Sep 22, 2013; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier talks on his radio during the game with the Cleveland Browns at Mall of America Field at H.H.H. Metrodome. The Browns win 31-27. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
It is officially time to hit the panic button in Minnesota. The Vikings dropped a very winnable game against the Cleveland Browns today at the Vikings home opener. The final score may have been 31-27, but the game never really seemed to be going well for the Vikings.
In a sloppy game that featured 7 turnovers and 12 punts between the two teams, there was very little for Vikings fans to be excited about. Here are a rundown of some of the disappointments:
Sep 22, 2013; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (28) reacts following the game against the Cleveland Browns at Mall of America Field at H.H.H. Metrodome. The Browns defeated the Vikings 31-27. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Adrian Peterson was held to 88 yards on 25 carries and only found the end zone once. He also fumbled the ball once and his longest run was only 9 yards.
Christian Ponder turned the ball over twice. There was an interception off a tipped pass and a fumble on an attempted pass. Ponder was also sacked six times, and managed to evade several other sack attempts on this day. Ponder had a quarterback rating of 64.4 and only averaged 5.4 yards per attempt.
Sep 15, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears tight end Martellus Bennett (83) scores the game-winning touchdown past Minnesota Vikings cornerback Chris Cook (20) during the fourth quarter at Soldier Field. The Bears won 31-30. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
Chris Cook got injured again. Time may be running out for the often injured cornerback to prove that he can be a regular and solid part of this defense. His contract ends this year and his future with the team is in doubt.
The Vikings secondary got beat on a regular basis. We saw AJ Jefferson get burned so bad by Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon that the fire department is still working on putting out the flames. The injures to Cook and Sanford didn’t help, but today Josh Gordon looked like Calvin Johnson out there.
Aug 16, 2013; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Minnesota Vikings guard Charlie Johnson (74) on the sideline during the game against the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Bills beat the Vikings 20-16. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
The offensive line struggled. There’s no polite way to say this. For the Vikings to win games, the offensive line needs to play better. Pressure came from everywhere to get to Ponder and Peterson before they had time to get things going.
The play calling and personnel were questionable at best all day. When the Vikings needed to go the distance of the field in less than a minute with only one time out, short passes to the middle of the field were called. In that situation, the team needs to be more aggressive.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Overall, the Minnesota Vikings should be extremely disappointed to be at 0-3 right now will have to have a major turnaround soon to even try to get back into this season. If the Vikings fail to get things going, we could see major changes to this team coming much sooner than expected.