It feels like every season the Minnesota Vikings find a way to lose a football game in an embarrassing fashion and they did so on Sunday with a 40-3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
The performance of the team was just abysmal, as they amassed a paltry 185 yards on the day while allowing seven sacks to a dominant Cowboys pass rush.
The game itself only had a couple of good performances while the rest of the team played poor football. This week’s studs and duds are unfortunately loaded with duds.
Dud: Christian Darrisaw
Heading into the game coming off of a concussion and ranked as PFF’s number-one tackle, Darrisaw struggled early on. On the first possession, he allowed a strip-sack to Micah Parsons that resulted in an easy field goal for the Cowboys. He also allowed Dorrance Armstrong to blow him up off the ball and allowed his second sack of the game. Shortly thereafter, Darrisaw left the game to be evaluated for a concussion.
Dud: Kevin O'Connell
The Vikings got slaughtered in the first half by the Cowboys defense and a lot of it had to do with the immense pressure that the front four put on Kirk Cousins.
Stud: Adam Thielen
Thielen has been beat up this season with both knee and ankle injuries. He has looked slow for the majority of the season but against the Cowboys, he looked really smooth and healthy for the first time in weeks.
Dud: Ed Ingram
There are major benefits to letting Ingram play through the warts. He will learn from his mistakes and be better for them. The problem is, sometimes the warts are brutal. He has been oversetting to his right side all season and it has resulted in consistent sacks and pressures, including multiple against the Cowboys.
Dud: Justin Jefferson
When things aren’t going well, star players have the ability to change the game with a big play. On Sunday, Jefferson wasn’t able to do that. He was held to just 33 yards on three receptions. Not all of this is on Jefferson, as the offensive line and Cousins didn’t do enough to give him opportunities, but you would like to see your alpha wide receiver do the things that make him special.
Stud: T.J. Hockenson
One of the few bright spots for the Vikings today was Hockenson. He didn’t have the most spectacular stat line having caught just five passes for 34 yards. The nice part for Hockenson and the Vikings the rest of this season is that Cousins targeted him nine times and he was getting open. That will pay dividends down the line as the chemistry improves with both tight end and quarterback.
Dud: Jordan Hicks
Hicks is on the downside of his career. In his eighth season, Hicks has shown that he struggles with speed and in pass coverage. That wasn’t more evident than on the first drive of the second half. Hicks was in coverage against Tony Pollard, who cooked him on a wheel route for a backbreaking touchdown. We might be seeing more of Brian Asamoah as the season progresses.
Dud: Kirk Cousins
There were a multitude of reasons for Cousins’ paltry 12-23 for 105-yards performance and it starts with QB1. It was not a good performance from Cousins. He was incredibly timid in the pocket and didn’t adjust his decision-making to be quicker as the game went on. The Vikings needed him to step up on Sunday and he failed to deliver.
