There is no sugarcoating it. The Minnesota Vikings’ loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon was a massive disappointment. They had the game in their hands and blew it with multiple mistakes.
The good part about Sunday’s performance for the Vikings is that they can fix their issues and they get a chance to redeem themselves on Thursday night against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Buy Vikings TicketsNeedless to say, the mood around the Vikings locker room and during press conferences was somewhat somber. They were disappointed with the result, but it wasn’t all bad. These 12 quotes describe a complicated game against the Buccaneers.
Harrison Smith on the team's confidence to pull out a win at the end
“Definitely and honestly it has nothing to do last year, its all about the guys in the locker room and the leadership from the top down from KO (Kevin O’Connell) down, we have to find a way to do something there whether its offense, defensive. We have too special of a group not to do something.”
Camryn Bynum on second half changes, including a change in cadence
“I think the ball was getting out really fast and they were getting to the ball fast and it was really a matter of us being able to break quick on those little small things. It added up over time and they’re able to march and get those third and shorts. They were able to march down the field even though we held them to a lot of field goals. Those points add up too.”
Camryn Bynum on Mike Evans' touchdown
“I was surprised they threw it because we had somebody in the middle of the field, one of our coverages. It was really a matter of us understanding the situation. They’re kind of in the fringe area where shots are popular there. We knew it was coming but we didn’t execute it. We probably didn’t get a lot of pressure on it because we were dropping a lot. It was one of those plays that caught us in our coverage, and it was a perfect beater for the coverage.”
Kirk Cousins on how choppy the offense was despite it being the 2nd year of the system
“I was surprised they threw it because we had somebody in the middle of the field, one of our coverages. It was really a matter of us understanding the situation. They’re kind of in the fringe area where shots are popular there. We knew it was coming but we didn’t execute it. We probably didn’t get a lot of pressure on it because we were dropping a lot. It was one of those plays that caught us in our coverage, and it was a perfect beater for the coverage.”
Kirk Cousins on the Bucs defense
“I think they did a variety with their pressures, their coverages. They were a multiple defense today. We moved the football but turned the ball over, and the game will always be about points. When you move the football, you’re doing good things, but it’s got to end with points, obviously preferably touchdowns, and when you got nothing to show for it, then you take away your chance to win the football game.”
Kirk Cousins on his interception
“Yeah. Just looking back, I would have just progressed to the under route to Jordan. I tried to knife it in there, was a little too aggressive, and Jordan is there on the under route, kind of just working through the progression and just keep going.”
Kirk Cousins on Jordan Addison
“He did a great job. If you give me a chance to brag on our skill players, I always will. I just think Jordan is a phenomenal player. I think K.J. is a phenomenal player. Justin, obviously, it goes without saying. He had another great day today. I think T.J. is outstanding the way he ran some of those choice routes inside today. Josh Oliver is a great player; he’s has done a great job for us. Alex Mattison, I thought, ran really well, really hard. The touchdown catch, the play is dead at the roughly four, five-yard line and he finds a way to get us six points. Just an incredible effort. He did the same on a couple other runs. I think Ty Chandler is a great player. I felt really good about what our skill guys did today and showed, and it’s not a surprise, but my job will always be as a point guard just kind of make sure they’re all getting opportunities because now they can help us win.”
Justin Jefferson on his contract
“I have the same mindset as I had before. At the end of the day all I can do is play football and that’s what I continue to do. I know my team. My team doesn’t care about the contract and I don’t either. I just want to be here for my teammates, play for my teammates, and of course get these wins.”
Jordan Addison on his first touchdown
“So how I saw it was, I’m running at the corner, I know my route, I got a post and there wasn’t a safety back there so once I stuck, I turned around, everything slowed down, the ball was in the air and then I just made the play.”
Alexander Mattison on struggles to run the ball
“I have to look at the tape to tell you that but honestly, I think we had some good plays dialed up, we had some good runs in there. I think we just needed to get to them. We needed to give ourselves the opportunity to do that and it’s hard to do that when you’re playing in a situation where you turn the ball over or certain situations like that where we have penalties, anything like that. It’s just hard to get to the plays that you want to get to so it’s one of those days where it didn’t bounce our way”
Kevin O'Connell on the benefit of a short week
“Yeah. It’s a good question. Different circumstances than last year. We had a tough loss and then played right on Thanksgiving right back here. But our guys responded and handled the way we prepared for a very tough opponent last year like that, and we’re going to have to do the same thing. We’re going to have to travel. And this is tough times when you get this week two short game, and you love the fact that you’re at home to open, but whether we won or last today, this was still going to be a heck of a challenge. And now that we didn’t get it done today, we just have to have that much more urgency, that much more detail. Everybody’s got to look inward, and we got to persevere together. This is not our first time dealing with adversity, and my hope is we’ll circle back on some of that experience and play our best possible game we can play Thursday night.”
Kevin O'Connell on linebacker usage and Brian Asamoah II not playing much
“Yeah, I know the plan was there was going to be a little bit of a rotation there, so I’ll have to look at it. Keeping up with the snap counts play-to-play, maybe one day I’ll be able to do that. But I’ll take a look at it, and I think we feel really good about kind of a three-man grouping right there. But I.P. had earned the right to be on the field. Brian had to deal with an injury through camp, and those reps were really valuable. We still feel great about Jordan (Hicks), I.P. and Brian and Troy (Dye) also with his ability to step in there, made some good plays on teams. So that inside backer group is a strength for us.”
