The streak is over. We all knew it was going to come to an end eventually, but the Minnesota Vikings’ five-game win streak ended in heartbreaking fashion last night against the Denver Broncos by a score of 21-20.
Minnesota had been in control for much of the game, seemingly making all the plays when they needed to. The ground game showed signs of life for maybe the first time all season. Josh Dobbs was making plays with his arms and legs, sometimes in spectacular fashion. Through three-and-a-half quarters it looked like the Vikings were going to come away with yet another victory.
Then it all fell apart.
The Vikings’ defense faltered at the end, allowing Russell Wilson and the Broncos to march down the field and score the go-ahead touchdown. Then Dobbs and the offense had one more opportunity to pull a rabbit out of their hat, but the magic had faded.
It’s a heartbreaking way for the streak to end, but all good things must end eventually. Now it’s on to next week, an important division battle on Monday Night Football against the Chicago Bears — a game that may see the return of wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
But before we get to Chicago, let’s take a look at the good, bad and ugly from yesterday’s loss to the Broncos.
The good: Vikings rush offense
Minnesota hasn’t been able to run the ball effectively or consistently all season. It’s a point that has been hammered on by myself and other media all season, and by the looks of things yesterday, it’s something the Vikings coaching staff was tired of hearing about.
The team seemed to have a new-found dedication to the run on Monday against the Broncos, particularly in the first half. And unlike the majority of the season, it was effective. The combination of Alexander Mattison and Ty Chandler were largely doing whatever they wanted on the ground.
Mattison was able to find the hole and beat up the Broncos defensive front repeatedly. More impressive was his vision when the hole wasn’t there. The ability to dance and create yards is something that has been absent from Mattison’s game all year, but it finally showed up Monday night.
When it wasn’t Mattison beating up on the Broncos defensive line, it was Chandler using his speed to gash the Denver defense. It was the 1-2 punch fans have wanted to see from the Vikings backfield all season, and it was effective in taking some of the pressure off quarterback Josh Dobbs.
All told, the Vikings were able to run the ball 36 times on Monday for 175 yards and a touchdown, by far the team’s best effort so far this season.
The bad: turnovers
Turnovers were the big story for the Vikings at the beginning of the season. They started the year 0-3, thanks in large part to their inability to hold onto the football. They had multiple turnovers in each of those games, putting their defense in impossible situations and suffering the consequences.
Lately, the turnover issues have largely been rectified. They’ve popped up here and there during the Vikings’ win streak, but they were either early and in manageable situations, or they were a one-off occurrence that didn’t place undue pressure on the defense.
Unfortunately for Minnesota, the turnover issue came back with a vengeance Monday night against the Broncos. The issues started early, with a fumble on the very first drive of the game. It didn’t get any better as the game went on, as after the Mattison fumble to start the game, Dobbs fumbled the ball three times — losing one — and throwing a costly interception.
Three turnovers against anyone is hard to overcome. Against a defense like the Broncos, it’s nearly impossible. Even with the turnovers, the Vikings had a chance to win the game at the end and came up just short. At the end of the day, though, they wouldn’t have needed it if they had managed to protect the ball a little better.
The good: Vikings run defense
The Broncos came into Monday’s game boasting an electric run game. Spearheaded by Javonte Williams and supplemented by Jaleel McLaughlin, Samaje Perine, and Russell Wilson, the Broncos came into the game against the Vikings having rushed for 100+ yards in five consecutive games.
It was a different story for the Broncos on Monday night. They struggled to run the ball all night against a strong Vikings front seven. Even with the loss of defensive end Dean Lowry early in the game, the Vikings were able to keep the Broncos from being able to get their footing on the ground.
Thanks to the stringent Vikings defense and some Dobbs magic earlier, the Broncos were forced to largely abandon the run game for a large portion of this one. They finished the night with only 15 rushing attempts and just 46 yards. 15 of those yards came on one Williams run.
It wasn’t enough for the Vikings to secure the win, but it was an impressive performance against a team who came in wanting to play ball-control offense and punish them on the ground.
The ugly: Vikings' final drive collapses
Losing always stings, but this loss has to sting a little bit more for the Vikings because it was such a winnable game. Minnesota had largely been in control of the game for nearly all of the game. After an early fumble and field goal by the Broncos, Minnesota was able to do just about anything they wanted.
For one of the first times all season, the Vikings’ ground game was explosive and effective. Dobbs was making plays with his legs and his arm, including making a spectacular play to turn a sure sack into a touchdown. Everything was going right for the Vikings. Until it wasn’t.
Everything came crumbling down for the Vikings in the fourth quarter. They had allowed the Broncos to hang around just long enough. They provided Denver with just enough rope to climb out of the hole and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
The Vikings defense, their strength for much of the game, faltered at the end, allowing the Broncos offense to march right into scoring position. Just when it seemed like the defense was going to bow up and keep Denver out of the endzone, Wilson made a spectacular play and launched a ball down to Courtland Sutton for a touchdown.
But not all hope was lost yet. Denver had left the Vikings with time on the clock, timeouts, and only needing a field goal to win. Dobbs and crew had been able to make magic before, but they weren’t able to do it one last time.
Denver sent pressure, and Dobbs cracked under it. Dobbs was sacked and committed an intentional grounding penalty, all but ending the Vikings chances at a comeback. With one final incompletion, the Vikings win streak came to an end.
