Minnesota Vikings offensive MVP vs. Saints in Week 8

The Minnesota Vikings gave the New Orleans Saints a cheap revenge for their January defeat on Sunday night, and wasted what was otherwise a nice offensive performance with dramatic turnovers that lead to a 30-20 defeat.

In looking over some rather good stats for the Minnesota Vikings offense last night (423 total yards, 27 first downs, 5-10 on third down, 2-3 on fourth), one might wonder how Minnesota lost by 10 points, even with two turnovers.

Well, a closer look easily shows how crucial the turnovers were. And despite a solid offensive game-plan by Vikings’ offensive coordinator John DeFilippo, Minnesota scrambled offensive line and Saint defense did not allow another ‘Minneapolis Miracle’ to occur.

Offensive MVP vs. Saints

Stefon Diggs, Wide Receiver

Diggs came to play. After two games in which the receiver was kept under wraps by Cardinals’ All-Pro corner Patrick Peterson and mostly rolled-up coverage by the New York Jets’ secondary, Diggs racked up 10 catches for 119 yards and a touchdown on Sunday night against the Saints.

Also, in response to questions about a third-quarter Saints’ interception return for a touchdown that may or may not have been his fault, Diggs nonetheless stood resolutely in front of the locker room press and accepted full responsibility for the game-breaking gaffe.

Considering his two teammates (quarterback Kirk Cousins and fellow receiver Adam Thielen), did the very same thing, it means something very significant for the future of this team–if they can curtail the glaring mistakes that put them all in that position.

Honorable Mention:

Kirk Cousins, Quarterback

Let’s face it. No matter what anyone says to support the Vikings’ offensive line before and after games, they are often a tough group to watch as they continue to struggle in pass protection.

With two starters out, second-year men manning three positions and a rookie at right tackle against Saints’ Pro Bowl defensive end Cam Jordan, the fact that Kirk Cousins took four sacks, plenty of hits, and still went 31-41 for 359 yards with a completion rate over 75% is almost extraordinary.

For those “journalists”calling him mediocre, there’s film to watch. Are there similar sentiments on Drew Brees’ QB rating of 47.0 for the night?

Didn’t think so.

Yes, the pick-six was really, really bad, but pressure caused it. On the play, Diggs sat down in the zone instead of sliding, and Cousins made a mistake.

Bang, bang, game over.

I’ve watched Kirk Cousins for a long time. He doesn’t make mistakes like that very often, if ever. This quarterback has a completion rate over 70% on the year and has been as-advertised in the vertical game. Give the guy a break.

And give him (perish the thought!) a healthy Dalvin Cook while you’re at it.