Vikings Issued ‘C+ Grade’ for Sunday’s Performance

The Vikings missed several different opportunities in Week 16.

First, Minnesota’s 30-23 loss to Los Angeles meant the Vikings were booted from being in control of making the NFC Playoffs.

Minnesota also missed its fourth chance to get above .500 in 2021, as it is now 7-8 with two games left in the regular season.

And on a more micro level, the Vikings couldn’t take advantage of numerous chances within Sunday’s game, whether it was the offense in the red zone or the defense unable to haul in an extra interception or two.

The end result was a deflating loss in terms of playoff hopes, with Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports gave the Vikings a ‘C+ grade’ for their Week 16 performance.

They can’t be dinged too much considering they finished within one score and thoroughly disrupted Stafford for at least a half of action. Mike Zimmer’s “D” really looked poised to lead an upset at one point in the second half. Justin Jefferson was also reliable as usual, and Kirk Cousins never bowed out.

But the play-calling left quite a bit to be desired, especially in the red zone, too often forcing Cousins to make a big play on third down early. Alexander Mattison was both under-used and wrongly used at times. The defense, meanwhile, ultimately looked incapable of slowing the Rams ground game, and even the secondary that helped dominate Stafford early proved porous down the stretch.

Overall, it wasn’t an awful performance from any phase. But it just wasn’t good enough for this time of year when teams are making a push for the playoffs.