What did we learn about the Minnesota Vikings during their Week 5 loss?
After the first half on Sunday night, it seemed like the Minnesota Vikings were actually going to pull off the upset in their matchup against the undefeated Seattle Seahawks.
The Vikings did a lot of things right in Seattle. Minnesota possessed the ball for more than 39 minutes of the game, they put a ton of pressure on Russell Wilson and held him to just 217 passing yards, and they didn’t allow the Seahawks to convert a single third-down attempt.
But in the end, none of the Vikings’ success on Sunday night mattered because they still walked off the field with their fourth loss of the season.
Despite the unfortunate events that took place in Seattle, however, Minnesota also has a lot to be happy with from this week’s performance. A number of young players stepped up for the Vikings on Sunday and this should excite the team about their future.
In addition to this, what were some of the other top takeaways from Minnesota’s disappointing loss to the Seahawks on Sunday?
Zimmer made the wrong call
After Sunday’s game, Mike Zimmer was asked if he thought about kicking a field goal to increase the Vikings lead to eight points with two minutes left in the game instead of trying to convert on a 4th-and-1. Unsurprisingly, Zimmer said that it wasn’t a close decision to not kick the field goal and that he didn’t regret the choice he made.
Minnesota’s head coach emphasized multiple times during his post-game press conference that he and the rest of his team were in Seattle to win and that’s why he had his offense try to seal the victory with a 4th-down conversion in the final quarter.
But Zimmer should have realized that this strategy probably would have been fine if the Vikings were facing pretty much any other team besides Russell Wilson and the Seahawks. Wilson has proven in the recent past that he only needs a sliver of hope to lead Seattle to a comeback victory.
Since 2018, no other quarterback in the NFL has had more game-winning drives than Wilson (11).
Five of his last six game-winning drives have required the quarterback to drive the Seahawks at least 75 yards down the field, including Sunday night against Minnesota when Seattle drove 94 yards for the game-winning score.
Zimmer was obviously trying to prevent Wilson from getting the ball again. But kicking the field goal would have at least prevented the Seahawks from taking the lead if their quarterback led them on a touchdown drive.
In Sunday night’s situation, the win probability numbers and analytics-based decisions should have been pushed to the side. The simple threat of Wilson getting the ball back in his hands with any sort of chance to lead Seattle to a game-winning touchdown should have caused Zimmer to reconsider his decision to go for it on fourth down.
Cook should probably sit out next week
During the first two quarters in Seattle on Sunday night, Vikings running back Dalvin Cook was unstoppable. Cook went into the locker room at the half with 94 total yards (65 rushing, 29 receiving) and one touchdown.
But then Minnesota’s historical bad luck struck again and the top running back suffered a groin injury early in the third quarter. Cook attempted to see if he could play through his injury a little later in the matchup, but the pain proved to be too large and he watched the majority of the second half from the sideline.
Following Sunday’s game, Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said that the running back would undergo an MRI on Monday, and then they’ll be able to figure out how severe his injury is.
But here’s the thing. Even if Cook’s injury is just a minor one, Minnesota should rest him for their upcoming matchup with the winless Atlanta Falcons. The Vikings have their bye after their game against the Falcons, so the running back would actually get an additional week to let his injury recover before potentially returning in Week 8.
If Minnesota’s goal for this season is to still earn a spot in the playoffs, then they need to make sure Cook is available during the final stretch of their schedule. Alexander Mattison and Mike Boone did a great job filling in for the Vikings starting running back when he went down on Sunday and there’s no reason to think they can’t do it again against a winless Atlanta team next week.
Wilson is pushing Barr out the door
Two years ago, it appeared as though Anthony Barr’s tenure with the Vikings had come to an end. Barr became a free agent and most assumed that his price tag was going to be too large for Minnesota to re-sign him.
But then the Vikings did some salary cap shuffling, Barr had night terrors about potentially playing for a franchise like the New York Jets, and the linebacker ended up agreeing to a new five-year, $67.5 million contract to remain in purple.
Unfortunately, Barr went down with a season-ending injury in Week 2 and Minnesota has been forced to play without him during their last three games. But his absence has also allowed the Vikings to get a good look at Eric Wilson as one of their top two linebackers.
Wilson has performed very well since he took over the majority of Barr’s duties in Week 3. During Minnesota’s last three games, Wilson has accumulated a total of 11 tackles (three for a loss), four quarterback hits, two sacks, one interception, and one pass breakup.
The Vikings defense has been making strides in the right direction during the last few weeks and it’s all been done without the help of Barr. With Barr scheduled to have a cap hit of $15.5 million next year, parting ways with their former first-round draft pick in 2021 is something that is turning into more of a legitimate possibility for Minnesota.
Minnesota’s playoff hopes are hanging on by a thread
After their loss on Sunday night, the Vikings are now sitting with a 1-4 record for the seventh time in the history of the franchise. Minnesota has never made the playoffs in a season that began with them losing four of their first five games and their best finish after a 1-4 start happened back in 2005 when they ended the year with a 9-7 record.
Despite the Vikings’ disappointing start to the current season, their hopes of earning a spot in the playoffs have not been completely eliminated. Especially if Minnesota continues to play like they did on Sunday night.
Even with four losses, the Vikings are still just two games out of the final playoff spot in the NFC with 11 matchups left on their schedule. Plus, outside of the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks, there isn’t really another dominant team in the NFC right now.
Minnesota just showed they can hang with a team like the Seahawks, so the talent is clearly there. The Vikings just have to figure out a way to avoid the large game-changing mistakes that have come back to bite them during their last two losses.
Realistically, Minnesota probably has to win at least eight of their final 11 games to get into the playoffs this season. The Vikings could potentially earn a postseason berth with an 8-8 record, but a 9-7 record would give them a better shot.
Is this actually possible? FiveThirtyEight currently has Minnesota with an 18 percent chance to make the playoffs this year, so it’s going to be an uphill battle. But crazier things have happened in the NFL and now is not the time for the Vikings to give up on their season.