Image courtesy of Vikings.com
It was a close one that had the Minnesota Vikings and their fans on the edge of their seats, but the Detroit Lions handed the team in purple their first home loss of the season with a 22-16 win in overtime on Sunday. With the loss the Vikings fall to 5-3 this year and are quickly losing their hopes at capturing NFC North division crown for a second straight season.
After starting the year 5-0, Minnesota has yet to win a game since coming off of their Week 6 bye.
A one-yard touchdown run by tight end Rhett Ellison put Minnesota ahead by three points with 23 seconds left in the fourth quarter. But Detroit was somehow able to gain enough yards for kicker Matt Prater to make a 58-yard field goal to tie up the game and send it into overtime.
In overtime, the Vikings’ offense did not even get a chance to touch the ball as the Lions drove 87-yards downfield and ended the game on a 28-yard touchdown catch by Detroit wide receiver Golden Tate.
Something has not been right since Minnesota has returned to the field since their week off. A change at offensive coordinator seemed to be good idea to get the ball rolling the right again for for this team, but the Vikings offense was not the problem on Sunday in their loss to the Lions.
Detroit’s offense converted on half of their third-down attempts and the Vikings committed eight, costly penalties on Sunday. Minnesota’s defense did hold Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford to just 219 passing yards, but none of that really matters when the day ends with a loss.
Overtime would likely not have even been a possibility for this game had Vikings kicker Blair Walsh not missed the extra point following a Kyle Rudolph touchdown in the third quarter. To follow that miss up, Walsh also had a 46-yard field goal attempt blocked early in the fourth quarter that eventually led to another Detroit field goal.
On the positive side for Minnesota, new offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur made sure to utilize the team’s best offensive weapons as much as possible on Sunday. Vikings wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Cordarrelle Patterson combined for 19 catches and 125 yards on 22 targets.
Minnesota quarterback Sam Bradford looked much more comfortable in the team’s offense Sunday, completing 31 of his 40 passes for 273 yards and one touchdown. He even threw a pass to himself.
The Vikings’ 2016 first round draft pick in wide receiver Laquon Treadwell revealed to the team’s fans on Sunday that he is indeed still alive and well despite his lack of playing time this season. After hauling in a 15-yard Bradford pass in the first quarter against the Lions, Treadwell can now tell his future grandkids that he actually had a catch during his NFL career.
Overall Minnesota’s offense looked much more efficient that it had in the two previous games. The Vikings’ 337 total yards on Sunday is the third highest amount of the 2016 season so far.
For a team that was viewed as a Super Bowl contender earlier this year, Minnesota making it into the playoffs in 2016 is beginning to become a legitimate concern. The Vikings will try and snap their three-game losing streak next week when they travel to Washington to play the 4-3-1 Redskins.
View Comments
"...but the Vikings offense was not the problem on Sunday...remember Greenway's pick? 1st and 10 at the Lion 18, no points. That's a problem. 3 points in the 1st half, that's a problem. Failure to gain a foot on 4th down, that's a problem.
Plenty of problems on offense and defense.
All the early-season doubters were pretty much right about everything, and this team is basically done at this point. Why are Vikings fans so gullible?
Can't blame Walsh, they offense left at least 10 if not 14 points on the field. Lost 25 yards with a first down on the 18, could convert on 4 and inches, 4 and inches! What happened to play action pass to a wide open TE???? The play calling never changes, either run, run, pass, punt; or pass, run, pass, punt. When was the last time you saw a screen pass to a RB? Come on these are our Vikings, whom always find a way to disappoint. Come on, Actual talking that they are the new purple people eaters, what has happened since then? They jinx themselves, shutup and prove it! Sorry to be the devils advocate, but.....I really love the ZIM REAPERS! ZIM will get them on the right track again. There's still hope.
I couldn't see the game, so...
PFF gave fair-to-good grades to Long, Sirles and Berger but how did Clemmings and Fusco do?
As was pointed out before the game, the Lions have been terrible covering tight ends this season, so what happened to the big game that had been predicted for Rudolph? Were the Lions that good or did Shurmer just ignore him?
Nice to hear that Greenway and Newman had good games. Did Cole get any defensive snaps or did he just play on special teams.
Anyone else longing for Adrian Peterson's return ASAP?