Without answers on defense, Kirk Cousins left with no room for error against Chargers
MINNEAPOLIS — On the final drive of the Minnesota Vikings’ 28-24 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers at US Bank Stadium, Kirk Cousins missed a touchdown pass to KJ Osborn by a matter of inches. With 1:46 remaining and the Vikings down four points, he slightly overthrew his open receiver, who would have trotted into the end zone easily had the pass been on the money.
“Not a good throw,” a frustrated Cousins said after the game. “Got to put it on him, got to win the game with that throw.”
That miss didn’t cost the Vikings the game though. Cousins converted a fourth-and-5 pass to TJ Hockenson with 0:41 on the clock, setting them up at the 6-yard line with first-and-goal. But the clock kept ticking and ticking and ticking. Head coach Kevin O’Connell decided that running to the line of scrimmage would catch the Chargers off guard and they could get a favorable matchup because L.A. couldn’t substitute. With some type of headset issue between O’Connell and Cousins involved, it wasn’t until 0:12 left that Cousins took the snap.
In the waning moments, the veteran quarterback made a fine throw. His idea was to place the ball in an area where only TJ Hockenson could reach it so the result would either stop the clock with an incompletion or get the Vikings their first win of the season.
In only a way that a Vikings-Chargers game could possibly end, the ball bounced off two defenders’ hands and into the paws of linebacker Kenneth Murray to put the game on ice.
After the game, O’Connell said he should have called for the spike but was trying to be “aggressive.”
Cousins was asked why he didn’t just spike the ball anyway and he sharply said, “I could do anything I want. I can do the quarterback sneak. I can do whatever I want, but at the same time you also have to deal with the consequences. Against Buffalo last year I snuck it on my own and didn't get in, so until you know the future it's hard to know whether to take the reins or not, but I've done it before. I try not to make a habit of it, certainly.”
What a memorable feeling. Debates over whether a fumble or clock management or a drop or a penalty or whatever caused a crushing last-second loss may have disappeared in 2022 until the playoff loss against the Giants but they have been largely a staple of the Cousins era in Minnesota.
Just a few games that came to mind while watching Sunday’s contest:
— 2018 vs. the Packers, Cousins threw for 425 but Daniel Carlson missed three field goals and they tied
— 2018 vs. the Rams, Cousins threw for 422 but Jared Goff had a perfect QB rating and they lost 38-31
— In 2020 the Vikings lost to the Cowboys 31-28 despite a 140.1 QB rating for Cousins
— The Vikings started 0-2 in 2021 on two last-second losses despite 595 yards, 5 TD, 0 INTs from Cousins over the first two weeks
— They lost a 340 yarder from Cousins with 2 TDs by a 29-27 score against the lowly Lions
In each of those misery festivals, the Vikings had chances to win but came up just short due to some type standout moment that went against them. Whether it was a Cousins strip sack in ‘18 against the Rams or Cam Dantzler going too deep in the end zone vs. Detroit in ‘21.
Especially since the majority of key players from the No. 1 defense in 2017 left in 2020 they have not been able to put together a competitive defense. Only three teams have given up more points than the Vikings since 2020 (prior to Week 3 results) and many games along the way have followed this Sunday’s familiar pattern of Cousins tossing the ball around the yard in a duel with the opposing quarterback, who is facing little resistance from the Vikings defense.
Last year things went their way in the first nine weeks at the end of these types of shootouts. Since then they have five wins in 12 games and Cousins has gone over 270 yards passing nine times in that stretch.
“I think we have a lot of playmakers on this team,” Cousins said. “Thought Justin was his usual self. Thought T.J. (Hockenson) was great. Thought Jordan Addison was big time. He's going to become a big-time player in this league. Thought K.J. (Osborn) was outstanding. So I'm just going to continue to be a point guard distribute to those guys and try to get better doing that every week, but we've dug ourselves a hole and we got a long way to climb out.”
The Vikings hoped Brian Flores’s aggressive philosophy would be the answer to their woes from 2022. He brings the exact opposite approach from beleaguered ex-defensive coordinator Ed Donatell, who often seemed allergic to dialing up pressure. Flores’s defenses in 2020 and 2021 in Miami were unique, versatile, feared and respected. But even Flores couldn’t avoid the same old story coming to fruition.
His defense blitzed 82% of the time, per ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, and got smoked by Herbert. He completed 40 of 47 passes for 405 yards and was sacked just once. The star QB found receiver Keenan Allen 18 times on 20 targets and Allen mixed in a touchdown pass on a trick play.
“We're bringing pressures of different kinds with either fire zone or different types of coverages behind it, that's when it seems to me like Justin (Herbert) had quite a bit of time on some of those to sit in there and push the ball down the field when he wanted to, so that's where we just got to try to find a way to get home,” O’Connell said. “Hopefully we can get Marcus (Davenport) going at some point. I think that's been an element that we've been missing just his physicality and his versatility as a guy on all three downs.”
If one injury destroys all pass rush…
Anyway, this historic performance followed up the Vikings defense giving up over 250 yards rushing to the Eagles in a game where fumbles were the main story.
The Vikings’ offense wasn’t perfect in the loss to the Chargers. They fumbled on the first drive while cruising down the field. They kicked a field goal in the red zone early in the game. Ryan Wright punted three times.
But asking the offense to never miss in the red zone, never turn the ball over, never have a three-and-out, always manage the game correctly, always have an effective run game and always have Justin Jefferson rolling from the first drive of the game is unrealistic.
The Lions won on Sunday while punting six times and committing 10 penalties. The Packers won despite producing zero points on their first six drives.
There isn’t much room for that type of thing when the opposing passing game is averaging 9.1 yards per attempt. Or when it’s 10-7 Vikings and Herbert can smoothly lead a 10-play touchdown drive that covers 75 yards in 1:21 at the end of the first half. Or when Jefferson makes an all-world play for a 52-yard touchdown to take the lead and Herbert turns around and drives for a 75-yard TD in 3:15.
The Vikings can win some of these games. They beat the Bills, Patriots and Jets last year while giving up 400-plus yards. They also lost to the Cowboys, Lions and in the playoffs to the Giants that way. Their offense, with Jefferson at the center, is capable of matching anyone on a given day and coming back from any deficit but everything becomes a coin flip when no lead is safe and anyone can match them on a given day.
What’s the answer? Changing the scheme? Adding another player? Hoping the luck turns back their way?
Maybe the Panthers will fix what ails them. Andy Dalton took over under center for injured Bryce Young and averaged just 6.2 yards per pass attempt in a loss against Seattle, bringing Carolina to 0-3 on the year. But the Chiefs and 49ers aren’t far out on the schedule.
If something is going to change, it has to be on the defensive side. Otherwise they are going to look like the 4-12 Detroit team that saw Matthew Stafford throw for 4,900 yards and Calvin Johnson break the receiving record in 2012.
O’Connell, though, made a different comparison involving Stafford after the game.
“I will say I've been a part of a team before that's lost three in a row -- it wasn't the start of the season, but we lost three in a row and found a way to win a world championship,” O’Connell said, referring to the 2021 Rams. “I believe in this team. I believe in the makeup of this team. I believe in our leadership. I believe in our coaches, and we are going to continue to work… our backs are against the wall now.”
The 2021 Rams averaged 282 yards per game allowed in the playoffs, if you were wondering.
Related: 5 things that stood out in the Vikings' gut-wrenching loss to Chargers
Related: Kirk Cousins's bizarre explanation for meltdown in final seconds against Chargers
