The Minnesota Vikings came up short against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 15, but there was a lot to learn about the team in the loss.
Week 15 gave the Minnesota Vikings an opportunity to increase their chances of a potential playoff berth or possibly contend for the NFC crown as they hit the road to take on the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday, Dec. 16.
The Vikings came up short in overtime, losing the game by a final score of 24-27. The loss is a disappointing one, especially since the team could have used the momentum heading into their final three games of the season.
Missed opportunities and mistakes saw a game that Minnesota could have won instead end up in the loss column. Now with a 7-7 record, the remaining games on the team's schedule become even more important.
But before looking too far ahead at Christmas Eve and New Years Eve for their next two games, let's take a look at what happened in the game between the Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals and what we learned from it.
Vikings takeaway No. 1
What is it with Vikings quarterbacks?
In the first eight games of the season, Kirk Cousins threw five interceptions and fumbled seven times. It was not a great start to the year for a quarterback who usually doesn't make so many mistakes. However, he wouldn't be outdone.
Jaren Hall got to play one drive before he suffered a concussion that led to Josh Dobbs coming in to play quarterback. Dobbs played in five games for Minnesota, throwing five interceptions and fumbling six times.
Dobbs was replaced by Nick Mullens in Week 14 and Mullens got the start in Week 15. In less than two games, he has thrown two interceptions but had passes that were extremely dangerous and could have been intercepted.
The Minnesota Vikings had a 14-play drive go for 70 yards and a five-play drive go for 44 yards in the first quarter with both of those ending in interceptions deep in Cincinnati territory. Those turnovers were huge in the outcome of this game.
Vikings takeaway No. 2
The tush push isn't for everyone
The City of Brotherly Love is known for a lot of things, but most recently, the tush push has been the talk of the NFL. A powerful quarterback sneak, the play is designed to add force to the momentum of a quarterback to get past the first down marker.
Minnesota was in a third and one situation and actually would have picked up a first down if not for a Bengals time-out. The Vikings came out and tried it again with poor results. On fourth down, they gave it another ago, and were short once again.
On a day when the Vikings were moving the ball well on the ground and Cincinnati was ready for anything up the middle, it's surprising that Minnesota played right into their defense, even if they did have Brandon Powell pushing on Nick Mullens' tush on one try.
It was confusing why a team wouldn't try something else. Losing field position on a quarterback sneak shouldn't theoretically be possible, but leave it to the Minnesota Vikings to find a way to get it done.
Vikings takeaway No. 3
Should there be a new starting running back?
Alexander Mattison missed this game, putting Ty Chandler into the role as the starting running back for the Minnesota Vikings. Entering this game, Chandler only had 55 rushing attempts in his career for a total of 223 yards.
Chandler had a good day running the football on Saturday. He carried the ball 23 times for 132 yards and a touchdown and added three catches for an additional 25 yards. His performance should make the team evaluate the running back position.
Alexander Mattison's career high for rushing yards in a single game is 113 against the Lions in Week 5 of the 2021 season. When you factor in that Mattison hasn't found the end zone as a rusher this year, it doesn't look good for him.
If Chandler isn't a candidate to become the starter, he should at the very least get a bigger cut of the team's rushing attempts. It will be interesting to see what the Minnesota Vikings do at running back when Mattison is healthy
Vikings takeaway No. 4
A former Vikings QB had a good day.
There is no denying that Jake Browning has been playing well for the Cincinnati Bengals in place of the injured Joe Burrow. Browning spent time on the practice squad of the Minnesota Vikings back when Mike Zimmer was the team's head coach, so he probably knew a couple of the players.
Browning likely had a little extra fuel to add to his desire to win on Saturday. He completed 29 of his 42 pass attempts for 324 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception, including some big conversions on third down.
Considering how well the Vikings' defense has been playing, the Bengals seemed to have things figured out. Browning completed passes to 12 different players during the game, even getting Irv Smith Jr. two catches for 18 yards.
It's nice to see Jake Browning doing well, but you don't want to see it happen against the Minnesota Vikings. It hurts a little extra when he's playing so well as a backup but the purple and gold are on their fourth starting quarterback of the season.
Vikings takeaway No. 5
A rookie is approaching big milestones.
It is easy to be extremely disappointed by the Minnesota Vikings' loss to the Cincinnati Bengals but there were some positive things to come out of it. One of those positives was another big performance from rookie wide receiver Jordan Addison.
Entering this game, Addison had 713 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns. He added 111 yards and two touchdowns to those totals against the Bengals, bringing his totals to 824 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.
This means Addison needs only 176 receiving yards to reach 1,000 in his rookie year. And he only needs one more touchdown to get to double-digits. Both of those would be great milestones for the young pass catcher.
Once the Minnesota Vikings give Justin Jefferson the massive extension that he deserves, the team will have some great offensive pieces in place for whoever the starting quarterback is for the 2024 NFL season.
Vikings takeaway No. 6
Are the Minnesota Vikings a playoff team?
It would be pretty cool if the Minnesota Vikings still made the playoffs despite all the issues that they have faced this season, But the question has to be asked if they should be in the postseason or if it's just a nice thought.
Minnesota has only won one of their last four games and that game was not won in a convincing manner at all. They are making so many mistakes and when opposing teams take advantage of them, the Vikings don't have a good chance of winning.
The Vikings will still fight hard in their final three games, which are two games against the Detroit Lions and one against the Green Bay Packers. Minnesota will need to get their act together if they want to be taken seriously.
Fans of the Minnesota Vikings know what a roller coaster this franchise is, so nobody should be surprised that this season has brought so much drama. But it would be fun to see them finish the season strong against division foes and see what they could do in the postseason with zero expectations.