Kirk Cousins
After watching the Minnesota Vikings clumsily fall to the Dallas Cowboys on Halloween, you might’ve thrown in the towel.
But the team did not – not by a longshot.
The Cowboys upended the Vikings on Sunday Night Football for the masses to see, playing anemic offensive football while collapsing on defense in the game’s most crucial moments. Indeed, that combination is disappointing, yet it’s nothing new for the 2021 Vikings. The Week 4 contest at home versus the Cleveland Browns was essentially a cookie-cutter experience to the Cowboys gaffe. Minnesota scored on the first drive, convincing a home crowd “things were going to be all right.” Nobody knew those respective first-drive scores would be all she wrote for touchdowns. But they were.
With a 3-4 record, the Vikings sat in an awkward spot at the trade deadline, which passed on Tuesday at 4:00pm. Would the team trade for a defensive end to replace Danielle Hunter, who will miss the remainder of 2021 with a torn pectoral muscle? Nope. Would general manager Rick Spielman conduct a mini-fire sale, unloading players on one-year contracts for draft picks? Nope.
The Vikings stayed put.
And that means they’re still intent on reaching the playoffs. Through eight weeks, Minnesota is a half game out of the NFC playoff picture, dealing with the depressive emotions of losing a primetime game at home to a team with a backup quarterback. Spielman could’ve surrendered, stockpiled draft picks – and maybe even fired head coach Mike Zimmer. But he did none of that.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”892632″ player=”26279″ title=”3%20New%20Orleans%20Saints%20quarterback%20options%20after%20Jameis%20Winston%20injury%20news” duration=”74″ description=”The New Orleans Saints were able to pull off a huge home win against the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.Unfortunately, it came at a rather major cost. Starting quarterback Jameis Winston exited the game with a knee injury early in the second quarter and didn’t return.After the game, Saints head coach Sean Payton told reporters that the injury was significant and potentially season-ending. Talk about a downer in New Orleans after a strong performance on the field.With Taysom Hill sidelined to a concussion, veteran journeyman Trevor Siemian replaced Winston under center. He played pretty well, completing 16-of-29 passes for 159 yards with a touchdown and zero interceptions. In no way does this mean Siemian is even a stopgap option for the 5-2 Saints.Meanwhile, rookie mid-round pick Ian Book is not anywhere near ready to see regular-season action. It’s in this that we look at three quarterback options for the Saints heading into Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline.” uploaddate=”2021-11-02″ thumbnailurl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/19437/thumb/https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/snapshot/892601.png” contentUrl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/streaming/892601/892601.m3u8″]
Zimmer’s job security is still very much dicey, but he did survive the gut-wrenching loss to Dallas. That is probably an indicator Spielman will allow the Vikings skipper to sink or swim in the final 10 weeks of 2021. Unless there is an extremely bizarre back-alley deal, it is close to assured Zimmer will be terminated if the Vikings fail to qualify for the postseason. He’s been in charge for eight seasons, and if the Vikings don’t totally revamp this season, the Zimmer brand of Vikings will have missed the playoffs in five out of eight seasons – which is inexcusable for an otherwise good coach.
The Vikings would’ve traded players like Anthony Barr, Xavier Woods, Bashaud Breeland, Sheldon Richardson, or Everson Griffen if they did not believe the playoffs were achievable. They didn’t do it. Spielman is granting Zimmer one final “playoff push” with this core group of players – a bunch that, on paper, should be winning ballgames.
So far in 2021, they’re losing more often than winning. And Zimmer will have to flip the win-loss record with a daunting slate of opponents. Up next for the Vikings is a rolling cross-country jaunt, seemingly every week: at Baltimore Ravens, at Los Angeles Chargers, home versus the Green Bay Packers, back west against the San Francisco 49ers. Then, a little relief sets in with a game at the Detroit Lions, a team that will have absolutely nothing to lose one month from now.
All the Vikings have to do is win without their best defensive player. Meanwhile, someone must get rid of the dink-and-dunk offensive playcalling approach because it ain’t working. If Hunter is reasonably replaced by someone like D.J. Wonnum or Patrick Jones II and the offense flashes back to its tendencies on display in Week 2 against the Arizona Cardinals, sure – the team can rebound.
Right now, though, that feels unlikely.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).