Vikings’ Loss in Cincy Was Backbreaking for One Reason
Dustin Baker
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Will the Minnesota Vikings still make the playoffs in 2023? Probably.
The club’s 6-3 conference record in the NFC makes upcoming Wildcard jostling + tiebreakers quite advantageous for the purple team — even after a melancholic loss at the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 15.
Vikings’ Loss in Cincy Was Backbreaking for One Reason
But that doesn’t erase the depressing nature of transgressions in Cincinnati. Minnesota’s 27-24 loss at the Bengals was backbreaking for one reason — Kevin O’Connell’s team had a two-score lead in the 4th Quarter and lost anyway.
Had the Bengals jumped all over the Vikings. one might’ve thought, “A hot home team is hungry today; it makes sense that they’re hitting on all cylinders. Such is life.”
Yet, that didn’t happen. Despite two bizarre turnovers, Minnesota hung tough via time of possession and even owned a 17-3 lead with 15 minutes to go. Just as fans bought into the Top 5 title of Brian Flores’ defense, the unit looked like the No. 25 defense, not No. 5, at the game’s most crucial hinge. For a backup quarterback, Nick Mullens did his damnedest, while Ty Chandler produced the most dominant and consistent game by a Vikings running back since 2021.
The defense just wasn’t in the mood to close out the game.
Aside from a win over the San Francisco 49ers in Week 7, nothing wonderful happens at the same time for the 2023 Vikings. When the defense strangles opponents, the offense can only manage three points. In flashes where the offense cooks, the defense rolls over and allows Jake Browning to effortlessly march up and down the field to erase a 14-point, late-game lead.
It’s one thing to be dominated by a team as the road opponent and live to fight another day. Coughing away a 17-3 advantage to a Joe Burrow-less Bengals club is demoralizing. The Vikings can’t win a game convincingly and rarely get their doors blown off. It’s always pins-and-needles madness, no matter the opponent.
Many will criticize O’Connell for back-to-back quarterback sneaks, which is fine. This is The Digital Age, and everyone has to call a person’s firing when they’re mad. Folks wanted Mullens benched after a second interception on Saturday. Folks wanted T.J. Hockenson benched two months ago after failing to haul in contested catches. Folks wanted O’Connell fired on Sunday. It never ends.
The same crowd would skewer O’Connell had he run the football on 4th and Inches if Ty Chander had been blown up in the backfield. “They only needed a few inches. Why not just sneak it?!?” You would’ve heard that all Saturday evening.
O’Connell said after the game, “Very unfortunate. You come on the road, and you battle a team that’s playing really well right now. I felt like we let one slip away, but I think you’ve gotta credit the Bengals getting their offense going there in the second half, and we didn’t capitalize on our last opportunity offensively there.”
He’s correct. For some reason, letting a 14-point lead slip away is a thousand times more disheartening than losing, say, 24-10.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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