes are tied to the fate of one team, and that team won this week. That’s all they can control; beat the team in front of them, and hoping the rest shakes out in their favor. Maybe it will, maybe it won’t, but there’s nothing you can do about it.

This week, just like the next three weeks, the Vikings job was to win, and they did that job. There’s enough time left for things to change significantly in the Wild Card standings, and that’s why I’m not sweating it in Week 14. Week 17, sure, but not Week 14. Let’s enjoy this win and hope for another next week.

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