The Minnesota Vikings were overall the better team on Sunday, but struggled to finish drives in a 20-17 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The mistakes came early and often for the Vikings, with three major ones coming at the hands of Kirk Cousins. Despite throwing for 273 yards and a touchdown, Cousins fumbled inside his own 30, on third down in field goal range and threw an interception during the two-minute drill with a pass behind wide receiver K.J. Osborn. He finished the game 33-of-44 for 344 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
Justin Jefferson showed out in a big way for the Vikings. In the first half alone, Jefferson caught seven passes for 138 yards. That was his 25th overall 100-yard game and a league-best 12th half with 100+ receiving yards since he entered the league in 2020. He finished the game with nine receptions for 150 yards.
His presence ended up springing wide receiver Jordan Addison for his first NFL touchdown on a 39-yard post route. He looked the part in his NFL debut, catching four passes for 61 yards and a touchdown.
Early returns on the Brian Flores defense were really good. They allowed just 90 yards in the first half and just 242 overall. When it mattered the most, the Vikings defense couldn’t make a stop when they needed to, as Flores’ halftime adjustments didn’t work.
The theme of this game was mistakes. The three Vikings turnovers gave the Buccaneers three points and took potentially 14 points off the board for the purple and gold. Pair that with Jay Ward’s offsides that turned a Buccaneers field goal into a touchdown and the Vikings have quite a bit to clean up.
Up next for the Vikings are the Philadelpha Eagles on Thursday night, a game they lost 24-7 last season in week two.
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