The Vikings lost three of their first four games last season with all the defeats coming by one score. That set the tone for a year in which the Vikings finished a game under .500 because they went 6-8 in an NFL-record tying 14 one-score games. A common lament was that with a few breaks the Vikings could have been a playoff team, instead of a franchise that fired its general manager and head coach.
This attempt to put a positive spin on things was silly. The Vikings were historically bad in the final four minutes before halftime or the end of games, surrendering touchdowns on 32.4 percent of opponent drives in that time, according to Sharp Football Analysis. That didn’t just put the Vikings at the bottom of the NFL for the season, it placed them 686 out of 686 teams since at least 2000.
That’s an impressive amount of ineptitude.
Evidently it walked out the door along with former coach Mike Zimmer. The Vikings’ 28-25 victory over New Orleans on Sunday in London gave them a 3-1 record and a second consecutive victory that won’t earn them style points but is exactly the type of win the Vikings were incapable of capturing for much of 2021.
“We’re just happy to be in a position to finish games now versus getting back on the plane with an L,” veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson said. “I’m just extremely proud of the guys, how they continue to fight, continue to lean on one another and never flinch. That’s what it’s all about. Guys are sticking together for four quarters until the end.”
A week ago, the Vikings rallied for a four-point victory over the Lions on K.J. Osborn’s 28-yard touchdown reception with 45 seconds remaining. Minnesota led for much of Sunday’s game before falling behind by three points in the fourth quarter.
The Vikings rallied to take a 28-25 lead on Greg Joseph’s fifth field goal of the day with 29 seconds left and then held on as Saints kicker Wil Lutz had his 61-yard attempt hit the left upright and then the crossbar before bouncing out as time expired. Lutz had made a 60-yarder on the Saints’ previous possession, so there was definitely some luck involved for the Vikings.
But where the Vikings frequently dropped close games in a joyless 2021, new coach Kevin O’Connell has worked to make sure his team is paying more attention to the details. Where Zimmer would lose patience with quarterback Kirk Cousins or his kicker after a miss, O’Connell has brought a very different approach.
Joseph was having a fantastic day against the Saints until he missed a point after attempt in the fourth quarter. That kept the Vikings lead at three and the Saints tied the score on Lutz’s 60-yard kick. Zimmer would have had steam coming from his ears. O’Connell told Joseph that he was going to make another field goal to win it and was proven right.
“I just think this group is a connected team that loves playing with each other and, when they need to, these guys can collectively come together,” O’Connell said. “We rely a lot on our leadership, we rely a lot on guys to make plays in big moments. But there’s never any ounce of flinch, even when things don’t go well for us because the expectation is a high standard here.”
And that means being able to win close and often ugly games. The Vikings’ last two victories have qualified in both categories, but, as Adam Thielen said in his postgame comments, it’s much easier to go through mistakes in a film session that follows a victory.
The Vikings will have plenty to clean up as they prepare to face the Chicago Bears on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium. The offense far too often stalled in the red zone, going 2-for-5 and requiring Joseph to have a big day. The defense continues to struggle to get pressure on the quarterback, in this case the not exactly mobile Andy Dalton, and has given up more than 100 yards on the ground in each game.
So why have the Vikings been able to overcome their faults in close games this season?
“Just attention to details,” Peterson said. “A lot of the guys that are on this defense right now were here last year. We obviously know that was unacceptable. That was a point of emphasis coming into this season and it’s showing. We take pride in that position now because looking at the stat last year they say that we could have been like 14-3 or something, if we were able to keep teams out of the end zone (after the) 2-minute warning and at the end of the game.
“That’s just one of the things that coming into the season being a very, very situationally smart football team and understanding what teams want to do in certain situations and just keeping our foot on the gas. On both sides of the ball.”
Cousins has led the Vikings on late-game scoring drives the past two weeks. Minnesota took over at its own 18-yard line with 1 minute, 45 seconds left in the fourth quarter Sunday and the score tied. Cousins found wide receiver Justin Jefferson on a near perfectly thrown 39-yard pass to the Saints’ 29 on the second play of the drive, setting up what proved to be the winning field goal.
Does he do that a year ago? Perhaps, but it was O’Connell who dialed up the perfect play on what had been an imperfect day. That’s called creating your own luck and serves as an important win for a team that seems to be far tougher mentally that it was the past two years.
“When we’re able to make these plays late in games to go execute again, to do whatever we had to do to win the football game, I think it continues to give you confidence moving forward as a team,” O’Connell said, “that you can win when maybe you leave some plays out there, or defensively we could be a little bit better. But ultimately what I’m going to continue to challenge the group is just understanding that our consistency of being the best possible football team as we progress is going to be key for our season because we can definitely get a lot better.”
Judd Zulgad is co-host of the Purple Daily Podcast and Mackey & Judd podcast at www.skornorth.com
