Vikings @ Commanders post game

[Texas Vike]

Previous to this week there was a fair bit of discussion about how fortune has been in our favor this season, balls were bouncing our way, opposing QBs were hurt at the right time, or we were catching a team at a good moment, etc. etc.

This week's game had one of the flukiest plays I've ever seen in the NFL, and luck was very much NOT in our favor. Curtis Samuel's long TD catch, which Heineke recklessly threw into triple coverage and was a guaranteed interception if the referee hadn't turned into a free safety and taken our DB out (was it Cam?), was BONKERS. It was the type of play that would have ruined our team's spirit in previous seasons. As a fan, in the past this kind of BS play would have convinced me immediately that it just wasn't our day ... that there was no way we'd overcome such sour luck. But when I saw it yesterday. I laughed, said a few choice words to no one in particular (my dog was interested, but didn't seem to understand), and thought, "OK, here's a test of adversity. Let's see if we can overcome it." And I felt pretty confident we would. And we did. Things just feel different this year.

Couple of other observations: 1) what is with our screen game? Why is it failing so badly? In theory, it should have worked against a ferocious Washington pass rush. But in practice, it always resulted in failure. Anybody who has coached/ played and who understands X's and O's well care to comment? Is our OL giving away what we're doing?

2) Our first drive was methodical and effective; JJ was dominant. They seemed to adjust after that and did a pretty good job disrupting JJ, who had one of his worst outings on the season, dropping a couple of balls that I feel like he would normally snag. Did they double up on him? St. Juste was draped over him pretty well. Thielen clearly looks hurt and KJ just isn't step forward like I'd expected him to. I feel like a WR is on the wish list this coming offseason. I wish we'd have taken Jameson Williams, honestly. We didn't really need him this year, and had the luxury to allow him to heal up and be a difference maker next season.

3) HOCK! He already showed why he was the perfect trade acquisition. A lot of us sensed he would quickly become a favorite target for Kirk, but I doubt many of us thought he'd get 9 catches in his first game, with 3 practices with the team prior to the game. Outstanding showing. I am so excited to have this guy.

I expect Buffalo to be fierce next week, having lost to the Jets. It's going to be a very tall test. Even if we don't win, I want to see us stay with them at the very least. We need to demonstrate that we can hang with the top teams of the league.

[VikingsVictorious]

Excellent write up joe .
I liked it. Good teams find ways to win

With you chi town. The next four weeks will tell.

Our one loss was to The Eagles. Number 1 power ratings

7 wins is great. But over bad teams as a whole. Miami the highest rated at 11 in power rankings that playing without there starting QBsTua. I believe a rookie QB.

Others wins being 18 Green Bay. To 28 Detroit. Green Bay will drop from the 18 as well as Chicago.

The good is we are beating the teams we should beat. Last year we lost those...

I agree chitown the next four weeks will say a lot.

Hopefully we are the good team that finds away to win

Team. Power ranking
Buffalo. 2
Cowboys. 4
New England 17
Jets 13

All higher than those we beat outside of Miami.

Ratings will change after today. FB will be lower than 18
Buffalo from 2 jets Vikings might move 4 to 3

I am not trying to be negative here. We struggled with every team we won. But we win.

I am not saying we lose the next four games... We go 2-2 we are still 9-3.

But if we were to lose all four can we contend in the playoffs?

I just don't understand why you would go there. Is it possible. Yeah............... But we're 7-1. It's incredibly unlikely we go on a 4 game losing streak. Think Positive. More like 4-0 or 3-1 over that stretch.

[J. Kapp 11]

Previous to this week there was a fair bit of discussion about how fortune has been in our favor this season, balls were bouncing our way, opposing QBs were hurt at the right time, or we were catching a team at a good moment, etc. etc.

This week's game had one of the flukiest plays I've ever seen in the NFL, and luck was very much NOT in our favor. Curtis Samuel's long TD catch, which Heineke recklessly threw into triple coverage and was a guaranteed interception if the referee hadn't turned into a free safety and taken our DB out (was it Cam?), was BONKERS. It was the type of play that would have ruined our team's spirit in previous seasons. As a fan, in the past this kind of BS play would have convinced me immediately that it just wasn't our day ... that there was no way we'd overcome such sour luck. But when I saw it yesterday. I laughed, said a few choice words to no one in particular (my dog was interested, but didn't seem to understand), and thought, "OK, here's a test of adversity. Let's see if we can overcome it." And I felt pretty confident we would. And we did. Things just feel different this year.

Couple of other observations: 1) what is with our screen game? Why is it failing so badly? In theory, it should have worked against a ferocious Washington pass rush. But in practice, it always resulted in failure. Anybody who has coached/ played and who understands X's and O's well care to comment? Is our OL giving away what we're doing?

2) Our first drive was methodical and effective; JJ was dominant. They seemed to adjust after that and did a pretty good job disrupting JJ, who had one of his worst outings on the season, dropping a couple of balls that I feel like he would normally snag. Did they double up on him? St. Juste was draped over him pretty well. Thielen clearly looks hurt and KJ just isn't step forward like I'd expected him to. I feel like a WR is on the wish list this coming offseason. I wish we'd have taken Jameson Williams, honestly. We didn't really need him this year, and had the luxury to allow him to heal up and be a difference maker next season.

3) HOCK! He already showed why he was the perfect trade acquisition. A lot of us sensed he would quickly become a favorite target for Kirk, but I doubt many of us thought he'd get 9 catches in his first game, with 3 practices with the team prior to the game. Outstanding showing. I am so excited to have this guy.

I expect Buffalo to be fierce next week, having lost to the Jets. It's going to be a very tall test. Even if we don't win, I want to see us stay with them at the very least. We need to demonstrate that we can hang with the top teams of the league.

Best quote maybe ever, from Cam Bynum:

"It’s just unfortunate. Running there, triple coverage, he throws up a duck and it’s an easy interception but the ref is somehow playing free safety better than me."

Buffalo is really, really banged up. It’s not a given that Josh Allen (throwing elbow) will play. So if we win, the media will have a built-in excuse to throw shade at the Vikings.

[VikingsVictorious]

Previous to this week there was a fair bit of discussion about how fortune has been in our favor this season, balls were bouncing our way, opposing QBs were hurt at the right time, or we were catching a team at a good moment, etc. etc.

This week's game had one of the flukiest plays I've ever seen in the NFL, and luck was very much NOT in our favor. Curtis Samuel's long TD catch, which Heineke recklessly threw into triple coverage and was a guaranteed interception if the referee hadn't turned into a free safety and taken our DB out (was it Cam?), was BONKERS. It was the type of play that would have ruined our team's spirit in previous seasons. As a fan, in the past this kind of BS play would have convinced me immediately that it just wasn't our day ... that there was no way we'd overcome such sour luck. But when I saw it yesterday. I laughed, said a few choice words to no one in particular (my dog was interested, but didn't seem to understand), and thought, "OK, here's a test of adversity. Let's see if we can overcome it." And I felt pretty confident we would. And we did. Things just feel different this year.

Couple of other observations: 1) what is with our screen game? Why is it failing so badly? In theory, it should have worked against a ferocious Washington pass rush. But in practice, it always resulted in failure. Anybody who has coached/ played and who understands X's and O's well care to comment? Is our OL giving away what we're doing?

2) Our first drive was methodical and effective; JJ was dominant. They seemed to adjust after that and did a pretty good job disrupting JJ, who had one of his worst outings on the season, dropping a couple of balls that I feel like he would normally snag. Did they double up on him? St. Juste was draped over him pretty well. Thielen clearly looks hurt and KJ just isn't step forward like I'd expected him to. I feel like a WR is on the wish list this coming offseason. I wish we'd have taken Jameson Williams, honestly. We didn't really need him this year, and had the luxury to allow him to heal up and be a difference maker next season.

3) HOCK! He already showed why he was the perfect trade acquisition. A lot of us sensed he would quickly become a favorite target for Kirk, but I doubt many of us thought he'd get 9 catches in his first game, with 3 practices with the team prior to the game. Outstanding showing. I am so excited to have this guy.

I expect Buffalo to be fierce next week, having lost to the Jets. It's going to be a very tall test. Even if we don't win, I want to see us stay with them at the very least. We need to demonstrate that we can hang with the top teams of the league.

Best quote maybe ever, from Cam Bynum:

"It’s just unfortunate. Running there, triple coverage, he throws up a duck and it’s an easy interception but the ref is somehow playing free safety better than me."

Buffalo is really, really banged up. It’s not a given that Josh Allen (throwing elbow) will play. So if we win, the media will have a built-in excuse to throw shade at the Vikings.

When we win I'll be totally OK with the media throwing shade at us.

[StanM]

In my time watching football since the late 50’s I have seen teams get on this kind of streak and ride it to a championship. I’ve got my concerns about position groups and specific players. If we have finally gotten our turn to ride one of those waves I don’t want to miss out on the ride because I’m conditioned to expect the worst.

This is kind of a tough year on us long time fans. Kind of don’t want to jump all the way into the bandwagon but don’t want to bah humbug my way through the season. Maybe we need a special support group for life long fans afraid to let go of the past. Good problem to have. They marched down the field like they weren’t going to be denied. We’re not used to that kind of confidence.

[VikingLord]

Already a lot of great observations from others on the game. I'll try to add a few more.

- When the Vikings struggle offensively, it really seems to be a combination of 2 things. First and foremost, the interior OL struggles. This shows up on the early downs when they are running for no gain or Cousins has to throw it away or even they're attempting to run a screen or another type of short throw to take advantage of the defense's aggressiveness on the early downs. They are getting into too many 3rd-and-longs, and they bog down and don't sustain drives. Second, we're seeing a lot of dropped balls IMHO. Some of them might be Kirk's fault with accuracy, but others are just being dropped. Not sure how to explain that either. Not a huge percentage of dropped passes, but just timely drops that are affecting drives that would otherwise continue. I'm not taking anything away from their opponents as the defenses they face obviously play a part in those struggles, but when the Vikings offense is clicking it is a thing of beauty, and when they're not clicking a large contributor to their struggles is their own failure to execute. I continue to hope as the season wears on they can fine tune things and start to make the blocks and plays that need to be made for this team to become a serious contender, because I believe the talent is there for them to be.

- The Vikings have an amazing punter. I've said that before and I'll keep saying it. With all the times the offense has failed to sustain drives so far this year, having a punter who can consistently pin opponents deep in their own territory and make the opposing offense continue to drive the length of the field over and over to have a chance to score has been as key to the 7-1 start IMHO as almost anything else the team has done. Field position is often overlooked as a contributor to the W-L record, but having a punter who can give the defense breathing room and bail the offense out of execution failures on it's side of the field is a big deal.

- I have to comment on the play where Bynum was knocked down by the ref. If the NFL calls pass plays back for offensive and defensive pass interference, why wouldn't they call such plays back for any type of interference? I don't think the ref intended to interfere on that play, but he clearly did, and the play could have been the difference between the Vikings winning and losing the game as there is no way that ball is completed, much less results in a score, if Bynum is unimpeded to the ball. I'm not saying there should be a penalty called on either team, but it seems only fair to replay the down in such situations. They are fairly rare (I can't recall a deep ball where that happened in all the decades I've watched pro football games), but the spirit of fairness would dictate that interference in general should not result in potentially game-changing plays like that. I think even Commander fans could agree with that in principle, because one time you benefit from a fluke play like that, while the next time a play like that might be the one to cost your team a game.

- I don't disagree with the decision by Cousins to try to hit JJ deep to score at the end of the first half. He was singled up and that's as favorable a matchup as the Vikings are going to get with JJ in a situation like that. More often than not JJ wins that battle and comes down with the ball. Bad break to have it batted up and another DB is right there to pick it, but I like the moxie and hope Kirk keeps that up as I think those types of throws are the ones the Vikings need to keep attempting. Give the WRs chances to make situational plays like that even if they are covered.

- Lastly, this was another game where I wasn't worried. Yeah, they got behind 17-7, but I felt like they were the better team and would prevail. As Kapp noted, Cousins is hanging in and making some amazing, key plays. That deep throw to JJ under pressure in the 4th was all-world. Ditto when Cousins dropped it in the bucket for Cook on the TD in the 4th. Cousins keeps that up, the Vikings will be in any game this year. Also, Hunter stepped up and had a good game too. Hope he starts heating up during the 2nd half of the season. Also a shout out to Evans. Natural CB. Makes plays and shows the fundamentals. I like Dantzler, but it is great to see the Vikings have some CB depth and know if they have to go to the well they can bring in Evans and not skip a beat.

Hopefully the Vikings go to the Bills and finally have the game where they put it all together, both to keep things rolling, but also to finally shut up everyone who keeps saying they haven't beaten anybody good yet. While technically true, just look at how the better teams are faring this year. A couple of comfortable wins for a few teams while everyone else is in a dogfight. Vikings are sticking together and winning tough games. I don't care what anyone says about the records or whatnot - any team in the NFL can lose on any given Sunday to any opponent, especially when some of the key breaks go against them. The Vikings are finding ways to win in all situations this year, and that is a rare thing, plus they still haven't put it all together yet for a complete game. I hope after they beat the Bills some of that doubt and negativity will disappear.

[VikingsFan84]

Already a lot of great observations from others on the game. I'll try to add a few more.

- When the Vikings struggle offensively, it really seems to be a combination of 2 things. First and foremost, the interior OL struggles. This shows up on the early downs when they are running for no gain or Cousins has to throw it away or even they're attempting to run a screen or another type of short throw to take advantage of the defense's aggressiveness on the early downs. They are getting into too many 3rd-and-longs, and they bog down and don't sustain drives. Second, we're seeing a lot of dropped balls IMHO. Some of them might be Kirk's fault with accuracy, but others are just being dropped. Not sure how to explain that either. Not a huge percentage of dropped passes, but just timely drops that are affecting drives that would otherwise continue. I'm not taking anything away from their opponents as the defenses they face obviously play a part in those struggles, but when the Vikings offense is clicking it is a thing of beauty, and when they're not clicking a large contributor to their struggles is their own failure to execute. I continue to hope as the season wears on they can fine tune things and start to make the blocks and plays that need to be made for this team to become a serious contender, because I believe the talent is there for them to be.

- The Vikings have an amazing punter. I've said that before and I'll keep saying it. With all the times the offense has failed to sustain drives so far this year, having a punter who can consistently pin opponents deep in their own territory and make the opposing offense continue to drive the length of the field over and over to have a chance to score has been as key to the 7-1 start IMHO as almost anything else the team has done. Field position is often overlooked as a contributor to the W-L record, but having a punter who can give the defense breathing room and bail the offense out of execution failures on it's side of the field is a big deal.

- I have to comment on the play where Bynum was knocked down by the ref. If the NFL calls pass plays back for offensive and defensive pass interference, why wouldn't they call such plays back for any type of interference? I don't think the ref intended to interfere on that play, but he clearly did, and the play could have been the difference between the Vikings winning and losing the game as there is no way that ball is completed, much less results in a score, if Bynum is unimpeded to the ball. I'm not saying there should be a penalty called on either team, but it seems only fair to replay the down in such situations. They are fairly rare (I can't recall a deep ball where that happened in all the decades I've watched pro football games), but the spirit of fairness would dictate that interference in general should not result in potentially game-changing plays like that. I think even Commander fans could agree with that in principle, because one time you benefit from a fluke play like that, while the next time a play like that might be the one to cost your team a game.

- I don't disagree with the decision by Cousins to try to hit JJ deep to score at the end of the first half. He was singled up and that's as favorable a matchup as the Vikings are going to get with JJ in a situation like that. More often than not JJ wins that battle and comes down with the ball. Bad break to have it batted up and another DB is right there to pick it, but I like the moxie and hope Kirk keeps that up as I think those types of throws are the ones the Vikings need to keep attempting. Give the WRs chances to make situational plays like that even if they are covered.

- Lastly, this was another game where I wasn't worried. Yeah, they got behind 17-7, but I felt like they were the better team and would prevail. As Kapp noted, Cousins is hanging in and making some amazing, key plays. That deep throw to JJ under pressure in the 4th was all-world. Ditto when Cousins dropped it in the bucket for Cook on the TD in the 4th. Cousins keeps that up, the Vikings will be in any game this year. Also, Hunter stepped up and had a good game too. Hope he starts heating up during the 2nd half of the season. Also a shout out to Evans. Natural CB. Makes plays and shows the fundamentals. I like Dantzler, but it is great to see the Vikings have some CB depth and know if they have to go to the well they can bring in Evans and not skip a beat.

Hopefully the Vikings go to the Bills and finally have the game where they put it all together, both to keep things rolling, but also to finally shut up everyone who keeps saying they haven't beaten anybody good yet. While technically true, just look at how the better teams are faring this year. A couple of comfortable wins for a few teams while everyone else is in a dogfight. Vikings are sticking together and winning tough games. I don't care what anyone says about the records or whatnot - any team in the NFL can lose on any given Sunday to any opponent, especially when some of the key breaks go against them. The Vikings are finding ways to win in all situations this year, and that is a rare thing, plus they still haven't put it all together yet for a complete game. I hope after they beat the Bills some of that doubt and negativity will disappear.

Vikings have put a complete game against the Packers in a blowout win

[VikingLord]

T.J Hockenson
What in the world? How does a guy come in with only THREE DAYS of practice, and come away with NINE receptions? Only one way ... he's a STUD. Look, I'm an Iowa guy, so I admit that I'm biased. But Hockenson was the guy I hoped would somehow fall to the Vikings when he was drafted in 2019 because I knew how much of a beast he was. This guy is almost a spot-on match for Travis Kelce ... height, weight, 40 time, hands, etc. He can jump, he can run after the catch, and he's smart. In the right offense, which I believe he's in now, he has the ability to become an all-pro. The Lions may well be the dumbest organization in the history of football. They've made some boneheaded moves. This one takes the cake.

I've got to second this sentiment. Hockenson didn't just get in the game, he made a substantial contribution to the outcome. Best of all, he's got some of the best hands I've ever seen for a TE. I realize he's a big target and very athletic, but he just Hoover's up the ball when it is near him. Really excited to see what he can bring to the offense once he's gotten the full playbook under his belt.

For the record, I would have loved the Vikings to snag Hockenson in the 2019 draft too, but I wasn't surprised to see him go where he went and knew that would have been a miracle for the Vikings to get him that year.

But the fact the Vikings got him this year at this point in the season I take as just another sign that this is going to be a special year for the Vikings. I mean, talk about luck being on our side - the Vikings lose Irv Smith, and somehow manage to gain a top 10 talent who not only gets on the field after just 3 days of being with the Vikings, but substantially contributes. That just shouldn't be possible, and yet, it happened, and I don't see how Hockenson doesn't become one of Kirk's favorite targets very soon. I like Irv Smith, but Hockenson is better. He's going to make some big plays for this offense.

[phantom]

Already a lot of great observations from others on the game. I'll try to add a few more.

- When the Vikings struggle offensively, it really seems to be a combination of 2 things. First and foremost, the interior OL struggles. This shows up on the early downs when they are running for no gain or Cousins has to throw it away or even they're attempting to run a screen or another type of short throw to take advantage of the defense's aggressiveness on the early downs. They are getting into too many 3rd-and-longs, and they bog down and don't sustain drives. Second, we're seeing a lot of dropped balls IMHO. Some of them might be Kirk's fault with accuracy, but others are just being dropped. Not sure how to explain that either. Not a huge percentage of dropped passes, but just timely drops that are affecting drives that would otherwise continue. I'm not taking anything away from their opponents as the defenses they face obviously play a part in those struggles, but when the Vikings offense is clicking it is a thing of beauty, and when they're not clicking a large contributor to their struggles is their own failure to execute. I continue to hope as the season wears on they can fine tune things and start to make the blocks and plays that need to be made for this team to become a serious contender, because I believe the talent is there for them to be.

- The Vikings have an amazing punter. I've said that before and I'll keep saying it. With all the times the offense has failed to sustain drives so far this year, having a punter who can consistently pin opponents deep in their own territory and make the opposing offense continue to drive the length of the field over and over to have a chance to score has been as key to the 7-1 start IMHO as almost anything else the team has done. Field position is often overlooked as a contributor to the W-L record, but having a punter who can give the defense breathing room and bail the offense out of execution failures on it's side of the field is a big deal.

- I have to comment on the play where Bynum was knocked down by the ref. If the NFL calls pass plays back for offensive and defensive pass interference, why wouldn't they call such plays back for any type of interference? I don't think the ref intended to interfere on that play, but he clearly did, and the play could have been the difference between the Vikings winning and losing the game as there is no way that ball is completed, much less results in a score, if Bynum is unimpeded to the ball. I'm not saying there should be a penalty called on either team, but it seems only fair to replay the down in such situations. They are fairly rare (I can't recall a deep ball where that happened in all the decades I've watched pro football games), but the spirit of fairness would dictate that interference in general should not result in potentially game-changing plays like that. I think even Commander fans could agree with that in principle, because one time you benefit from a fluke play like that, while the next time a play like that might be the one to cost your team a game.

- I don't disagree with the decision by Cousins to try to hit JJ deep to score at the end of the first half. He was singled up and that's as favorable a matchup as the Vikings are going to get with JJ in a situation like that. More often than not JJ wins that battle and comes down with the ball. Bad break to have it batted up and another DB is right there to pick it, but I like the moxie and hope Kirk keeps that up as I think those types of throws are the ones the Vikings need to keep attempting. Give the WRs chances to make situational plays like that even if they are covered.

- Lastly, this was another game where I wasn't worried. Yeah, they got behind 17-7, but I felt like they were the better team and would prevail. As Kapp noted, Cousins is hanging in and making some amazing, key plays. That deep throw to JJ under pressure in the 4th was all-world. Ditto when Cousins dropped it in the bucket for Cook on the TD in the 4th. Cousins keeps that up, the Vikings will be in any game this year. Also, Hunter stepped up and had a good game too. Hope he starts heating up during the 2nd half of the season. Also a shout out to Evans. Natural CB. Makes plays and shows the fundamentals. I like Dantzler, but it is great to see the Vikings have some CB depth and know if they have to go to the well they can bring in Evans and not skip a beat.

Hopefully the Vikings go to the Bills and finally have the game where they put it all together, both to keep things rolling, but also to finally shut up everyone who keeps saying they haven't beaten anybody good yet. While technically true, just look at how the better teams are faring this year. A couple of comfortable wins for a few teams while everyone else is in a dogfight. Vikings are sticking together and winning tough games. I don't care what anyone says about the records or whatnot - any team in the NFL can lose on any given Sunday to any opponent, especially when some of the key breaks go against them. The Vikings are finding ways to win in all situations this year, and that is a rare thing, plus they still haven't put it all together yet for a complete game. I hope after they beat the Bills some of that doubt and negativity will disappear.

Is there a test later?

[Cliff]

[J. Kapp 11]

Already a lot of great observations from others on the game. I'll try to add a few more.

- When the Vikings struggle offensively, it really seems to be a combination of 2 things. First and foremost, the interior OL struggles. This shows up on the early downs when they are running for no gain or Cousins has to throw it away or even they're attempting to run a screen or another type of short throw to take advantage of the defense's aggressiveness on the early downs. They are getting into too many 3rd-and-longs, and they bog down and don't sustain drives. Second, we're seeing a lot of dropped balls IMHO. Some of them might be Kirk's fault with accuracy, but others are just being dropped. Not sure how to explain that either. Not a huge percentage of dropped passes, but just timely drops that are affecting drives that would otherwise continue. I'm not taking anything away from their opponents as the defenses they face obviously play a part in those struggles, but when the Vikings offense is clicking it is a thing of beauty, and when they're not clicking a large contributor to their struggles is their own failure to execute. I continue to hope as the season wears on they can fine tune things and start to make the blocks and plays that need to be made for this team to become a serious contender, because I believe the talent is there for them to be.

- The Vikings have an amazing punter. I've said that before and I'll keep saying it. With all the times the offense has failed to sustain drives so far this year, having a punter who can consistently pin opponents deep in their own territory and make the opposing offense continue to drive the length of the field over and over to have a chance to score has been as key to the 7-1 start IMHO as almost anything else the team has done. Field position is often overlooked as a contributor to the W-L record, but having a punter who can give the defense breathing room and bail the offense out of execution failures on it's side of the field is a big deal.

- I have to comment on the play where Bynum was knocked down by the ref. If the NFL calls pass plays back for offensive and defensive pass interference, why wouldn't they call such plays back for any type of interference? I don't think the ref intended to interfere on that play, but he clearly did, and the play could have been the difference between the Vikings winning and losing the game as there is no way that ball is completed, much less results in a score, if Bynum is unimpeded to the ball. I'm not saying there should be a penalty called on either team, but it seems only fair to replay the down in such situations. They are fairly rare (I can't recall a deep ball where that happened in all the decades I've watched pro football games), but the spirit of fairness would dictate that interference in general should not result in potentially game-changing plays like that. I think even Commander fans could agree with that in principle, because one time you benefit from a fluke play like that, while the next time a play like that might be the one to cost your team a game.

- I don't disagree with the decision by Cousins to try to hit JJ deep to score at the end of the first half. He was singled up and that's as favorable a matchup as the Vikings are going to get with JJ in a situation like that. More often than not JJ wins that battle and comes down with the ball. Bad break to have it batted up and another DB is right there to pick it, but I like the moxie and hope Kirk keeps that up as I think those types of throws are the ones the Vikings need to keep attempting. Give the WRs chances to make situational plays like that even if they are covered.

- Lastly, this was another game where I wasn't worried. Yeah, they got behind 17-7, but I felt like they were the better team and would prevail. As Kapp noted, Cousins is hanging in and making some amazing, key plays. That deep throw to JJ under pressure in the 4th was all-world. Ditto when Cousins dropped it in the bucket for Cook on the TD in the 4th. Cousins keeps that up, the Vikings will be in any game this year. Also, Hunter stepped up and had a good game too. Hope he starts heating up during the 2nd half of the season. Also a shout out to Evans. Natural CB. Makes plays and shows the fundamentals. I like Dantzler, but it is great to see the Vikings have some CB depth and know if they have to go to the well they can bring in Evans and not skip a beat.

Hopefully the Vikings go to the Bills and finally have the game where they put it all together, both to keep things rolling, but also to finally shut up everyone who keeps saying they haven't beaten anybody good yet. While technically true, just look at how the better teams are faring this year. A couple of comfortable wins for a few teams while everyone else is in a dogfight. Vikings are sticking together and winning tough games. I don't care what anyone says about the records or whatnot - any team in the NFL can lose on any given Sunday to any opponent, especially when some of the key breaks go against them. The Vikings are finding ways to win in all situations this year, and that is a rare thing, plus they still haven't put it all together yet for a complete game. I hope after they beat the Bills some of that doubt and negativity will disappear.

Love your comment about Wright. He’s been a machine putting the ball inside the 20, but yesterday he didn’t have a lot of opportunity for that. But he’s got such a big leg, and yesterday I was amazed at how many times he absolutely flipped the field with bombs. At times he seemed to outkick his coverage, but when the play was over, the Vikings would still net 45-50 yards even with a 10-yard return. He’s a serious weapon.

Honestly, long-term I think Evans will be more than depth. The fact that he’s ahead of the more ballyhooed Andrew Booth on the depth chart speaks to both his ability and his preparation. I knew absolutely nothing about him when the Vikes drafted him, but the draftniks on ESPN and NFLN loved the pick when the Vikings made it. Hats off to Kwesi and the Vikings scouting department for seeing the potential.

Finally, I know a lot of people wanted Harbaugh to get the HC job, but honest to goodness, the Vikings struck gold with KOC. He’s got this team, beaten and battered from the past two years, believing they’re a championship-caliber team. He’s obviously a great offensive mind, but he’s so much more. Just the fact that Kirk Cousins is leading the team in big moments speaks volumes to his ability to get the best out of his men. He’s another one that when people said his name last winter as a potential candidate, I thought, “Who?” Well, we know who he is now!

I thought 2017 was fun. This season, at least to this point, is on another level. And seeing the Packers in absolute free-fall … that just makes it all the better!

Love this team.

[VikingsFan84]

Already a lot of great observations from others on the game. I'll try to add a few more.

- When the Vikings struggle offensively, it really seems to be a combination of 2 things. First and foremost, the interior OL struggles. This shows up on the early downs when they are running for no gain or Cousins has to throw it away or even they're attempting to run a screen or another type of short throw to take advantage of the defense's aggressiveness on the early downs. They are getting into too many 3rd-and-longs, and they bog down and don't sustain drives. Second, we're seeing a lot of dropped balls IMHO. Some of them might be Kirk's fault with accuracy, but others are just being dropped. Not sure how to explain that either. Not a huge percentage of dropped passes, but just timely drops that are affecting drives that would otherwise continue. I'm not taking anything away from their opponents as the defenses they face obviously play a part in those struggles, but when the Vikings offense is clicking it is a thing of beauty, and when they're not clicking a large contributor to their struggles is their own failure to execute. I continue to hope as the season wears on they can fine tune things and start to make the blocks and plays that need to be made for this team to become a serious contender, because I believe the talent is there for them to be.

- The Vikings have an amazing punter. I've said that before and I'll keep saying it. With all the times the offense has failed to sustain drives so far this year, having a punter who can consistently pin opponents deep in their own territory and make the opposing offense continue to drive the length of the field over and over to have a chance to score has been as key to the 7-1 start IMHO as almost anything else the team has done. Field position is often overlooked as a contributor to the W-L record, but having a punter who can give the defense breathing room and bail the offense out of execution failures on it's side of the field is a big deal.

- I have to comment on the play where Bynum was knocked down by the ref. If the NFL calls pass plays back for offensive and defensive pass interference, why wouldn't they call such plays back for any type of interference? I don't think the ref intended to interfere on that play, but he clearly did, and the play could have been the difference between the Vikings winning and losing the game as there is no way that ball is completed, much less results in a score, if Bynum is unimpeded to the ball. I'm not saying there should be a penalty called on either team, but it seems only fair to replay the down in such situations. They are fairly rare (I can't recall a deep ball where that happened in all the decades I've watched pro football games), but the spirit of fairness would dictate that interference in general should not result in potentially game-changing plays like that. I think even Commander fans could agree with that in principle, because one time you benefit from a fluke play like that, while the next time a play like that might be the one to cost your team a game.

- I don't disagree with the decision by Cousins to try to hit JJ deep to score at the end of the first half. He was singled up and that's as favorable a matchup as the Vikings are going to get with JJ in a situation like that. More often than not JJ wins that battle and comes down with the ball. Bad break to have it batted up and another DB is right there to pick it, but I like the moxie and hope Kirk keeps that up as I think those types of throws are the ones the Vikings need to keep attempting. Give the WRs chances to make situational plays like that even if they are covered.

- Lastly, this was another game where I wasn't worried. Yeah, they got behind 17-7, but I felt like they were the better team and would prevail. As Kapp noted, Cousins is hanging in and making some amazing, key plays. That deep throw to JJ under pressure in the 4th was all-world. Ditto when Cousins dropped it in the bucket for Cook on the TD in the 4th. Cousins keeps that up, the Vikings will be in any game this year. Also, Hunter stepped up and had a good game too. Hope he starts heating up during the 2nd half of the season. Also a shout out to Evans. Natural CB. Makes plays and shows the fundamentals. I like Dantzler, but it is great to see the Vikings have some CB depth and know if they have to go to the well they can bring in Evans and not skip a beat.

Hopefully the Vikings go to the Bills and finally have the game where they put it all together, both to keep things rolling, but also to finally shut up everyone who keeps saying they haven't beaten anybody good yet. While technically true, just look at how the better teams are faring this year. A couple of comfortable wins for a few teams while everyone else is in a dogfight. Vikings are sticking together and winning tough games. I don't care what anyone says about the records or whatnot - any team in the NFL can lose on any given Sunday to any opponent, especially when some of the key breaks go against them. The Vikings are finding ways to win in all situations this year, and that is a rare thing, plus they still haven't put it all together yet for a complete game. I hope after they beat the Bills some of that doubt and negativity will disappear.

Love your comment about Wright. He’s been a machine putting the ball inside the 20, but yesterday he didn’t have a lot of opportunity for that. But he’s got such a big leg, and yesterday I was amazed at how many times he absolutely flipped the field with bombs. At times he seemed to outkick his coverage, but when the play was over, the Vikings would still net 45-50 yards even with a 10-yard return. He’s a serious weapon.

Honestly, long-term I think Evans will be more than depth. The fact that he’s ahead of the more ballyhooed Andrew Booth on the depth chart speaks to both his ability and his preparation. I knew absolutely nothing about him when the Vikes drafted him, but the draftniks on ESPN and NFLN loved the pick when the Vikings made it. Hats off to Kwesi and the Vikings scouting department for seeing the potential.

Finally, I know a lot of people wanted Harbaugh to get the HC job, but honest to goodness, the Vikings struck gold with KOC. He’s got this team, beaten and battered from the past two years, believing they’re a championship-caliber team. He’s obviously a great offensive mind, but he’s so much more. Just the fact that Kirk Cousins is leading the team in big moments speaks volumes to his ability to get the best out of his men. He’s another one that when people said his name last winter as a potential candidate, I thought, “Who?” Well, we know who he is now!

I thought 2017 was fun. This season, at least to this point, is on another level. And seeing the Packers in absolute free-fall … that just makes it all the better!

Love this team.

I never wanted Harbaugh, he is a jerk and a crybaby, I prefer John but thankfully Vikings dodged a bullet

[IIsweet]

Love your comment about Wright. He’s been a machine putting the ball inside the 20, but yesterday he didn’t have a lot of opportunity for that. But he’s got such a big leg, and yesterday I was amazed at how many times he absolutely flipped the field with bombs. At times he seemed to outkick his coverage, but when the play was over, the Vikings would still net 45-50 yards even with a 10-yard return. He’s a serious weapon.

Honestly, long-term I think Evans will be more than depth. The fact that he’s ahead of the more ballyhooed Andrew Booth on the depth chart speaks to both his ability and his preparation. I knew absolutely nothing about him when the Vikes drafted him, but the draftniks on ESPN and NFLN loved the pick when the Vikings made it. Hats off to Kwesi and the Vikings scouting department for seeing the potential.

Finally, I know a lot of people wanted Harbaugh to get the HC job, but honest to goodness, the Vikings struck gold with KOC. He’s got this team, beaten and battered from the past two years, believing they’re a championship-caliber team. He’s obviously a great offensive mind, but he’s so much more. Just the fact that Kirk Cousins is leading the team in big moments speaks volumes to his ability to get the best out of his men. He’s another one that when people said his name last winter as a potential candidate, I thought, “Who?” Well, we know who he is now!

I thought 2017 was fun. This season, at least to this point, is on another level. And seeing the Packers in absolute free-fall … that just makes it all the better!

Love this team.

I am enjoying the ride with you Kapp. I was all in on KAM and KOC, just because of the different generations that the previous regime is from. I love how KAM talks about what analytics are important in drafting particular players. He looks for the size, length, ratios and explosive speed. KOC is just a cool customer and I like how he brings the "fun" out of the players. Much the way that McVay and Pete Carroll do. I like that he is a QB and sees the game from that standpoint.

[quiznut1]

Hopefully the Vikings go to the Bills and finally have the game where they put it all together, both to keep things rolling, but also to finally shut up everyone who keeps saying they haven't beaten anybody good yet.

I don't know if it's so much the Vikes haven't beat anybody good yet, but the way it's seemed like a dog fight (except week 1) to get wins against arguably sub-par teams.

I think we can all be very pleased with the end result in 7-1 (me too!).

However, in my mind, this team has yet to convincingly assert their will on an opponent for an entire 60 minutes. I'm not meaning blowing out teams, but at least playing to a level that you can confidently see they will likely win during the game.

I've heard it can be better for a team to play a little sub-par during the season, then hit their stride and peak come playoff time.
I'd love to see that, and I'll take that over peaking too early and ultimately losing in the playoffs (aka 2007 Patriots).

We'll see what happens in the next 2 weeks against BUF and DAL - I think these will be great tests for this team, and for us to assess where they're really at overall.

[Foreman44]

Excellent write up joe .
I liked it. Good teams find ways to win

With you chi town. The next four weeks will tell.

Our one loss was to The Eagles. Number 1 power ratings

7 wins is great. But over bad teams as a whole. Miami the highest rated at 11 in power rankings that playing without there starting QBsTua. I believe a rookie QB.

Others wins being 18 Green Bay. To 28 Detroit. Green Bay will drop from the 18 as well as Chicago.

The good is we are beating the teams we should beat. Last year we lost those...

I agree chitown the next four weeks will say a lot.

Hopefully we are the good team that finds away to win

Team. Power ranking
Buffalo. 2
Cowboys. 4
New England 17
Jets 13

All higher than those we beat outside of Miami.

Ratings will change after today. FB will be lower than 18
Buffalo from 2 jets Vikings might move 4 to 3

I am not trying to be negative here. We struggled with every team we won. But we win.

I am not saying we lose the next four games... We go 2-2 we are still 9-3.

But if we were to lose all four can we contend in the playoffs?

I just don't understand why you would go there. Is it possible. Yeah............... But we're 7-1. It's incredibly unlikely we go on a 4 game losing streak. Think Positive. More like 4-0 or 3-1 over that stretch.

I am not trying to be negative. Just saying th e next four games will show us how good.

If Allen doesn’t start buffalo will be a little better'
For us, But I hope he does, Cowboys, jets will be just as hard. New England tough... would love to see us 3- 1.. it will take the question out of it,

I drank the Purple kool aid a lot of yrs. We could easily have 3-4 losses as. Well. I am hoping for Coca Cola. The real thing