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Minneapolis — The Minnesota Vikings had a 33-point scoring deficit in the fourth quarter of the season, the second-best mark in the NFL.
Whether it’s due to Kirk Cousins passing the ball to Justin Jefferson and his pals, Zardarius Smith and the defense using a savage pass rush, late game confidence or ordinary good luck, Victoria The Kings have reached the relative midpoint of their schedule. The power of a series of steel performances in the final minutes.
They’re on a six-game winning streak and sit at the top of the NFC North by a staggering margin, for a team that doesn’t rank particularly high in most basic stats.
“What defines a good team in this league is complementary football,” first-year head coach Kevin O’Connell said Monday. “You don’t always win in style, but when you can win football games and consistently win close games by winning the fourth quarter, it does matter. We hate putting ourselves in a position where we need to come from behind and win , but at least we know we have cleared all doubts and believe we can win if necessary.”
The most recent rebound was a 20-17 win in Washington on Sunday after the Vikings (7-1) trailed by 10 early in the fourth quarter.
O’Connell told the players in his postgame locker room remarks that he believed they would win by three points even if they faced a double-digit deficit.
“In many ways it feels like our other wins this season, you can’t point to a perfect attacking game, everything clicks, but just the defense picks us up, the special teams picks us up and then finds a way to make the final There’s enough play and finding inches,” Cousins said.
The Vikings have matched their 8-game start since 2009 and are 5 fewer losses than Chicago and Green Bay. Both the Bears and Packers will have byes in Week 14, when the Vikings play in Detroit.
Even if they separate Sunday’s daunting four-game start in Buffalo, the Vikings are likely to seal the division with a victory over the Lions on Dec. 11.
“Everyone is supporting each other and supporting each other, and the chemistry on this team is very strong,” Jefferson said.
“Wherever we go in those tight spots, we’re counting on the next guy to help us and get us down where we need to be. We’ve been emphasizing that this year, and we’ve been doing well. “
The combination of haste and coverage has been clicking in new defensive coordinator Ed Donatell’s plans. The Vikings are sixth in the league in passing yards per game (257), but they have combined five interceptions and 13 sacks over their past three games. The secondary didn’t miss a beat when cornerback Cameron Dantzler Sr. sprained his ankle and sat in Washington’s second half when rookie Akayleb Evans filled in. The fourth-round pick had two tackle losses and pass defense.
According to Sportradar, Cousins has had a league-leading 85 pressures in eight games, and while his sack total (16) is still relatively low, the Vikings will have to figure out how to reduce his often pockets right heat.
Cousins is third in the NFL with 59 hits this season, according to Sportradar. Eleven of those were from the Commander, the highest single-game total against him in nearly two years.
Smith didn’t add to his NFC-leading 8.5 sack total — Danielle Hunter had two sacks from opposing teams — but he’s been in the backcourt against commanding quarterback Tyler Hynek . Smith is credited with five tackles, three quarterback hits and two defensive passes.
Rookie right guard Ed Ingram Jr. contributed far more than his share of those hits and pressures. Commander defensive tackle Daron Payne threw Ingram in the dust with a simple swim in the first quarter, allowing Ingram to be blown out by him in the fourth quarter, before Jefferson Knocked down Cousins from 47 yards and forced the quarterback to leave the game a game as he was blown over by the wind. Substitute Chris Reed has started 29 times and has yet to play this season.
After returning to health from the Week 7 round, the Vikings started to have some key player injuries. Defensive end Darwin Tomlinson didn’t play in Washington with a calf injury, and O’Connell sounded more cautious than optimistic when asked about his form this week. O’Connell said Danzler’s game against the Bills “could be a long shot.”
Minus 13: That’s Minnesota’s fourth-quarter scoring differential in 2021, which ranks 19th in the league.
After the trip to Buffalo (6-2), the Vikings have three home games in a row. That’s the good news. The flip side is that they beat Dallas (6-2), New England (5-4) and the New York Jets (6-3).
Those are four of the top eight defenses in the NFL with the lowest scoring.
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