Post-mortem Reactions after Frustrating Loss to Cowboys

Vikings Loss to Cowboys
Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Vikings Insider, The GM’s View 

Frustration is the word of the day for Vikings players, coaches, and fans after Sunday night’s damaging loss to the Cowboys. Vikings star receiver Adam Thielen put it well when he said, “I would say if you aren’t frustrated, there’s something wrong with you, and you shouldn’t be on this team. We want to win. We have to find a way.” 

With road games coming up at Baltimore (5-2) and the L.A. Chargers (4-3) followed by a home matchup with the NFC North-leading Packers (7-1), it behooves the Vikings to quickly find a way to win more of these close games that are occurring every week, and unfortunately, they’ll have to do it without their best defensive player—Danielle Hunter (out for the rest of the season with a torn pec). 

Here are my quick-hit reactions to the Vikings’ latest disappointing loss, which dropped their record to 3-4:

  1. It’s exceedingly difficult to watch this Vikings team blow winnable games as they’ve now done three times in seven games this season (including the Cincinnati and Arizona losses). They also gave up late leads and had to beat Detroit on a 54 yard field goal and Carolina with an overtime touchdown drive. That’s three straight Vikings games in which the offense has not put the game away before the defense has allowed an opponent to drive for a late go-ahead or tying TD. 
  2. The Vikings simply shouldn’t lose a prime-time home game to a team with a backup quarterback starting his first NFL game. Cooper Rush was a last minute replacement for the injured Dak Prescott and the Minnesota D allowed Rush to throw for 325 yards and complete six passes for 75 yards on the game-winning drive including the 5-yard TD pass to Amari Cooper who beat Cam Dantzler. The other most damaging plays on the drive were the 33 yard completion to Cooper that bounced off shaky corner Bashaud Breeland and then Ezekiel Elliott’s 15 yard catch and run on a 3rd and 11 dump-off. Anthony Barr, who is paid big money to make such plays, had the best shot at Elliott but missed the tackle along with several of his teammates. Losing to Dallas with a backup QB is deja vu for the Vikings after Andy Dalton stepped in for Prescott and beat them last season. 
  3. Prior to the gut-wrenching Dallas winning drive, the Cowboys defense gifted the Vikings offense with three personal fouls to set them up with 1st-and-goal at the Dallas 4-yard line. The overly conservative Vikings proceeded to go backwards eight yards on three plays before kicking a field goal to take a 16-13 short-lived lead (good news was Greg Joseph made all four of his kicks in this game—three field goals and a PAT). You’ve got to score a touchdown in that situation and force the other team to do the same on their ensuing drive. 
  4. Third down misery on both sides of the ball: it was shades of the 14-7 loss in Week 4 to Cleveland with a great opening drive that culminated in a 20 yard TD pass from Kirk Cousins to Adam Thielen and then little offense the remainder of the game. Minnesota did not convert a third down after that first drive (1 of 13 overall) while the Cowboys went 7 of 14 on third down against a Vikings defense that entered the   game as the league-leader in this category with only 29% converted.  
  5. After the first drive and a missed opportunity on a deep ball to Justin Jefferson on the second Vikings series, Cousins reverted to repeatedly throwing check-downs to backs and tight ends as he was feeling the pressure from the Dallas pass rushers and when he had time, he usually wasn’t patient enough to throw downfield to his excellent receiving corps. How can you ever target a premier receiver in Jefferson only four times while the Cowboys targeted Cooper 13 times?  Especially damaging were three straight three-and-outs in the late third and early fourth quarters including one after a Dallas turnover that provided good field position at the Minnesota 48 yard line.  Minnesota’s offensive line was ok at times in the running game until Dalvin Cook was stuffed for a four yard loss on his final carry and the O-line was dominated late in pass protection. After playing well through the first six games, Cousins looked skittish and missed some good opportunities for big plays. He and the O-line must be better going forward if the Vikings are going to avoid future losses and stay in the playoff chase.   
  6. It’s on the coaches and offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak to be better in adjusting to how the defense adjusts after the opening drives that have been going well for the Vikings. And Cousins must not settle for checkdowns that won’t get the first down in third down situations when he can give his talented receivers a chance to make plays even if they are contested catches.  
  7. The Vikings best pass rusher (and excellent run defender) in Hunter is now sidelined. That spells big trouble for the Vikings D and their pass rush that was among the league leaders. Hunter provided the Vikings’ best chance to chase down the Ravens’ elusive QB Lamar Jackson next week along with pressuring other QBs they’ll face  down the stretch including Justin Herbert, Ben Roethlisberger, Matthew Stafford and two matchups each with the Pack’s Aaron Rodgers and a scrambler in the Bears’ Justin Fields.  The Vikings need Everson Griffen to continue to play well and must have more impact from second-year man D.J. Wonnum. With Stephen Weatherly recently traded to Denver, the Vikings need third rounder Patrick Jones to quickly recover from his knee injury and begin contributing along with Kenny Willekes when called upon.  
  8. The Vikings are a competitive team and they have not been blown out but the record says they are an average team at 3-4 with the midpoint in the season approaching. I believe they have the talent to be a playoff team but it appears the offense will have to lead the way. Zimmer emphasized his team is “not as consistent as we need to be” and as Thielen said, “We have to quit letting a team hang around instead of putting our foot on the gas and just going.”

Jeff Diamond is a former Vikings GM, former Tennessee Titans President and was selected NFL Executive of the Year after the Vikings’ 15-1 season in 1998. He now works for the NFL agent group IFA based in Minneapolis and does other sports consulting and media work along with college/corporate speaking. Follow him and direct message him on Twitter– @jeffdiamondnfl

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