The Vikings are 2-2 through four games this season, which doesn’t sound like a reason to panic until you consider this:
A good team would be 3-1 based on the schedule they have played so far. A very good or great team would be 4-0.
The Vikings, though, are a mediocre team with a boatload of injuries at key positions. They played one good quarter in their first eight. Then they clobbered the comically inept Bengals in a mirage game. Then they played one more good quarter Sunday.
The worst part about the 24-21 loss to the Steelers in Dublin is that the Vikings received several massive breaks. Pittsburgh tried to give Minnesota the gift of an undeserved win, and the Vikings weren’t even good enough to take it, as Patrick Reusse and I talked about on Monday’s “Daily Delivery” podcast.
Let’s look at some of those wasted opportunities at the start of today’s 10 things to know:
- On the Vikings’ first offensive possession, it looked as if Jordan Mason’s fumble had been returned for a Steelers touchdown. But a (correct) review showed Mason touched the ball while he was out of bounds, giving the Vikings a massive reprieve and a first down in Steelers territory. What could have been a 14-point swing ended up being just 10, though, when the drive stalled and Minnesota settled for a field goal.
- With the Vikings trying to rally late and trailing 24-14 while backed up deep in their own territory, Jordan Addison somehow found himself wide open deep. He had several steps on Steelers defenders but was brought down at the 1. The Vikings needed another minute to score, eating up valuable time.
- But they still got the ball back with a reasonable chance to tie thanks to some coaching malpractice from the Steelers’ Mike Tomlin. Facing fourth and a foot from the Vikings’ 40, he elected to take a delay of game penalty and punt. The 4th down decision bot showed an 89% chance of winning by going for it and just 80% with a punt. Fox analyst Greg Olsen, who made a number of good points during the broadcast, was apoplectic. The punt went into the end zone, giving the Vikings the ball at the 20 with 1:01 left.
- On the first play of the ensuing drive, it looked like the Steelers had nonetheless iced the game with an interception of Carson Wentz. But that was overturned when it was ruled James Pierre only had one foot inbounds. Given that gift and two more Steelers penalties, the Vikings could barely move the ball. An intentional grounding call and a delay of game led to a fourth down incompletion without even sniffing Will Reichard’s considerable field goal range and a chance to send the game to overtime.
- The Steelers mangled the clock as badly as the Packers did at the end of their 40-40 tie with Dallas. On their final offensive play, Green Bay let the clock wind down dangerously low. An incomplete Jordan Love pass into the end zone came with just one second left. They were a tick away from not having a chance to come away with the tying field goal.
- The Vikings ran out of time. The Packers almost did. The Lynx wish their game had ended 10 minutes sooner. Playing without deservedly suspended coach Cheryl Reeve and unfortunately injured star Napheesa Collier in Game 4 of their WNBA semifinal playoff series Sunday at Phoenix, the Lynx nevertheless took a 68-55 lead into the fourth quarter. But they ran out of gas and poise. The Mercury won the quarter 31-13, the game 86-81 and the series 3-1.
- Lynx fans and players were shocked and upset that their season ended Sunday. Twins fans and players were probably relieved their season ended Sunday. It became a nightmarish slog to 70-92 in a season that somehow included a 13-game winning streak but more notably involved a massive trade deadline sell-off. Now the big question: Will there be any major shakeups, including with manager Rocco Baldelli?
- If you wanted good news this weekend, the Gophers supplied it. Redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Lindsey was sensational in rallying Minnesota to a 31-28 win in the Big Ten football opener. The women’s hockey team swept Boston College by a combined score of 18-1. And the volleyball team won its 12th straight match with a sweep of Rutgers.
- The U.S. Ryder Cup team had a Vikings-esque rally that fell short in a European victory. The next time the event is in the U.S., don’t forget, it will be 2029 at Hazeltine in Chaska.
- I’ll have more fallout from the Vikings and Lynx on Tuesday’s podcast.
