1. Sorry, Dalvin. There was plenty to see on fourth-and-1
Dalvin Cook didn't like this reporter's question, and who could blame him? The Vikings running back was asked what he saw when he got the ball on fourth-and-1 from his own 34, trailing 17-7 with 5 minutes, 52 seconds left in the first half of Sunday's 33-27 loss to the Bears at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday.
"These questions about these 1s and 2 yards," he said with a smirk. "They stopped us. They're a great defense. It was nothing to see."
What he saw was a 640-pound wall in the form of tackles John Jenkins and Bilal Nichols. What he saw was Jenkins get leverage on and then utterly destroy center Garrett Bradbury. What he saw when he was stopped for no gain was why the Bears were the better team. Before that, the Vikings had converted 10 of 17 fourth downs this season. Hats off, Chicago.
2. Ever say this during a game? Run, Kirk, RUN!
Kirk Cousins has gotten better when it comes to using his legs. But there still are times when you watch and he's holding the ball, holding the ball. …
Down 10-7 and facing third-and-4 from his 46 early in the second quarter, Cousins had a lane to take off for a first down. But he kept holding the ball until Robert Quinn finally looped way around left tackle Riley Reiff for a strip sack that he will get blamed for but doesn't deserve. Reiff fell on the ball. The Vikings punted. And the Bears marched 76 yards in 13 plays to take a 17-7 lead.
The ball Irv Smith Jr. dropped in the end zone on third-and-goal from the 6 was another case where Cousins maybe could have run. But give him a pass on that one. He extended the play and Smith should have caught the ball.
3. JJ's right. C'mon, Kirk, throw him the ball!
Having no fans around makes it a lot easier to hear what players are screaming. Justin Jefferson caught eight balls for 104 yards but sounded pretty adamant that it would have been nine for 110 and a TD if Cousins hadn't purposely thrown too high to him to avoid an interception in the end zone on second-and-goal from the 6. Jefferson could be heard yelling an expletive before adding, "Kirk! C'mon, throw the ball!"
Said Cousins: "I was trying to find anybody I could and kind of tried to throw it high and safe to Justin. Because of the traffic patterns, I wasn't sure where the defense was going. Put it kind of in ours or nobody's spot, and it ended up being nobody's."
Jefferson has showed no signs of being a diva, so let's not blow this out of proportion. And, Kirk, next time, give the kid a chance.
4. Another head-scratching late-game meltdown
For a top-8 offense, the Vikings sure do have their fair share of critical late-game possessions that are over in a blink of utter failures. They had another one trailing by three points with 2:57 left and the ball at their 20. It took them 1:03 of game clock to turn the ball over on downs. On second-and-7, cornerback Duke Shelley made an outstanding open-field tackle to stop Cook a yard short of the first down.
After Cook was stopped for no gain, right tackle Brian O'Neill blocked down on the same guy right guard Ezra Cleveland was blocking. That left tackle Brent Urban free to chase Cousins until he threw a ball up for grabs.
"We had the defensive end kind of in a bind," Cousins said. "But it was the defensive tackle who was able to play up the field."
Cousins said he could have done something different. But O'Neill should have blocked the guy.
5. Opening kickoff came back to haunt Vikings
Dan Bailey finally didn't miss a kick. That was a nice change. But what about that squib kick to open the game? The last time these teams met, Chicago's only touchdown was Cordarrelle Patterson's 104-yard kickoff return. So the Vikings opted to squib the opening kick. Bailey punched the ball right to tight end Demetrius Harris at the Chicago 20. Harris fielded the ball so quickly that he was able to lateral to Patterson, who went 19 more yards to the 39.
The Bears went three-and-out, but a 44-yard punt pinned the Vikings at the 12. When the Vikings went three-and-out, the Bears got the ball back at their 42. They needed only 58 yards to take a 7-0 lead. The Vikings had three touchbacks in six kickoffs. But that opening squib kick played a role in them going down 7-0.
