The Minnesota Vikings bounced back with a big 33-26 win over the Patriots on Thanksgiving night. After suffering a 40-3 loss at home four days ago the Vikings rebounded defeating New England on primetime. The Vikings offense was clicking, putting up 26 points after only scoring three points against Dallas. Jefferson went off again, racking up 139 yards and Kirk played a great game. The defense fended off Mac Jones and the New England offense late. With that let’s take a look at my Minnesota Vikings week 12 takeaways.
This Is The Best And Most Consistent The Offense Has Looked All Year
Yeah, the offense looked really good tonight and it was against a really good defense in the Patriots. Kevin O’Connell schemed up a great offensive game plan and Kirk Cousins and the offense worked well. The Vikings didn’t score on five out of their 11 possessions. Three of those were punts, one was a turnover (not a great throw by Kirk), and the other was to end the first half. Overall, a great performance (especially after last week). Kirk played great, a surprise for many since the game was in primetime, more on him later.
Justin Jefferson has passed Randy Moss & Odell Beckham Jr. for the most receiving yards through 3 seasons in NFL History
MIN Justin Jefferson 4,203 & counting
HOF Randy Moss 4,163
NYG Odell Beckham Jr. 4,122#SKOL @Vikings pic.twitter.com/UCuOEWISJx— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) November 25, 2022
Justin Jefferson had another great game and a milestone one at that. Jefferson broke Randy Moss’s record for most receiving yards in the first three years of their career with 4,203 yards and counting. JJ racked up 139 yards and a touchdown on nine receptions averaging 15.4 yards per catch. Thielen and Hockenson both also had great games bringing in 61 (Thielen) and 43 (Hockenson) with each having a touchdown. The passing game was on point. Rushing wise, the team had a total of 57 yards, but they never gave up on it, with Cook having 22 carries in the game. If they can keep playing like this, like I thought they would, it could be problematic for other teams.
The Defense Is A Concern
Yeah, giving up over 400 yards and 26 points to a New England team who a week ago was only able to score three offensive points against the Jets is a concern. The Vikings did a good job at stopping the run, holding the Patriots to 45 yards rushing. The downside is that Mac Jones and Co. threw for 382 yards. Now, the secondary is beat up. Cameron Dantzler and Lewis Cine are on the IR, and Andrew Booth Jr., and Akayleb Evans have also missed multiple games already with injuries.
Yet, that is no excuse for giving up nearly 400 yards to Mac Jones and the Patriots. They just aren’t that good to allow that kind of one-dimensional domination. If it was combined, it would be better because at least you weren’t getting completely controlled by one side of the ball. In the end the Vikings injuries have hurt them defensively, but they need to scheme better to prevent bad offenses from looking good against them.
But It Did What It Has Done All Year
Yes, even while giving up 409 yards of total offense to the Patriots, they still did what they do in the end and held on for the win. In the end, Danielle Hunter stepped up big with a late sack. Patrick Peterson also had this phenomenal inbounds tackle in the winding seconds of the game.
Very huge play this was by Patrick Peterson. #vikings pic.twitter.com/v8tk5VTRag
— Ali Siddiqui (@asiddiqui15) November 25, 2022
Man, now that’s great defense. Anyway, come late in the game after taking a 33-26 lead with 9:34 to go, the Vikings forced a three and out, then punted six plays later with 4:29 to go. New England put together seven plays before turning it over on downs at the two-minute warning. The Vikings were unable to get a first down and punted it with 1:02 remaining in the game. After that it was three plays from inside the New England ten and the Vikings got a sack and as shown above a great tackle from Patrick Peterson.
All-in-all while the defense has struggled giving up a lot of yards and occasionally some points, they still shut down teams late in games and look like they will continue to. Dallas was a fluke, it’s hard to see that happening again.
Kirk Cousins Performed Really Well And It Was In Primetime
Well, primetime Kirk sure didn’t show up tonight. Cousins threw for 299 yards with a completion percentage of 81.1%, three touchdowns, and one interception. Pretty good for a guy with a reputation of struggling in primetime games. Kirk had no problem spreading it around whether it was Jefferson, Thielen, or Hockenson; all who stepped up with big games each scoring one touchdown. The Vikings currently don’t have any more primetime games on their schedule (though they could get flexed into one later in the season). If Kirk plays like this again it could be problematic for whoever has to play them in the primetime slot.
A Look Ahead
Next week the Vikings host the New York Jets (6-4) who take on the Chicago Bears at 1:00 pm on Sunday.
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