Minnesota Vikings Vs Saints: 3 Negative Takeaways

The Minnesota Vikings fell victim to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. After watching this game, there are plenty of reasons to be discouraged with the Minnesota Vikings team going forward. While there are quite a few to list, here are my top 3 negative takeaways from this game:

Nov 24, 2013; Green Bay, WI, USA; Minnesota Vikings offensive tackle Matt Kalil (75) during the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. The Vikings and Packers tied 26-26. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Atrocious offensive line play. It was seriously that bad. With Matt Kalil struggling so badly, you’d think other players would step up or the team would get him some help. However, that didn’t happen in the game against Saints. No adjustments were made to help out the former first round pick and alleviate pressure. Things got even worse when Brandon Fusco left the game with what appeared to be a pectoral injury. This is a major blow to the Minnesota Vikings offense and could be a struggle to come back from.

Injures stacked up in this game. Not only did the Minnesota Vikings lose starting quarterback Matt Cassel with a major foot injury, but it looks like tight end Kyle Rudolph will miss significant time as well. If Fusco’s injury ends up being serious, this could be a devastating blow to the team. When you add in hamstring issues with Josh Robinson and and a fractured rib hurting Chad Greenway, this is a team that is really hurting for depth at numerous positions.

Sep 21, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints wide receiver Brandin Cooks (10) is tackled by Minnesota Vikings cornerback Josh Robinson (21) as he carries the ball in the fourth quarter at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. New Orleans defeated the Vikings 20-9. Mandatory Credit: Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports

The defense gave up way too many 3rd down conversions. Minnesota Vikings fans know all too well how the team used to give up 3rd downs on regular occasions. These types of things were supposed to be much different with the new Mike Zimmer led defense. However, we didn’t see that on Sunday against the Saints. Instead, the Vikings allowed them to pick up 9 of their 13 3rd down plays, some of which were at distances that shouldn’t have been given up.

Honorable mention goes to the absolute lack of a running game and underutilization of Cordarrelle Patterson.

Are there any other things that you thought were negatives in the game against the Saints that I missed? Disagree with any of my observations? Discuss it in the comments below.

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