CURSED

CARDINALS 34

VIKINGS 33

You know it's bad when I get philosophical after a loss.

There is so much that took place during this devastating loss, the 2nd straight Vikings loss that should have been a win in a fair, just world. But we do not live in a fair world. We live in this world in which the Minnesota Vikings are just undoubtedly cursed.

Bad things happen to this team, with such unceasing regularity, that I don't know how the existence of a curse can be in dispute.

How else do you explain a game in which:

We won the turnover battle 2-0, including a Nick Vigil pick six. We win the sack battle 3-1.

Dalvin runs for 131 yards, with some of the widest holes he has ever had. 

Kirk throws for 244 and 3, AND outrushes Kyler Murray.

We hold superstar DeAndre Hopkins to just 1 catch after the 1st quarter. 

Our OL showed vast improvement in both phases from last week. 

We only commit 3 penalties all game.

Our kicker hits TWO 50+ yard field goals.

And yet we still lose on a shanked 37 yard field goal at the buzzer. The most clichéd way possible for a Vikings loss to occur.

Things like this defy football explanations. The Vikings should be coming home 2-0 right now. Instead they are 0-2, and the season is already on the brink of being over before summer even ends.

This game.could not have started better. On the 2nd play, Kirk lasered one down the sideline to a wide open KJ Osborn, who sprinted for 64 yards and a touchdown. 

The offense spent the first half in dynamic fashion. Freed of the constant penalties and long distance downs of last week, we saw what Klint Kubiak can do. And I loved it. Creative sets, full of varied runs and passes and play action. It wasn't predictable. And the beleaguered OL was MOVING people. Kirk was given time. Dalvin had the biggest running lanes he has ever had. With the exception of a deep handoff on a 3rd and 1 run up the middle, and some iffy clock management, it was near flawless. 23 points on the road? No complaints.

Unfortunately Arizona had 24. Kyler Murray spent the first half building an early MVP case. I frankly don't know how you stop this guy. I didn't even think the Vikings defense was really doing anything wrong. They were pressuring Murray. They weren't letting him run that much, aside from one TD. Even the biggest play of the half, where Murray spun free of pressure and chucked a bomb to a wide open receiver for a 77 yard touchdown, felt more like just a great player making a great play.

The 2nd half was a more subdued offensive show on both sides. The half began with Nick Vigil stepping in front of a Murray pass and pick sixing it. Arizona went right back down and scored to retake the lead, but I felt like we were back in a spot to match score for score.

But that creative, dynamic, trench-dominating Vikings offense did not return after halftime. Klint showed he is not that different from his dad. The offense went into a vanilla shell. Just a bunch of up the middle Cook runs (even as he left two separate times.for injury) and Kirk dropbacks with short passes. All offensive momentum dissipated. Of the 4 2nd half drives that preceded the last one, the biggest play was a roughing the punter penalty. That's how we got Greg Joseph's 2nd long field goal.

 

Maybe it seems backwards in a 34-33 game to praise the defense and criticize the offense, but Zimmer's defense gave this team chances throughout the 2nd half. Vigil's touchdown. Xavier Woods intercepted a ball at the goal line. Danielle Hunter had a big sack (one of 3) on a 3rd down. Cameron Dantzler had a big pass breakup on a 3rd down, to force a field goal after Murray had seemingly daggered them with a 4th and 5 pseudo hail mary that worked. And they forced a 3 and out to hand the offense one final chance with 2 minutes to go.

And finally the 2nd half offense showed life. Kirk led another clutch two minute drive. He rose up. The line kept him clean. Kirk hit Jefferson on the hands with a deep ball that fell incomplete, which may have ultimately doomed them. But a pass to Thielen and a couple to Osborn got them into very makeable field goal range.

Now, after the last offensive play, we had 40 seconds left and a timeout...and we chose to just let the clock run. This was a first guess mistake. I know things can happen, but you always try to get as close as possible. Never concede a field goal...especially with THIS franchise. You don't have to take a shot at the endzone, but this offense was moving and deserved the faith.

Well you know what happened next. Greg Joseph, whose missed PAT in the 1st half was why it was a 1 point game in the first place, pushed the kick wide right. Vikings become one of the all time gut punched 0-2 teams.

And all the crazy stuff that happened for 59:56 boiled down to one missed kick that has to be made. It has to be made. But it never is, is it? Arizona's guy makes a 62 yarder before the half. Their guy makes the late kick to go ahead. Their guy doesn't miss a PAT...INDOORS. Ours does. Joseph was the reason they trailed. Joseph was the reason they lost.

And so all the improvements this week, all the signs that  this team can go toe to toe with top level teams and QBs on the road, go for naught. Sure, this team can come home now and win some games and still make something of the season. But I have never seen a Vikings team open a season in such a snakebit fashion. It feels like a cursed season, like no matter what they do there are factors beyond our understanding acting against them.

And this could mean the end of this era. Zimmer cannot survive two straight non-playoff seasons, especially if the defense is not significantly improved.

I did not think this game was a must win, but next week they HAVE to beat Seattle or else this thing could be over quickly.