The Minnesota Vikings lost a hard-fought battle on the road. Here are the players who didn’t step up in this game.
The Vikings had many of their fans believing in them once again after winning their last two games against some very good teams. Those same fans were feeling very confident about the team and their chances of going on the road and facing the 49ers. Unfortunately for the Purple, they reverted back to their formula of scoring first and having a lead late in the first half, but then allowing the opposing team to score multiple touchdowns in a row, taking the lead.
There were plenty of players who balled out in this game. Harrison Smtih was a stud on defense who had 11 tackles and an interception. On offense, Adam Thielen was making some huge plays and scored two touchdowns for the Vikings. Their efforts weren’t enough and the Vikings fell to 5-6 on the season.
The reasons the Vikings lost were many. Sure many of the referees’ calls didn’t go their way, but mostly it was because of the performances of the following players. Here are the most disappointing Vikings in the loss in San Francisco.
CB Mackensie Alexander
Mackensie Alexander was a name that many Vikings fans were excited to have back for the 2021 season. When he left the team back in 2019, he was playing at a high level. He had blossomed into an excellent blitzing corner and his coverage was becoming very sticky. This year he hasn’t looked anything like that same player and his game against the 49ers was easily his worst of the season.
Alexander was the one at fault for the 49ers‘ first score. The Vikings’ defense was bending but trying not to break as the 49ers were driving down the field. They forced the San Francisco offense to a third and long. With Garoppolo facing decent pressure, he was able to find a pretty wide-open man, and the 49ers converted. It was Alexander on the coverage who either didn’t understand his assignment or just couldn’t keep up with the receiver. Whatever the reason, it was an easy conversion in an early but key moment in the game.
The very next play the 49ers went back to the pass and again targeted Alexander. He couldn’t handle the rookie Jennings, who easily beat him and his half-assed attempt at a tackle for the one-yard score. Alexander needs to either get a severe tongue lashing or go back and figure out what he’s doing differently because he has shown in the past he is a much better player than what was on the turf today.
G Oli Udoh
Oli Udoh has been on this list just about every single week and this week may have been his worst and most costly performance of the season. Udoh just doesn’t have what it takes to be a starting-caliber guard in the NFL, and the list of reasons why is getting very long.
Udoh struggled all day against the 49ers. He wasn’t opening up much room for Dalvin Cook on the ground and his pass protection was once again spotty. He also flagged again for holding, and it has gotten to the point where Vikings’ fans just know it is going to be number 74 that is called before the ref gets one word out of his mouth.
Udoh’s worst moment of the game and probably the year was late in the game. Udoh was pushed back by a 49ers defender and right into Dalvin Cook. Cook was hit in an awkward way in his upper body and the ball popped out. The 49ers recovered the fumble and luckily the Vikings’ defense was able to hold them to three points. The worst thing that came out of this disastrous play was that Cook apparently was seriously injured. He is scheduled for an MRI on Monday, but apparently, the early word is that he has a dislocated shoulder.
Losing Cook would be a huge blow to a team that is trying to scrap its way into the playoffs. If Cook is lost for the season or a lengthy stretch of time, the blame can be pointed at Udoh and the fact he was overpowered once again. His inability to anchor may have cost the Vikings a playmaker for their biggest stretch of the season.
K Greg Joseph
Greg Joseph again failed to do his job and his failure again cost his team. The Vikings were up early in this game and then allowed the 49ers to not only tie the game but take a two-score lead. The momentum had clearly gone the 49ers way and things weren’t looking good for the Purple. Then Nwangwu returned a kick 99 yards getting the Vikings back to one score but more importantly back into the game.
On the point after attempt, Joseph hooked his kick, and just like that the momentum was taken away. The Vikings ended up chasing that missed point all game long, and it really proved to be costly. Had he made it the team wouldn’t have felt the need to go for two points on their next score. So instead of the score being 31-26, it would’ve been 31-28. The 49ers were able to tack on three more points after the Cook fumble, putting the score at 34-28. If the Vikings hadn’t missed an extra point that forced them to go for two earlier, they could’ve kicked the ball on 4th down instead of going for it and they would’ve then had a chance to tie the game with a field goal when they were given one last chance as time was ticking down.
Overall, Greg Joseph has been good for the Vikings this year. However, when he misses a kick, he misses important ones in very close games. This causes the Vikings offense to gamble more and in this case, it simply didn’t pay off and instead contributed to the loss.
QB Kirk Cousins
Kirk Cousins has been spectacular for the Vikings this season, especially during their two-game win streak. His play against the 49ers was a major step back and it was a game where the quarterback just seemed off all afternoon.
Cousins was a little high on a majority of his passes. He overshot Jefferson a couple of times and then threw one at his feet when the team needed a two-point conversion in the worst way. Jefferson was clearly upset at the inaccuracy and put up his hands up in a “What the hell was that?” type of gesture, and Cousins was bent over in disgust after the throw.
Kirk Cousins also had a very bad interception forcing the ball to a double-covered Adam Thielen that was easily picked off by a 49ers’ linebacker. The worst part about this interception was that it set the 49ers’ offense up deep in the Vikings’ end and it only took them a play or two later to convert his mistake into six costly points.
The Vikings needed Cousins to be on point this game if they were going to pull off the victory on the road. He wasn’t and while he wasn’t the only reason the team lost, his down game definitely was a major contribution to it.