The Minnesota Vikings lost their fourth game of the season after nearly completing a comeback against the Seattle Seahawks. In one of the hardest atmospheres to play in in the entire NFL, the Vikings ended up losing 37-30.
Going into halftime, the Vikings had all of the momentum. After a rough third quarter, the Vikings tried to claw back into the fight but ended up falling short. A valid effort led by Kirk Cousins and Kevin Stefanski fell short due to mistakes and poor play of Mike Zimmer’s defense.
The tables have officially turned after the Monday Night Football loss, and the defense is no longer the strong suit for the Vikings. The Vikings defense allowed 444 total yards, and 218 of those yards came from the Seahawks run game.
Not only did the Vikings front seven get gashed by Seattle’s rushing attack, but a few key mistakes in the secondary combined for the perfect storm. Cornerback Xavier Rhodes allowed a game-changing touchdown reception to David Moore thinking he had coverage over the top. It wasn’t a good night for the Vikings highest paid corner.
Xavier Rhodes entered the game surrendering a 126 rating and 9.5 YPA, ranking 11th worst out of 135 CBs per PFF.
Tonight: 4/4 for 99 yds and 1 TD.
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) December 3, 2019
Not only has Rhodes regressed in coverage, but he also leads the Vikings in penalties with eight total accepted penalties in 2019. The 2017 version of the Vikings cornerback is nowhere to be found, and he also had a crucial unnecessary roughness penalty in the back half of the game on Monday night.
The secondary issues have been a problem all season for the Vikings, but even more so in the last three games. Over the last three games, the Vikings are allowing teams on average to throw for just under 300 yards.
The scary part about that stat is the fact that the Vikings just allowed more than 200 yards on the ground against Seattle. The Seahawks run game is one of the best in the NFL, but the Vikings are known for being great run stoppers nonetheless. If teams are able to continue to expose the Vikings defense both through the air and on the ground, it could be an ugly finish to the Vikings season.
The national media is already putting up story lines of Kirk Cousins being 0-8 on Monday Night Football, and he did have one turnover. However, that turnover bounced off the hands of Stefon Diggs, similar to his last interception that happened nearly two months ago.
This loss should not be put on Cousins. Instead, he is the reason the Vikings were able to get back into the game. He is playing MVP worthy football, and is a huge reason the Vikings are still four games above .500.
Even with the one turnover and multiple penalties, this loss falls on the hands of Zimmer’s defense. The offense has shown how much fight it has in the last two weeks, it just wasn’t enough to pull of a win in Seattle.
It will be critical down the stretch for the Vikings to find some sort of balance between their offense and defense in the final quarter of the season and potentially into the playoffs. With how well the offense has performed since the loss in Chicago, the Vikings could make a run in the playoffs if the defense can get back on track.