Tag: Minnesota Vikings

4 takeaways from Broncos’ brutal loss to Vikings

The Denver Broncos held a 20-0 lead over the Minnesota Vikings at halftime and found a way to lose the game.

If you stopped watching at halftime for some reason, yes, the Denver Broncos actually found a way to lose to the Minnesota Vikings.

The Broncos could not have played a better first half in jumping out to a 20-0 lead over the Vikings. But having to settle for some field goals on short fields kept it at a three-score game and the Vikings made the proper adjustments at halftime to make the game truly a tale of two halves.

With the loss, the Broncos drop to 3-7 on the season and will face the Buffalo Bills in another tough road test next week. Here are some takeaways from a brutal defeat.

1. The Broncos were on the wrong side of history

(Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

In the stat that no Broncos fan wants to hear, the Broncos became the first team in the last five seasons to give up a 20-point halftime lead.

Ninety-nine times had a team held a halftime lead of at least 20 points in the last five seasons and all 99 of those teams won the game. The Broncos were team No. 100 and they are now the one in 1-99.

2. If only the Broncos could learn to finish

(Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

The Broncos are 3-7 this season but could just as easily be 7-3 if there was some better execution in key moments. Losses against the Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts could have all been wins if not for some crucial miscues.

Sunday’s result was much of the same as the team just couldn’t find a way to make a big play when it needed one. That will come, particularly with this kind of experience.

The Broncos’ record suggests they are a poor team, but there is plenty to be optimistic about. Vic Fangio is a first-year head coach and there are some great young weapons on the squad with which to build on.

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Vikings vs. Broncos: A tale of two halves

The Minnesota Vikings got off to their slowest start of the season Sunday afternoon, falling behind the Denver Broncos 20-0 in the first half. The Broncos were able to expose the Vikings secondary, while the Vikings offense just couldn’t find their …

The Minnesota Vikings got off to their slowest start of the season Sunday afternoon, falling behind the Denver Broncos 20-0 in the first half. The Broncos were able to expose the Vikings secondary, while the Vikings offense just couldn’t find their rhythm. 

At halftime, the Vikings made some adjustments that clearly paid off as they outscored the Broncos 27-3 in the second half. In the Mike Zimmer era, the Vikings hadn’t won a game after being down 20 or more points.

It was a completely different team in the second half, where the Vikings did something no other team has done in the past 40 years. 

A huge reason for the success in the second half was due to the great performance by Kirk Cousins, who finished his day 29-35 with 319 yards and three touchdowns. 

In the second half, Cousins looked as good as any quarterback in the NFL, delivering a few of his best-thrown balls in a Vikings uniform. 

Without the strong play of Cousins against a solid Denver defense, Vikings fans would have left U.S. Bank Stadium with the same feeling they had at halftime. 

The secondary was a weak point throughout the game, but they stepped up when it mattered most. Jayron Kearse, who finished the Cowboys game intercepting the Hail Mary attempt, sealed the game again today by breaking up a pass attempt to Noah Fant. 

With Harrison Smith going down with a hamstring injury, and Anthony Harris already sidelined to start the game, someone needed to step up in the secondary. Kearse, the former seventh-round pick out of Clemson, did exactly that making multiple plays in the final minutes of the game. 

The Vikings are now heading into their bye week, which couldn’t have come at a better time. With so many Vikings starters hurt, this week will be crucial for their healing process. In two weeks, the Vikings travel to Seattle for a Monday night matchup between two of the hottest quarterbacks in football in Kirk Cousins and Russell Wilson.

Vikings hit bye week at good time

The Vikings go into their bye week having won five of six games, but the injury bug has bit them hard.

The Vikings moved to 8-3 on the season with their comeback 27-23 win over the Broncos on Sunday.

While Minnesota has won five of its last six games, the fact that the Vikings have their bye in Week 12 comes at a pretty good time.

The Vikings were missing Adam Thielen (hamstring), Linval Joseph (knee), Anthony Harris (knee) and Josh Kline (concussion) against the Broncos and All-Pro safety Harrison Smith (hamstring) left the game and did not return.

Those player now have two weeks to prepare for the Seahawks in Seattle on Dec. 2.

The Vikings, who are currently the second wild card team in the NFC standings, have quite the schedule ahead of them to close the season:

Week 13: @ Seattle
Week 14: vs. Detroit
Week 15: @ Los Angeles Chargers
Week 16: vs. Green Bay
Week 17: vs. Chicago

The win over Denver was huge for Minnesota’s playoff chances. Per FiveThirtyEight, the Vikings have a 91 percent chance to make the playoffs.

Kirk Cousins comes up clutch in Vikings’ historic comeback win over Broncos

The Vikings came back from a 20-0 halftime deficit and beat the Broncos 27-23 on the shoulders of quarterback Kirk Cousins.

If you were out doing yard work during the first half of the Vikings and Broncos game on Sunday, good job by you.

Hopefully you didn’t miss the second half, though.

The Vikings came back from a 20-0 halftime deficit and beat the Broncos 27-23 on the shoulders of quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Cousins threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns in the win – 261 of those yards and all three touchdowns came in the second half when Minnesota had its back against the wall.

There will be the Cousins haters out there surely, claiming that the Vikings should have never been down by 20 in the first place. But after a primetime win last week and a comeback win on Sunday, you have to feel pretty good about Cousins if you’re a Vikings fan. And he’s done this without his top receiver, Adam Thielen, in the lineup.

On the season, Cousins has thrown for 2,756 yards, 21 touchdowns and just three interceptions. That puts him on pace for 4,008 yards and 30 touchdowns. More importantly, he has the Vikings out to an 8-3 record going into their Week 12 bye week.

Vikings S Harrison Smith hurts hamstring, doesn’t return vs. Broncos

In the second half, Pro Bowl safety Harrison Smith left the game with a hamstring injury and did not return.

The Vikings came away with a 27-23 comeback win over the Broncos on Sunday afternoon, but it came at the expense of one of their best players getting hurt.

In the second half, Pro Bowl safety Harrison Smith left the game with a hamstring injury and did not return.

We can’t really speculate how severe the injury is, but Vikings fans are plenty familiar with how hamstring injuries can linger. Examples: Dalvin Cook in 2018 and Adam Thielen in 2019.

The good news is that the Vikings have a Week 12 bye so Smith will have two weeks to rest before the team travels to take on the Seahawks in Week 13.

Smith went into the week graded as Pro Football Focus‘ ninth-ranked safety in the league.

Vikings RB Dalvin Cook becomes 2nd RB to hit 1,000 yards in 2019

He only had 26 rushing yards against Denver, but it was enough for him to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career.

Vikings running back Dalvin Cook didn’t have his best game on Sunday against the Broncos.

Cook only had 26 rushing yards against Denver, but it was enough for him to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career.

He went into the game needing just nine yards to hit 1,000 yards. With that, he became the second running back in the league to hit the 1,000 yard mark on the season. Browns running back Nick Chubb hit 1,000 yards on Thursday night against the Steelers.

Through 11 games, Cook has 1,017 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns to go with 45 catches for 459 yards. That puts him on pace for 1,479 rushing yards, 16 touchdowns and 65 catches for 667 receiving yards.

We’ve seen just how dangerous a healthy Dalvin Cook can be in 2019. Not only is he a Pro Bowl and All-Pro candidate, he should be in the MVP conversation if the 8-3 Vikings keep winning.

Cook is the eighth player in team history to hit the 1,000-yard mark. The others are Adrian Peterson (x7), Robert Smith (x3), Michael Bennett, Chester Taylor, Chuck Foreman (x3), Terry Allen (x2) and Ted Brown.

Cook and the Vikings have Week 12 off before traveling to Seattle to play the Seahawks in Week 13. The Seahawks (8-2) rank 12th in the league, allowing 101 rushing yards per game.

Gallery: Vikings pull off comeback after being down 20-0 vs. Broncos

The top photos from the Vikings’ 27-23 win over the Broncos in Week 10 at U.S. Bank Stadium.

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NFL early game highlights: Ravens roll Texans

The Ravens dominate the Texans, the Vikings stage a big comeback against the Broncos and much more from the early games in the NFL.

The Ravens dominate the Texans, the Vikings stage a big comeback against the Broncos and much more from the early games in the NFL.

NFL fans rip refs for not calling pass interference on final play of Vikings-Broncos

No call here?

Nobody, it seems, knows that a catch is in the NFL. Now, it seems, we have no idea what pass interference is any more.

And by “we” I mean NFL refs, who continued to struggle Sunday as it looked like the crew working the Broncos-Vikings game in Minnesota missed what could have been three pass interference calls on the final three plays of the game, including one on that last play in the end zone that ended up being an incomplete pass that gave the Vikings a 27-23 win.

On third-and-goal from the 4 yard line, Broncos QB Brandon Allen threw a pass to Noah Fant that the WR couldn’t handle:

While both players had some contact on that play, a closer look shows that Jayron Kearse had a nice hold of Fant’s jersey:

Fans were not impressed with the refs:

 

Irish in the NFL: Rudolph Puts Vikings in Front

Make that five times now in his last five games.

Last week we discussed how Kyle Rudolph had turned a corner after he pulled down a pair of one-yard touchdowns in Minnesota’s victory Sunday night at Dallas.

Despite a slow start that saw him fail to get in the end zone through six games, Rudolph managed to find pay-dirt four times in the four games since.

Well.

Make that five times in his last five games.

The Vikings got off to an incredibly slow start Sunday against the underdog Broncos, falling behind 20-0 on their home field by halftime.

The Vikings came marching back in the second half before Rudolph put them in front for the first time all day.

Tight End U at it again as the Vikings held on to win, 27-23.