Hang the banner, Zygi! Paul Allen will be Master of Ceremonies on Wednesday morning as the Vikings throw a ticker tape parade after getting back to .500 with a win against the Packers yesterday. DON’T MISS IT!
In all seriousness, if the roles were reversed, I’d probably be whooping it up a bit this morning as well. The Vikings needed that win WAY more than the Packers did. I don’t think the eventual NFC North Championship for the Packers is in jeopardy in the slightest, but if you’re a Viking fan, you know you needed that win just to have a prayer. They got it done. Kirk Cousins made some remarkably good throws, and avoided the typical Kirk Cousins crippling interception, despite how hard he tried to throw one. If I’m an objective football fan, it was a VERY entertaining game. Back and forth, big plays, swings in momentum, and a walk off field goal. Luckily I’m not an objective football fan so let’s get to the Spin Zone:
- Hand Up:
- Last week’s entire blog was about how I finally decided to buy into the defense. ‘We’ve been fooled before but I think we have a big enough sample size at this point, blah blah blah yada yada yada, run on sentence, blah.’ They came into yesterday with the #3 ranked defense in the league, and proceed to put together one of their poorest efforts of the year. Now a part of that is injuries. 3rd and 4th string players aren’t going to give you the same type of play that Za’Darius, Jaire, or Rashan give you. And that last one hurt the most yesterday. Rashan Gary leads the league in pressures. They got next to no pressure against Kirk Cousins yesterday. Preston Smith had a nice game but that was about it. 3rd down defense was pretty poor too. Let’s hope this is primarily fueled by injuries and fatigue and not a ‘trembling water cup’ Jurassic Park moment.
- Also: Kirk Cousins made some fantastic throws yesterday. The other guys get paid too. There I said something nice.
- How Darnell Savage didn’t record a single interception yesterday I’ll never know.
- This Aaron Rodgers toe injury has the distinct feel of 2003 Brett Favre’e thumb. Always an issue, not going to keep him out of games, still playing at a high level, might limit him in some ways the rest of the season.
- Elgton Jenkins going down is a MASSIVE blow. All the reports I’ve seen so far just say, ‘team fears a torn ACL.’ They are being very evasive about David Bakhtiari’s status moving forward as well, so if he’s not coming back, and Jenkins is out for the year, that’s a pretty large issue. Especially with Josh Myers out as well. Rodgers’ ability to diagnose a defense and call audibles will help ease some pressure, but there will be breakdowns if all three of those guys are out.
- Rodgers and MVS are frequently out of sync on those deep balls, but when they are simpatico it is, *CHEF’S KISS*.
- Feels like AJ Dillon needed the ball more. He had 17 touches for 97 yards, so it wasn’t like he was totally forgotten about, but feed the Mayor of Door County more often.
- Mason Crosby: Felt like maybe that 54-yarder he hit on the opening drive would get him straitened out, only to doink a 33 yarder later in the game. Now 15/23 (65%) on the season. And a few weeks ago I think you could blame protection, and a new snapper, laces out, etc. But in the last two games it’s been just straight up misses. I don’t know what you do with him. A lot of people want him cut and for the Packers to go in a different direction, but what direction is that going to be? Practice squad kicker, JJ Molson? Do you really, TRULY, want JJ Molson on the field for an important field goal in a playoff game at Lambeau Field in January?? My heart says to stick with Mason. He’s the all time points leader in franchise history, a bonafide Packer HOFer, he’s hit the big kicks in playoff games, he’s hit game winners, I still think he gets it figured out. Full disclose: My heart can be an idiot sometimes.
Overall, a tough loss, but not one that should send the season into a spiral. Again: The Vikings were DESPERATE for that win. And they got it. The Cowboys lost as well, so that helps ease the pain a bit. The Cardinals won in Seattle so that gives them a 1 game lead on Green Bay at 9-2, but the Packers still have the tie-breaker there. If they can somehow beat LA at Lambeau this Sunday, secure the tie-breaker there, and hit the bye week at 9-3, nobody will remember this game in a few weeks. You hate losing division games, but this isn’t the end of the world.
PS: When Greg Joseph lined up for that game winning field goal, I was hoping, PRAYING to the sports gods that we’d get another Paul Allen heartbreak call:
