It seemed like everyone and their mother jumped off of the Minnesota Vikings bandwagon after their loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football in week two. There were plenty of reasons for that to happen, Minnesota looked terrible on Monday night, but the Vikings are still going to be good. This is the NFL, the Kansas City Chiefs lost to the Indianapolis Colts. The Buffalo Bills lost to the Miami Dolphins. The Cincinnati Bengals who made the Super Bowl are 1-2. There is so much parity in the NFL. The saying “any given Sunday” rings true every single fall Sunday.
The Minnesota Vikings vs Detroit Lions
Following the terrible loss to the Eagles, the Vikings came out against the Detroit Lions and looked terrible to start. The Lions jumped out to a 14-0 lead early into the second quarter and things looked to be the same as the previous week. This was not to be the case though. The Vikings responded with an Adam Thielen touchdown and then Dalvin Cook tied it with a run to end the half. Detroit then responded again with a burst and got out to a ten point lead then Minnesota clawed their way back and cut the lead to three. Detroit attempted a long field goal and missed with just over a minute left.
This gave Kirk Cousins and the Vikings the ball back at the 45 yard line of Detroit and Kirk put on a masterclass to end the game. In just two quick plays, both to K.J. Osborn, Kirk took the Vikings 55 yards on two completions to give the Vikings the lead and the win. It was not always a perfect game from Cousins, but when he needed to show up he did. Check out the box score here.
The Fickle Minnesota Vikings Fans
If you were to look at any sort of online post about the Vikings from after the Monday Night Football loss to the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game, you would see so much negativity and hate about how the Vikings were playing. Things saying the season is over, trade Cousins, fire Kevin O’Connell were all around the internet. The fans just need to relax. The Vikings are not going to win every game by 40, and the Lions have proven to be a tough team. They played the Eagles to just three points. The fans just need to relax.
Why Should You Have Hope?
The Vikings are a team that has great potential. To be 2-1 after three weeks with a brand new head coach is something to be proud of. New schemes on both sides of the ball are hard to adjust to as a team. They do have weaknesses, like any team, but they are a playoff caliber team. In a weak division, with a weak schedule, this is a team that should almost be a lock to make it. The Green Bay Packers have looked awful and lethargic offensively. The Lions have great fight, but don’t have the talent just yet. The Chicago Bears are the Chicago Bears.
The Vikings Go as Kirk Cousins Goes
The one concern most Vikings fans have is at the Quarterback position. Kirk Cousins will determine how far this team goes. The offensive line seems to be at least formidable this year, and the skill position group is one of the best in the league. The defense certainly has holes in the secondary, but overall isn’t an awful unit. On Sunday, most of the game we saw checkdown Kirk Cousins. This could be because receivers are not getting open, but it also could be Kirk not wanting to take risks after his high amount of interceptions thrown last week. If Kirk Cousins plays aggressive and lets these receivers be the best they can, the sky’s the limit. If not, the season could end quicker than we hope.