The Bad
- Getting Adrian Peterson going. The Minnesota Vikings needed to rely on their running back to give the team a reliable gain on first and second down in order to make things more manageable on third down. That wasn’t the case, as Adrian Peterson struggled to get back to the line of scrimmage on many of his runs.
- Challenging an early second quarter spot. I get what Mike Zimmer was thinking. Possessions are very valuable in this game and from his perspective the receiver’s arm with the football looked to be short of the first down marker. However, the difference between the spot and where the ball was appeared to be so small the challenge wouldn’t be won anyway.
- Jeff Locke‘s punts. I get that it’s a tough day to kick a football, but in a tough game against the Seattle Seahawks, the Minnesota Vikings needs as much help from field position as they can get. Locke’s short punts were covered well by special teams, but they also didn’t pin Seattle back very well at all.
- Bad snap coverage. So many bad things happened on a 4th quarter play that it was sick to watch. The defense couldn’t get to Wilson to stop him from making a play, the secondary couldn’t maintain coverage, and then the angles for tackling afterwards was bad. When the Vikings had all the momentum, this play changed everything.
- Hang on to the football, Adrian Peterson! There are no words to express how Adrian Peterson’s fumbles in big games has hurt this team. Yes, he led the NFL in rushing yards, but he also led all running backs in giving up the football. Credit to Seattle for a great play, but it’s so frustrating to see the fumble.
Next: The Interesting