Who were the most disappointing members of the Minnesota Vikings in their playoff loss to the New York Giants?
The 2022 season is officially over for the Minnesota Vikings after the team lost 31-24 to the New York Giants this past weekend.
The Vikings’ defense failed to show up, allowing the Giants to move up and down the field at will to the tune of 431 yards of total offense.
Minnesota was able to mount a comeback, led mostly by Kirk Cousins and T.J. Hockenson, and they tied the game late. Unfortunately, the defense couldn’t hold, and the Vikings ran out of chances when Cousins threw it short of the sticks on 4th-and-8 with less than two minutes to go in the game.
Despite the loss, the Vikings‘ 2022 season was chock full of crazy moments and unbelievable plays. It’s too bad it ended when it did.
Speaking of it ending, here are five members of the team whose performances and decisions led to the team being bounced in the first round of the playoffs.
Ed Donatell – Defensive Coordinator
This is the big, obvious, stinky, and gross performance of the week. Ed Donatell is easily the most disappointing Viking this week, and he should be ashamed of the way his defense played against the Giants.
The Vikings’ defense gave no resistance to Daniel Jones and the Giants’ offense. Wide receivers were running wide-open all day long, there was little to no pressure on Daniel Jones, and Saquon Barkley was averaging nearly six yards a carry.
The defense didn’t force a punt until late in the third quarter, and the only time the Giants were really stopped was when they made a mistake.
What makes this performance even worse is what Donatell said earlier in the week. He stated that “I think you’ll like the way we play.”
Not sure what Vikings fans were supposed to like about this performance, where well over 400 yards of offense were given up. The fact he talked a little smack, and then his unit laid an egg is downright sad.
While some of the blame needs to be placed on the players, Donatell’s defense has been one of the worst in the entire NFL. He needs to be fired, and if there was any doubt prior to the Wild Card game, there sure as hell isn’t anymore. Donatell must go, as this defense isn’t just disappointing, it is embarrassing.
Za’Darius Smith – OLB
Did Za’Darius Smith play on Sunday? That is a joke, but it isn’t far off from the truth. Where was No. 55 all day?
The one time he made any noise was when he threw a fit when Andrew Thomas wasn’t called for an obvious false start, and the Giants went on to score an easy touchdown.
This was supposed to be the game where we saw a healthy Za’Darius Smith. He stated mid-week that he was 100 percent healthy for the first time since being hurt in the Buffalo game.
After hearing that, many Vikings fans were expecting to see a dominating performance from Smith like we did the first seven games of the season, where he went on a tear with 8.5 sacks in that span. Instead, we basically got crickets with just three total tackles on the day.
When Ed Donatell stays in his shell coverage all game and just rushes four, the outside backers need to hit home. Smith didn’t come close in this one and failed the team when they needed him the most.
Who knows if Smith will be back next year? If the Vikings move on from Donatell, they could change schemes making him expendable. 10 sacks in a season is impressive, no matter which way you shake it, but it would’ve been nice to see him show up when it mattered the most.
Eric Kendricks – ILB
Eric Kendricks has been amazing for the Vikings throughout his career. The guy made plays all over the field, was excellent in coverage, and became the heart and soul of the defense the last couple of seasons.
While Kendricks did have an impressive 137 tackles this season, he didn’t have a single interception and mustered just one sack. The game-changing plays weren’t there, and in the game against the Giants, we saw Kendricks’ age finally start to catch up with him.
There were a couple of times that Kendricks, despite his hustle, couldn’t catch up to Barkley on the sidelines. He also missed a tackle in the backfield that he would’ve made 99 percent of the time in his prime.
The dude’s body is starting to fail him, and that showed up against the Giants in a game where the loser had to go home.
Eric Kendricks is due over $9 million next season. The Vikings will be needing to cut some salary, and with his heir already on the roster in Brian Asamoah, this very well could’ve been the last game Kendricks plays in purple. It’s too bad it was one of his more disappointing performances in recent memory.
Cam Bynum – S
The Vikings’ defense was awful, and the secondary was a major issue. Pretty much anyone outside of Duke Shelley could be on this list, but Cam Bynum is just a guy who doesn’t provide many positive plays. He has had a disappointing season, and it was another subpar performance against the Giants.
Bynum was always a step behind any receiver that got anywhere near him. It’s like he’s slow to diagnose the play in coverage and recognizes it too late, and can’t get there in time to make a play on the ball. The Giants’ receivers were running wide open all over the field, and the middle to deep middle was always devoid of anyone wearing purple.
When it comes to tackling, Bynum is kind of the cleanup guy. He either hops on the pile and gets credited for a partial tackle, or he makes the tackle well after the opponent has picked up the first down or scored a touchdown.
All these shortcomings of his were on display against the Giants, putting a bow on his mediocre season.
Maybe Bynum is doing what he is told to do, but seeing him make a big hit, sack the quarterback, break up a pass, or make a tackle behind the line of scrimmage, would be encouraging.
He’ll be back on the team for 2023, but is a guy who needs to fight for his roster spot and not get anything handed to him.
Kevin O’Connell – Head Coach
Kevin O’Connell has done great things for the Vikings since being named their head coach. He’s brought the whole team together, has created a fun and laid-back work environment, and has, most importantly, led the team to a 13-5 record on the season. All that being said, his decisions in the Wild Card game against the Giants were very disappointing.
Play calling is the biggest question mark coming from the loss on Sunday. Why he decides to get cute on short-yardage situations in critical moments of games is anyone’s guess. We have seen it in the past, and he did it again against the Giants.
With a very short 3rd-and-1, O’Connell called a jet sweep throwback to Kirk Cousins, where he was made the primary runner. Maybe he was supposed to throw it again, but by the time he got the ball, there were already two defenders bearing down on him.
He tucked it and ran and lost a couple of yards in the process. There was no reason to pull a trick play in that situation, and it cost the team.
Other decisions that need to be questioned were his lack of utilizing Alexander Mattison. Mattison ran very hard a week prior against the Bears. He looked better than Dalvin Cook, but he didn’t get a single carry against New York. That is inexcusable.
He also failed to get Justin Jefferson involved in the second half of the game, and the star wideout didn’t even get a target in the fourth quarter when the Vikings’ season was on the line.
One other factor that O’Connell needs to be called out on is the fact he stuck with defensive coordinator Ed Donatell. Donatell’s defense was at its worst when it mattered the most, and we saw the same base defense with soft coverage and no blitzes the majority of the game.
The guy should never have still been in charge of that side of the ball, as O’Connell should’ve relieved him of his duties after the Dallas debacle and then again when his unit gave up huge yardage to subpar quarterbacks like Mac Jones and Mike White.
While this wasn’t O’Connell’s finest moment, he’ll learn from this and be better in the future. The Vikings are in good hands, and the future is bright, even after this dark ending to the 2022 season.