There's beauty to be found in Vikings' ugly wins

The final seconds of last Sunday's game were ticking down when Bob Lurtsema rose from his seat in the press box at TCF Bank Stadium.

"That," "Benchwarmer Bob" said, "is how you win a football game!"

You'll have to excuse Bob. He's not a millennial. He's not young enough to walk, head down, across a six-lane highway while sending a text complaining about all the honking. Shoot, the poor old guy probably doesn't tweet, photograph himself or play fantasy football.

So Bob had no idea that he shouldn't have enjoyed the struggle, strain and strategy of a low-scoring, imperfect NFL game. That's so old-fashioned.

Poor Bob. It must be how he was raised as a Vikings defensive lineman from 1972 to 1976. Last week's 16-10 win over the Chiefs must have reminded him of how his teams from the Purple heyday held opponents to 10 or fewer points 32 times over five seasons.

Yeah, 32 times. In 80 games. Forty percent of the time.

No, this isn't the 1970s. Dramatic rules changes in 1978 opened the game up forever. Subsequent rules changes, points of emphasis and safety measures continue to favor the offense.

Complaint No. 1: The Vikings couldn't run and Teddy Bridgewater only threw for 249 yards!

The Chiefs went into the contest with a risky defensive game plan that flooded the gaps up front with more run blitzes than running back Adrian Peterson remembered seeing in some time. The result was 22 yards rushing on 19 carries.

The reaction: The offensive line is terrible! Peterson (16 yards, 17 carries) has lost a step! The world is ending!

Alternative reaction: Did you see how offensive coordinator Norv Turner and Bridgewater adjusted to the run blitzes? Did you see how they made the Chiefs pay with 11 completions for 176 yards in one half? Did you see Stefon Diggs catch four balls for 81 yards in one quarter? Did you see Jarius Wright's 52-yard reception? And, yeah, the running game was bad, but did you see Peterson gain 3 yards on fourth-and-1 from near midfield to extend a touchdown drive?

"If a defense is going to play a blitzing, eight-man scheme, we've got to be able to be productive," Turner said. "Obviously, we had a [Bridgewater interception] in the red zone. We should have had 13 or 17 points at halftime [instead of a 10-0 lead]."

Some people are so fixated on stats and tweeting that they must not actually watch how games unfold. The Vikings are a run-oriented, defensive-minded team that leans on favorable field position.

In Week 2, when they were beating the Lions by 10 points, was anyone other than the fantasy leaguers complaining about Bridgewater throwing only 18 times with 14 completions, one touchdown and no turnovers? Probably not. However, his 153-yard passing performance that day is a contributing factor to the Vikings ranking last in the league in net yards passing (179.6 per game).

"All that matters to me," Bridgewater said, "is whether we win the game."

Alternative reaction: Did you see the three completions of 20 yards or more to Diggs, including that late 30-yarder on third-and-15? Or how about the six completions of 20 yards or more to Diggs in the past two games?

"Defenses are aware of [what we can do]," Turner said. "I don't think defenses look at statistics for the season that says, 'They're averaging 160 yards per game passing.' They look at what's on tape and I think they see us as being a team that can make explosive plays in the pass. And you better be careful because we're going to take advantage of those matchups if you give them to us."

That's not the only way to win a game. But, like Lurtsema pointed out, its ugliness is prettier than a lot of people seem to realize.