The Minnesota Vikings and Las Vegas Raiders played in one of the lowest scoring games in the modern era of football. Scoring a field goal with just 1:57 left in the game, the Vikings beat the Raiders 3-0 in the lowest-scoring game since 2007.
It didn’t start out looking super ugly. The Raiders were able to move the football relatively well but the Vikings couldn’t. They had just seven offensive plays in the first quarter, which came one game after they had just three plays in the first quarter against the Chicago Bears.
Offensively, both teams were anemic but it wasn’t just their struggles. The defenses were excellent as well.
The biggest story of the day was the injuries suffered by the Vikings offense. Justin Jefferson, Brian O’Neill and Alexander Mattison all left the game with injuries and didn’t return. Dalton Risner and Brandon Powell also got hurt but they did return to the game.
The biggest key was the Vikings making a change at quarterback. Things were not going well with Josh Dobbs under center so Nick Mullens replaced him and immediately sparked the Vikings offense to look something other than lifeless. He drove them down the field and got them in position to kick a game-winning field goal with Greg Joseph from 36 yards, marking the first points scored in the game.
The Raiders got the ball back with 1:57 left and Ivan Pace Jr. intercepted Aidan O’Connell to essentially seal the deal.
With the Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams losing earlier on Sunday, the Vikings are now one game ahead for the sixth seed in the NFC and still within shouting distance for the NFC North crown.
Up next for the Vikings is the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday, December 16th at noon Central.
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