Vikings collapse under pressure in Week 3 loss to Titans

The Minnesota Vikings came up just short against the Tennessee Titans.

After their first two games of the 2020 season, the future didn’t appear to be too bright for the Minnesota Vikings. In a matchup against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, the Vikings had an opportunity to prove that they are still a team that can make some noise this year.

During the first half against the Titans, Minnesota looked like the team everyone expected them to be prior to the start of the season. The Vikings utilized their rushing attack, they had success with play-action passes, and their defense came up with some momentum-changing plays.

In the end, however, Minnesota ran out of gas and Tennessee wound up leaving the field on Sunday with a 31-30 victory.

The Minnesota Vikings are now 0-3 after Sunday’s loss

This week’s disappointing loss shouldn’t be placed on the shoulders of Kirk Cousins and the Vikings offense. Dalvin Cook had a career day on the ground and rookie receiver Justin Jefferson proved why the team spent a first-round draft pick on him last spring.

Minnesota finished Sunday with 464 total yards and 30 points. Typically, putting up 30 points has resulted in a Vikings win during Mike Zimmer‘s tenure as the head coach. However, Minnesota used to be able to rely on their defense in the past, and this wasn’t the case against the Titans.

The Vikings defense had no answer for Tennessee quarterback Ryan Tannehill (321 passing yards) or running back Derrick Henry (119 rushing yards, two touchdowns) this week. After holding the Titans to just nine points in the first half, Minnesota allowed Tennessee to add 22 points to their total during the game’s final two quarters.

Yes, the Vikings did suffer a loss and at 0-3, their playoff chances a very close to ending. But Minnesota looked much better on Sunday than they did during their two previous games and they can build on a lot of the success they had against the Titans.

Next week, the Vikings will head back out on the road to take on the Houston Texans, a team that is also 0-3 this season. Will Minnesota finally be able to put together a complete game in Week 4 and get a win?