The Vikings Future, Offensive Woes & Trade…

I’m still trying to figure out how we can play that well defensively, even against a second-string QB, but one operating behind one of the best lines in the NFL, and lose after getting turnovers and pressures from our defense. And, how we didn’t get a touchdown late in the game when the Cowboys continued to get penalties, when we are close to the goal line and have three spectacular receivers. Thanks for listening as usual.

Well, as I’ve written in previous Mailbags, this is who the Vikings are. They are an average team, as their 3-4 record indicates.

And they are a team that doesn’t seem like they are going to be blown out in any game this season. But if you’re looking for a blowout or convincing win, I wouldn’t expect that either.

Defensively, the answer seems to be focused on the final stanzas of the fourth quarter. I wrote this in my postgame story on the defense, but it’s now three weeks in a row where Minnesota has allowed an opponent (Detroit, Carolina and Dallas) to score a last-minute touchdown.

Offensively, to use a Halloween reference, the game felt like watching a horror show. Minnesota converted on its first attempt on third down, but then didn’t move the chains on the next 12 tries for the rest of the game. You can’t even begin to make that stuff up.

And yes, to Brad’s point, the result of the second-to-last drive for the Vikings offense was maddening. The Cowboys were essentially trying to gift them a touchdown with a trio of personal foul calls.

But on first-and-goal from the 4, the ensuing three plays were a Dalvin Cook run for a loss of 4, a pass for minus-3 yards to Alexander Mattison and a 6-yard pass to Adam Thielen that felt close to being a disaster.

It all led to a 24-yard field goal instead of a touchdown. If you’re looking for a reason why the Vikings are 3-4, there it is.

Minnesota had a chance to put pressure on Dallas to score a touchdown and only tie the game. Instead, a failure at one end of the field (a field goal on a goal-to-goal scenario) leads to a failure on the other end of the field (a botched timeout, missed tackles on third-and-11 and a touchdown allowed).

Add it all up, and you get the 2021 Minnesota Vikings.