Vikings Film Review: Miscues lead to loss vs. Lions in Week 14

Inside Ford Field this past Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings lost to the Detroit Lions with a chance to clinch the division.

As far as losses go, this one stung a little bit more for the Minnesota Vikings. A chance to clinch the division and keep the Vikings’ hopes alive for the No. 1 seed was on the table against the Detroit Lions, and Minnesota did not execute well enough to come away with the victory.

There were still a lot of positives in the game for the Vikings. Minnesota quarterback Kirk Cousins looked sharp as ever, throwing for over 400 yards and two touchdowns, and Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson set the single regular-season game franchise record for receiving yards with 223 on 11 receptions.

Minnesota defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson was also back healthy in Week 14, leading the team in tackles with eight solo tackles, which will be huge for the team as they head down the stretch.

Minnesota Vikings had too many miscues against the Detroit Lions in Week 14

The Vikings continuously shot themselves in the foot against the Lions. Minnesota’s defense could not get a stop on third down, allowing seven conversions, including a pass to Detroit offensive tackle Penei Sewell that effectively put the game to rest. The Vikings also had a critical turnover on the goal line before the end of the first half that would have tied the game at 14 apiece going into the break.

Those types of mistakes continued to add up throughout the game for Minnesota, and it proved to be too much to overcome for a team that has made a name for itself when it comes to overcoming adversity this season.

Taking a look at the Lions’ first touchdown of the game, a 41-yard pass to rookie wide receiver Jameson Williams, the Vikings completely blew their coverage.

Following a failed Minnesota fourth-down attempt, Detroit was facing a 2nd-and-5 from the Minnesota 41-yard line.

The Vikings played (or attempted to play) Cover 3 “Match”, meaning that they were dropping into a Cover 3 zone, but they treated the Lions’ formation as a 2-by-2 look and matched the No. 2 receiver to each side.

The way Minnesota safety Josh Metellus flies down to match Detroit’s No. 2 receiver to the boundary is a way to indicate the “match” principle of this coverage.

In Cover 3, there are three deep defenders. Vikings cornerbacks Cameron Dantzler and Patrick Peterson fly back into their deep thirds at the start of the play, and safety Camryn Bynum should have dropped to his deep third as well.

However, there was a miscommunication between Bynum and Peterson, which ended up cutting Williams loose for the score.

It looked like Bynum thought Peterson was going to carry Williams deep, so the Minnesota safety passed his deep third off to Peterson to go play Peterson’s receiver in the middle of the field.

However, neither player ran with Williams, who made his first-ever NFL catch 41 yards down the field for the first score of the game.

Another critical error by the Vikings in Week 14 was their red zone turnover. Down 14-7 with time running out in the first half, Minnesota put together a very promising drive, getting all the way down to the Detroit three-yard line.

On 1st-and-Goal from the three, the Vikings tried their hand at some trickery. Poor execution resulted in a Minnesota fumble and the Lions gaining possession at their own 22-yard line.

The Vikings attempted a jump pass with star running back Dalvin Cook to tight end Johnny Mundt. Minnesota disguised Mundt as he normally is used as an extra blocker. He blocked down on the defensive end as Kirk Cousins tossed the ball back to Cook, who stutter-stepped in the backfield to draw the defense in.

Unfortunately for the Vikings, the play took too long to develop, and Cook was strip-sacked. Mundt was open on the play, but he was a few steps late leaking out, so Cook had to wait longer than anticipated for the throw.

Minnesota rookie right guard Ed Ingram, who has had his struggles this year, got blown off the ball and gave up the strip sack. Had Ingram held his block, the Vikings likely had a touchdown even though Mundt was a few ticks late. A perfect combination of poor execution that led to a devastating turnover for Minnesota.

On the Sewell catch, the Lions ran their star offensive tackle in motion and threw him the ball in the flat off of play action. Detroit made it look like they were running an inside zone split with Sewell coming across as a lead blocker, but they faked the handoff on 3rd-and-7 for the first down instead.

It was surprising to witness, as offensive linemen don’t typically run routes, but the Vikings did not react to Sewell coming in motion whatsoever. Normally when a team motions, the defense will react and check themselves into a better situation if the offense motions from a 2-by-2 to a 3-by-1 or vice versa.

The Lions brought Sewell in motion, which was out of the ordinary, and Minnesota completely ignored him. The fact that Sewell came in motion was a clear indicator that the play was likely headed that way, whether it be a run behind their best lineman or otherwise, and the Vikings got caught sleeping.

You can see at the snap of the ball that both Minnesota linebackers, Eric Kendricks and Jordan Hicks, were practically flat-footed, having no anticipation of what was about to happen. A well-designed trick play from Detroit ended up icing the game.

Missed blocks, poor communication, and dropped passes all happen throughout the course of a football game, as no team ever plays a perfect game. Adversity is a part of every football game. However, the Vikings parlayed all of their mistakes into critical moments, which ultimately did not give them the opportunity to win their Week 14 matchup and clinch the division.

Minnesota is in great shape as it stands for the playoffs, as they still have control of the No. 2 seed in the NFC with a home game against the struggling Indianapolis Colts on Saturday. Lots of season left to play for the guys in purple.