The Nine Lives Game

Vikings 29
Packahs 29

Even before the absolute INSANITY that was the 1st border battle of 2018 had even ended I dubbed this The Nine Lives Game. And it remains appropriate given that it remained a carnival of absurdity right up until literally the final second of overtime.

The Vikings lost this game. A bunch of times. They lost when the Pack seemed sure to get a TD for a 24-7 lead. They lost when the Pack went up 9 late. They lost when the Pack burned clock and went up 5. They REALLY lost when Cousins got picked on the 1st play of what was his last chance to deliver a win. They lost when Kirk got ANOTHER chance but was picked on a deep ball, only to be bailed out by a sketchy RTP call (the thickness of THAT irony). They lost when prevent defense gave GB a FG shot...which was missed(when does Crosby EVER miss against us?). They lost when the Packers were right at the edge of GW FG range in OT, only to.be saved by a sack.

They lost SO many times. Yet each time something...some guardian angel saved them. In a very real way this tie is a bigger miracle than the Minneapolis Miracle. Yes, a win would have instantly been a top 5 regular season win in Vikings history. No denying that Carlson's final shank robbed us of that. But the fact the Vikings left Lambeau Field still undefeated is a fucking miracle. I have never been in such a good mood after a Vikings non-win.

The kicker situation will be dealt with. I feel bad for the kid, but Carlson is fucked. I thought for sure he would be given at least all of September, even more so after he was perfect last week, but you don't choke like that on a big stage and come back from that. The first 2 misses were longer ones, so okay, but they were not CLOSE. He missed the uprights by like 10 yards. Then his final miss was closer and equally not close. Look, Rick is a good GM but he blew this one. Admit it, move on. Dan Bailey, or bring Kai back. I don't think you even want to have Daniel Carlson trot onto the field against Buffalo. You COULD keep him around for kickoffs, but I don't see the point in that.

The big positive takeaway today is that Kirk Cousins is the real deal. He is our QB for the long haul and I am thrilled about that. Some of the passes he threw today, particularly in the 4th quarter, in comeback mode on the road against your #1 rival....oh my god! Love Case, love Teddy, but they ain't making those throws. That deep ball to Diggs. That pinpoint perfect ball to Thielen. Amazing. He hung in there and made plays. His 1 pick was not his fault(dammit Quon, we were rooting for you!). The one thing that kept me invested in this game that seemed lost for really most of the way, was that we finally have a QB who CAN make a comeback. The Vikings trailed by 2 scores late on the road against a good team. I can't remember the last time a scenario like that has ever led to a non-loss.

The offense remains a work in progress, which we kinda knew it would be, and D-Flip's play calling was pretty bad today, but Kirk rose above. The run game HAS to get more production that they have so far, but once Kirk got in that groove it was thrilling stuff to see.

The refs were what I thought they would be. It's Rodgers. It's Lambeau. It's been the same story for many years. It is what it is. We got our own shaky RTP so whatever. I love Packah fans whining about that though. This is the new world you cheeseheads want. Not so fun when one goes against you, huh?

The Vikings have plenty to work on. The defense missed an extraordinary number of tackles today. The offense stagnates too often. How do you let that punt get blocked? But unless they stub their toes against Buffalo(please don't) they will get through that opening 5 game stretch with at most 2 losses.