Minnesota Vikings Ups and Downs: Week 14 vs. Seattle Seahawks

The bad things from Week 14

1. Converting 3rd and 4th downs. During the game, the Vikings had 10 third-down attempts and two fourth-down tries. Between those 12 opportunities, Minnesota only converted two of them…and none of them were on fourth down, including a goal-line try.
2. Tight end drops. So far, Tyler Conklin seems like a bit of a wasted pick after being drafted to be a pass-catching tight end to complement Kyle Rudolph. Both of those two tight ends dropped passes during this game and neither can really replicate the blocking of David Morgan. They had seven targets between the two of them, catching only three passes for 18 yards.
3. Disappointing quarterback play. Even when Kirk Cousins had time in the pocket, he failed to deliver accurate passes at almost any distance. Finishing 20-for-33 on the day, Cousins threw for 208 yards and one garbage-time touchdown adding a fumble when holding onto the ball too long.  He was only sacked twice but missed some open receivers as well. Finding a balance of poise in the pocket and needing to improvise needs to happen.
4. Crossing midfield. For a long time, not only did it seem as though the Vikings weren’t going to score a point, but it also felt like the team wasn’t going to get a play in enemy territory. It was frustrating to see such an inept start to the game offensively, even though playing in that hostile territory is never easy.
5. The offense in general. By now, you’ve likely noticed that the praise for this game all went to the defense while the offense dominated the negatives. It was hard to get excited about anything offensively, which is extra disappointing considering the potential of Cousins and DeFilippo.