Injuries and Erratic Play Doom Vikings in Dublin
When I wasn’t enjoying the beautiful fall weather on Sunday, I was flipping channels between football and the Ryder Cup. I felt a similarity between the Vikings falling behind to the Steelers and trying to rally late, but falling short, with the same thing happening to the USA golfers.
Injuries mounted, and sloppy play doomed the Vikings in Dublin, as they fell to the Steelers in the NFL International Series with costly mistakes.
It was good to see no quit in either case, but the result was a painful loss, which was the Vikings’ first international defeat after four wins in previous overseas trips. For the Vikings, the injury factor and inconsistent play have now cost them the games against Atlanta and Pittsburgh.
Against the Falcons, eight starters were out and in Dublin on Sunday, seven starters were missing for most of the game, including three on the offensive line (Brian O’Neill, Ryan Kelly and Donovan Jackson) and two key defenders—Andrew Van Ginkel and Blake Cashman—along with RB Aaron Jones and QB J.J. McCarthy who probably wouldn’t have fared better than Wentz behind the O-line on Sunday unless he ran for a bunch of first downs.
Next up are the Browns and their No. 1-ranked defense, led by All-Pro DE Myles Garrett, who will be a handful for the offensive tackles and Carson Wentz after he was sacked six times by the Steelers.
The Vikings’ defense will need to play like they did in the blowout of the Bengals (five takeaways, two for touchdowns) to help the offense until the O-line returns to full strength, if that ever happens, especially given Kelly’s history of repeated concussions.
Reactions to the Vikings Loss to the Steelers
1. Never underestimate the injury factor in the NFL. I said before the season that one of the keys to a successful season was for the upgraded offensive line to stay healthy. That has not been the case in the first part of this season. Quality depth also is essential, and it’s questionable in the case of the O-linemen forced into action—Justin Skule at RT, Michael Jurgens at center, and Blake Brandel at LG–against the Steelers’ strong front seven.
The Vikings lost the two games Pro Bowl OLB Van Ginkel has missed, and Cashman is a critical player on defense as the team’s leading tackler last season and best cover linebacker. He likely would’ve been in a position to obstruct the 80-yard slant TD from Aaron Rodgers to DK Metcalf that was a huge play as the Steelers built their early lead.
The lack of draft picks in recent years is a contributing factor to the limited quality depth on the offensive line.
2. The Vikings’ defense needs to be more consistent and do a better job of carrying the team until the offense gets healthy (as they did against Cincinnati). The run defense, which was second-ranked last season, has been inconsistent and did not perform well in the losses to the Falcons (218 yards allowed) and Steelers (131 yards on the ground for a team that came into the game ranked 31st with 63 rushing yards per game).
It’s one thing for Pro Bowler Bijan Robinson to have a big game for the Falcons. Kenneth Gainwell has been a No. 2 back during his career in Philadelphia and now Pittsburgh, yet he ran for a career-best 99 yards and two touchdowns against the Vikings. That can’t happen.
Aaron Rodgers did a great job of getting the ball out quickly, so he was only sacked twice (both by rising star Jalen Redmond) and hit three times. Van Ginkel would’ve made a difference, but Jonathan Greenard and Dallas Turner must be more impactful on the pass rush than they were in Dublin.
The pass defense was awful on Metcalf’s long TD catch and run. There was poor tackling and a bad angle taken by Theo Jackson and Josh Metellus on the play.
3. Kevin O’Connell called an excellent first series with a lot of quick passes to Justin Jefferson. It was a great drive until Will Fries was called for illegal man downfield, nullifying a first-and-goal at the 6 and pushing the Vikings back to the Steelers’ 18, resulting in an eventual field goal. Wentz held the ball before being sacked on third down, and he missed a wide-open Justin Jefferson, who was open right away on the play. Jefferson would’ve coasted into the end zone.
With the injury issues on the O-line, O’Connell must call a lot of quick passes, and the Vikings need to get the run game going better. Josh Oliver needs to play more than the 21 snaps out of 76 (28%) to help in run blocking and pass protection, which will enable T.J. Hockenson to run more short and intermediate routes instead of staying in to block.
The Vikings need to start faster as they did in the first half against the Bengals. Wentz was forced to throw too often as he tried to rally the team. He passed for 191 yards in the fourth quarter, but too many sacks and an intentional grounding call were too costly.
4. Fries’ penalty was one of many critical mistakes as the Vikings remain one of the league’s most penalized teams (eight for 82 yards on Sunday, including several by the offense that set up third-and-long situations, and the Vikings finished 4 of 14 on third down).
Tavierre Thomas’ holding penalty wiped out a 54-yard kickoff return by Myles Price when the Vikings were trailing 21-6 in the third quarter. A three-and-out followed, giving the Steelers great field position, which set up the eventual deciding three points on a Chris Boswell field goal to go up 24-6.
There were also roughing calls on Byron Murphy and Dallas Turner that were undisciplined and extended the Steelers’ drives.
5. A big play that should have been a TD was in the late second quarter when Wentz did a nice job stepping up and finding Justin Jefferson on a 29-yard pass play in which Jefferson slipped as he tried to cut. He likely would’ve scored if he kept his footing. Was he wearing the right shoes? Was the turf up to NFL standards? But I didn’t see big slips by the Steelers receivers.
We also heard post-game that the play clocks in the end zone weren’t functional. That was part of the problem, as the costly delay of the game on the final drive for the Vikings contributed to the issue. Come on, NFL—get the logistics right in these international games!
6. The Vikings had many chances to get back in the game after they fell behind early. Isaiah Rodgers continues to be a playmaker as he blocked Boswell’s 30-yard field goal attempt late in the first half. The Vikings followed with an 81-yard drive to the Steelers’ 10 but had to settle for a field goal and a 14-6 halftime deficit.
7. The Vikings defense had a great fourth-down stop on a Gainwell run from the Vikings’ 3-yard line with 4:14 left. Murphy was credited with the tackle that kept it a 10-point game, and the Vikings followed with a TD drive highlighted by Jordan Addison’s 81-yard catch and run to the Steelers’ 1. It would’ve saved 38 seconds if Addison had scored on the play, as it took three more plays until Wentz hit Jalen Nailor with the fourth-down score.
8. After that TD, I didn’t like the Vikings’ decision to try an onside kick with 2:08 left, one timeout, and the two-minute warning to stop the clock. I would’ve liked a deep kick and trusting the defense to force a three-and-out, which they did. However, the field position would’ve been much better without the onside kick, which has a slim chance of succeeding (especially with the new rules requiring teams to declare an onside kick).
9. The last series showcased the Steelers’ pass rushers against the undermanned Vikings O-line. The disaster play occurred with 43 seconds left on the Vikings’ 39-yard line when Wentz was pressured by Nick Herbig (who beat Brandel on a stunt), resulting in an intentional grounding call that cost the Vikings 16 yards and a loss of down.
10. If the Vikings can get their O-line healthy at some point soon, the potential for the passing game is outstanding with either Wentz or J.J. McCarthy at QB, considering their weapons. Jefferson and Addison had 100+ yard games against the Steelers (Jefferson—10 receptions for 126 yards as he was finally targeted double-digit times with 11 but no targets on the final drive).
It would’ve been smart for Wentz to try a Buffalo-type jump ball to Jefferson on the final play that he threw incomplete to Addison.
In his return from suspension, Addison produced four catches for 114 yards but had a couple of drops. Add Hockenson going out for more passes and doing less blocking and Aaron Jones returning in a few weeks from IR and the weapons are clearly there (including Zavier Scott who did a great job as a receiving back in Jones’ role with six catches for 43 yards and a terrific toe-tapping 16-yard TD to make the score 24-14 in the middle of the fourth quarter).
Around the NFL Observations from Week 2
1. It was not a good Sunday for the Vikings regarding the NFC North race. Detroit beat Cleveland 34-10 with Jahmyr Gibbs rushing for 91 yards and one TD, Amon-Ra St. Brown catching two TD passes from Jared Godd (who only threw for 168 yards), and the Lions’ defense forcing three Joe Flacco turnovers. Kalif Raymond had a 65-yard punt return TD to blow the game open.
The Lions lead the division at 3-1 with the Packers at 2-1-1 after a wild 40-40 overtime tie in Dallas in the return of Micah Parsons to Big D (he had one sack and three tackles). Jordan Love threw for 337 yards and three TDs (all to Romeo Doubs), and Dak Prescott also had a big game with 319 passing yards and three TDs despite missing his best receiver–CeeDee Lamb.
The Bears improved to 2-2 with a 25-24 victory in Las Vegas as they blocked ex-Viking Daniel Carlson’s 54-yard attempted game-winner with 38 seconds left. The Bears’ D intercepted Geno Smith three times.
2. The Eagles and Bills are the only remaining unbeaten teams as they improved to 4-0. Philly won a close game in Tampa, 31-25, and Buffalo beat the lowly Saints, 31-19, as Josh Allen threw two TD passes and ran for a score.
Patrick Mahomes threw four TD passes as the Chiefs beat the injury-ravaged Ravens 37-20 in a battle of unexpected 1-2 teams. Kansas City was helped as the Giants dealt the Chargers their first loss with a 21-18 upset win in first-round QB Jaxson Dart’s initial start replacing Russell Wilson. Dart passed for only 111 yards with one TD and ran for a score, but didn’t turn it over, while the Giants’ D intercepted Justin Herbert twice.
In another upset, Jacksonville (now 3-1) had an impressive 26-21 road win at San Francisco, giving the 49ers their first defeat. The NFC West now has the Niners, Rams (who knocked off the previously unbeaten Colts 27-20), and Seahawks (who beat the Cardinals last Thursday) tied at 3-1. The 49ers are at the Rams this week on Thursday night, and Seattle hosts Tampa Bay on Sunday.
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