What were the ups and downs of the Week 15 game between the Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals and was the performance a good one or disappointing?
The Minnesota Vikings finally finished their road trip over the last few weeks and returned home to U.S. Bank Stadium in Week 15 of the 2017 NFL season with several things on the line for the guys in purple.
A win would give the Vikings the NFC North championship and move them closer to home field advantage throughout the playoffs if they can overtake the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC playoff picture.
But first, Minnesota needed to deal with the Cincinnati Bengals, who Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer knows very well from his time working as a defensive coordinator under Marvin Lewis for several years.
Let’s talk about the good, bad, and interesting things that happened during the Vikings week 15 game between the Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals starting with the things the team did well.
The good stuff vs Bengals
- Establishing the run game. Latavius Murray continues to get more involved in the Vikings offense, earning more carries and a bulk of the goal line work. He’s shown why Minnesota brought him in thanks to his powerful running.
- Eric Kendricks in pass coverage. Instead of continuing on his path, Kendricks read the eyes of Andy Dalton and turned back into the path of a pass. Showing of his hands, the speedy linebacker was able to zip past the Bengals with help from blockers to get the pick 6.
- Defensive pressure. The pass rush was consistently getting to Andy Dalton, even if it didn’t always result in a sack. The defensive line will always be a major strength of this Vikings team with so much depth and talent.
- Case Keenum’s efficiency. Throwing the ball 23 times, he connected on 20 of them for 236 yards and 2 touchdowns. And he even sat out after the game was well out of reach for the Bengals, meaning his stat line could have been even more impressive!
- Containing A.J. Green. Another superstar wide receiver goes up against Minnesota and struggles. Green only caught 2 passes for 30 yards, which is very impressive considering how dominant the Bengals wide receiver can be.
The bad things vs Bengals
- Penalties by the offensive line. Minnesota needs to clean up the situation on the offensive line. Holding, hands to the face, false start, and other flags have moved Minnesota back several times when they could have made things much easier on themselves.
- Losing the shutout. Let’s be honest…other than penalties, there isn’t much to complain about during this game. So, we’ll take the Vikings not being able to keep the Bengals off the scoreboard as a negative…because why not?!
- Michael Floyd’s drop. Again, grasping at straws here, but I would have loved to have seen Floyd haul in this catch from Teddy Bridgewater. Instead, Floyd ends the game with no catches despite a solid opportunity.
- Hoping for better. It was awesome seeing Bridgewater take the field, but for him to enter the game only to hand off, have a dropped pass, and then a tipped interception was kind of deflating. However, it shouldn’t take away from the great story of his return.
- Going back on the road. The Minnesota Vikings already have to hit the road again, as they will travel to Green Bay to take on the Green Bay Packers in what is being called a revenge game for Aaron Rodgers…if he plays now that his team is eliminated from the playoffs.
The interesting stuff vs Bengals
- NFC North Champions! With this win, the Minnesota Vikings have clinched a playoff spot by winning their division. Their position in the playoff has yet to be determined, but at least we know they will host a game during the postseason.
- Dan Fouts calling Case Keenum THE guy. As a fan of the WWE, it’s hard not to hear someone say ‘The Guy’ without thinking of Roman Reigns, who also was a former Minnesota Vikings training camp player.
- Ian Eagle has no clue why Jim Marshall isn’t in the Hall of Fame. I completely agree, Mr. Eagle. Being remembered for one bad play when the rest of your career was amazing is a horrible excuse to keep someone out of the hall!
- Rudy’s Icky Shuffle. Doing the shuffle against the Bengals reminds me of when McKinnon busted out the Dirty Bird against the Falcons. I don’t think either are meant to be disrespectful in any way, but it sure is interesting.
- IT’S TEDDY TIME!!! Seeing Bridgewater on the field again playing is a fantastic thing. Sure, it’s garbage time in a game that is already put away, but it’s more about getting him involved again and seeing him in some game action.
Overall impression vs Bengals
There is very little that can be complained about when it comes to the Minnesota Vikings game against the Bengals in Week 15. The home team at U.S. Bank Stadium dominated every phase of the game, which was very impressive.
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Offensively, the Vikings did just about anything they wanted to do to Cincinnati. Case Keenum put together another amazing game, throwing only 3 incomplete passes while adding two touchdowns and Latavius Murray’s great performance on the ground was paramount as well.
On defense, this is a game that Minnesota could have pitched a shutout during if they hadn’t put their second team offense and defense in the game toward the end when the score was out of hand.
Special teams were a strength for Minnesota as well, with the Vikings doing a great job owning the field position battle against the Bengals, not missing a field goal, and landing more than half their punts inside the 20.
The main thing to take away from this game is that the Minnesota Vikings are now the NFC North Champions and stay just behind the Philadelphia Eagles for the top spot in the NFC. It’s a good time to be a Vikings fan!
Next: Vikings clinch NFC North title
The Minnesota Vikings will hit the road next week to take on Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers on Saturday Night Football. Once again, I’ll be back to discuss the Ups and Downs and hope to see you then!