Vikings Loss to Rams Epitomized 2021 Season

The Vikings had chances against the Rams Sunday, including three forced turnovers by the defense, but ultimately didn’t capitalize.

Minnesota fell 30-23 to L.A., and the NFC loss dropped the Vikings playoff chances to the low teens.

Arif Hasan of The Athletic said the Vikings outing against the Rams epitomized their 2021 season: “filled with potential but replete with missed opportunities.” He wrote:

Their 30-23 loss to the Rams featured chance after chance to take control of the game and put together a defining win en route to the playoffs, but they squandered the breaks they created. The Vikings entered the matchup with a lot on the line. Had they won, they would have given themselves better than a 50 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to nearly every projection system. A loss would put their odds of making the playoffs between 10 and 16 percent.

That kind of high-leverage matchup wasn’t just an opportunity to more seriously enter the playoff conversation, but to finally get above .500 for the first time since the end of 2019.

Hasan pointed out that against the Rams, Minnesota won the yards-per-play battle, the turnover battle and the field-position battle.  

But it isn’t a surprise that they lost, nor were there many moments in the game when one could say they were in control. At the most important points, they faltered. They converted 17 percent of their third-down attempts, earned touchdowns on only 40 percent of their red zone trips and gave up 37 yards on a third-and-6 with seven minutes to go, salting away the game.

Sunday’s most memorable image — a ball falling through the hands of a Vikings player — is a good metaphor for the Vikings season, with leads slipping through [Head Coach] Mike Zimmer’s fingers.

The Vikings have now played in 14 one-score games this season, which is tied for a league record. Minnesota is 6-8 in those contests.