Vikings' Abysmal Defense Wastes a Great Kirk Cousins Game in 34-23 Loss to Lions
The Vikings' defense is officially a code red problem.
It probably already was, but Sunday's loss to the Lions made it clearer than ever. This Vikings team can't stop a nosebleed, and that makes it awfully hard to believe in them as a legitimate Super Bowl contender. This is now a 10-3 team with a negative point differential and more yards allowed than any of the other 31 franchises in the NFL.
For the fifth consecutive game, the Vikings gave up over 400 yards to their opponent. That's the first time in the history of the franchise that they've done that. Much like Mike White and Mac Jones and so many other quarterbacks before him, Jared Goff carved up Minnesota's secondary for 330 passing yards and three touchdowns. Including a 42-yard run on a fake punt — which is technically on the special teams phase and not the defense — the Lions racked up 464 total yards.
Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson were basically flawless, but it didn't matter because the Vikings' defense was nonexistent. A Dalvin Cook fumble on a designed running back jump pass inside the Lions' five was one of a few key plays that made the difference in a 31-23 Detroit victory. The Vikings are still going to clinch the NFC North — just not this week.
The game-sealing play summed everything up. Facing a third down after the two-minute warning, the Lions had right tackle Penei Sewell report as eligible and he was wide open for a nine-yard gain to all but wrap things up. A Michael Badgley field goal a few plays later ended things completely.
In previous weeks, the Vikings' defense made up for bleeding yardage by getting sacks, takeaways, and key stops on third down and in the red zone. That didn't happen on Sunday. The Lions converted seven times on third down, scored touchdowns on both of their red zone trips, and didn't turn the ball over once. Goff wasn't sacked all afternoon, either.
Playing without star safety Harrison Smith, the Vikings' secondary offered zero resistance to the Lions. Goff carved them up on first, second, and third down, throwing two long touchdown passes in the first half and converting several key third downs in the second half. The first touchdown pass was a coverage bust against rookie Jameson Williams. The second was just D.J. Chark beating Cameron Dantzler — making his return from injured reserve — on a go route.
In the third quarter, Josh Reynolds was wide open in the end zone for Goff's third touchdown pass of the game. That was a theme: Lions receivers getting wide open, particularly over the middle of the field. The Vikings clearly felt Smith's absence, but that's not a legitimate excuse for the way they defended. Ed Donatell's soft coverage looks have gotten shredded all year, and that was the case again in this game.
The Vikings' defense was so bad that it managed to waste a brilliant outing by Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson. Cousins was sharp all game after a unusually inaccurate performance against the Jets, completing 31 of 41 passes for 425 yards and two touchdowns without a turnover. Jefferson caught 11 passes for an incredible 223 yards, breaking Sammy White's 46-year-old franchise record for receiving yards in a single game. He should've had more, too, as it was incorrectly ruled that he stepped out of bounds on a big gain in the fourth quarter.
T.J. Hockenson, Adam Thielen, and K.J. Osborn each caught at least five passes, with Thielen and Osborn picking up touchdowns in the second half. The issue for the Vikings' offense is that it couldn't run the ball; Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison combined for 22 rushing yards on 17 carries, making the Vikings completely one-dimensional.
The Vikings' passing attack was incredible. The Vikings' defense was horrific. And as you might expect, the game came down to a few crucial plays working out in the Lions' favor.
There was a drive-ending drop by Hockenson in the second quarter. There was the Cook fumble shortly before halftime, which was the biggest swing of all. There was the Lions' fake punt. And all throughout the game, there was the Vikings' inability to come up with a big play on defense.
This loss drops the Vikings to 10-3. They can clinch the division with a win or a Lions loss at any point in the final four weeks of the season, but this result will leave a bad taste in their mouths. Getting a performance like that from Cousins and Jefferson and failing to capitalize on it will sting.
Unless something changes dramatically with the Vikings' defense before January rolls around, it's going to be tough to imagine this team making a run to the Super Bowl. We'll see how the Vikings respond when they return home to U.S. Bank Stadium to face the Colts on Saturday.
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