Minnesota Vikings cornerback Patrick Peterson turned U.S. Bank Stadium into a rollicking madhouse when finishing off a pick-six in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s season finale.
By the end of the game, the defense had two interceptions and seven sacks to secure the 31-17 victory over the Chicago Bears. It was one of those incredible performances that served as proof that the unit underachieved this season.
Peterson, an eight-time Pro Bowler, knows a thing or two about good defenses. After the game, during an appearance on KFAN1003, he talked about what the Vikings defense could have been.
“Yeah it can be [special]. We just haven’t had enough time together,” said Peterson. “We probably played five games together as a collective starting day one unit. It’s hard to get chemistry down when you’re having different lineups each and every week. The talent is there. It’s just all about keeping all of the guys on the field at the same time so we can go out there and put our best foot forward.”
It has been a revolving door of players coming and going for the Vikings defensively.
Even in Sunday’s game alone, the team was missing its leading-tackler, Eric Kendricks. Veteran sack artists Everson Griffen and Danielle Hunter have also been out of action. Injuries and obviously COVID has made it hard for the unit to establish any form of consistency this season.
The only thing to do now is look back on what could have been with multiple contracts up after this season, including Peterson’s.