HONEYMOON'S OVER

CHARGERS 28

VIKINGS 24

We are 2 days into fall. We still have a week left of September. And the Minnesota Vikings season is already over. 

It's a brutal truth to face, but after a gutwrenching loss to a Chargers team that was trying to hand the game to the Vikings, only for us to refuse to take it, it is the reality. This season is already a lost cause.

The season is over, and with it the honeymoon period for Kevin O'Connell, who I place the majority of the blame on for this debacle.

In this battle of 0-2 2022 playoff teams, the Vikings looked primed to draw first blood on their opening drive, until TJ Hockenson got the ball stripped from him. 8th turnover on the year. 

Naturally the Chargers go drive 80 yards to take a 7-0 lead. The Vikings were able to nod it up in the 2nd quarter on a short TD pass to Josh Oliver. 

Then we actually got a turnover of our own on a Jordan Hicks fumble recovery. The subsequent drive was maybe the most disjointed scoring drive I have ever seen from a Vikings team. We traveled 40 yards in 13 plays. We had an intentional grounding, a holding on Ed Ingram (who was allowed to play all game despite Dalton Risner being right there), and a false start. They commit a DPI and a personal foul. Alexander Mattison was saved from a drive-ending fumble by a fortuitous whistle. And a couple ugly looking passes went nowhere and we settled for a field goal after having 1st and goal at the 3. 

The gross half ended with us letting Justin Herbert quickly lead a 2 minute drill and hit a 4th and goal TD pass, while we did nothing with 40 some seconds left. The Vikings left the field to deserved boos. 

We had the ball to open the third, but as usual we did nothing with it. Our next drive went nowhere either, and then the Chargers burned us on a double pass where Keenan Allen (who also caught 18 passes) had his choice of two comically wide open targets downfield. 21-10 Chargers and it's looking bleak. 

It looked bleaker on our next drive when we faced a 4th down, but Kirk threw his best pass of the day downfield to KJ Osborn who dashed to and then down the sideline, diving into the endzone for the TD. Pulling you back in. 

All day, Brian Flores was bringing pressure to no avail, but that pressure finally got home for a Danielle Hunter sack and the purple palace was rocking. 

Then it exploded when Kirk found JJ on a crossing route, for one of his rare runaway touchdowns. It was Griddy time. We led 24-21. Happy times. 

Those happy times were not going to last. The defense let Herbert zip down the field again (including a dagger 3rd and 17 conversion) and in a play that is a perfect microcosm of how cursed this season is, a Herbert throw hit Akayleb Evans right in the hands, only to be bobbled right into the hands of a trailing Chargers receiver for a go-ahead touchdown. 

The Vikings had two drives with chances to get the lead back. 

First, sparked by an Addison catch and roughness flag on LA, we drove 72 yards down to the LA 3. But again the playcalling down there was hideous. Two Mattison runs that went nowhere, and a couple low percentage throws. We even had an illegal shift on the 4th down. 

Figured this was probably it, but then Brandon Staley offered a lifeline. On 4th and 1 from his own 24 he went for it. The act of a lunatic. A possibly fireable act if it loses you a game. Jonathan Bullard got the tackle credit as the runner was stuffed and the Vikings had been handed the game. 

A minute 40, only 24 yards to cover. It's gotta be in the bag.now, right? 

Kirk went for the jugular to Osborn but the throw was off. Then we run up the middle, which was stupid. An illegal contact moved the chains. On back to back plays, Jefferson then Hockenson were hurt. The latter cost us a 5 yard delay of game penalty (only the NFL could penalize you for being hurt). A couple short completions set up a 4th down.

Here is where hope died. Kirk actually found Hockenson over the middle for a 1st and goal at the 6, with enough time to maybe run 4 plays. But instead it was chaos. KOC was trying to communicate with Kirk but it wasn't getting through (coach ludicrously blamed crowd noise). Why are you trying to send in anything here? Get the fuck up to the line and either spike the ball or run a quick play. We did neither. The clock ticked under 15 seconds before a hurried snap happened, and Kirk's throw towards Hockenson bounced up into the air and was intercepted to end the game.

This entire sequence will haunt this team. It was completely unacceptable to be so clueless about the situation. Kirk is not exempt from blame, but the ultimate responsibility falls on KOC, who had by far his worst game as a head coach. These are things you are supposed to work on in practice. Last season when chaos was swirling this team seemed to thrive. Now, with their season on the line they were amateur hour.

A win could have cured a lot of ills. Those ills include a defense that followed up being embarrassed on the ground by being embarrassed through the air. Herbert threw for over 400 yards. LA just kept running the same couple plays over and over and Brian Flores did little to counter except send the house and cross his fingers that someone might get to the QB. I know he doesn't have great personnel, but come on. 

The run game was decent today (Mattison nearly broke 100), but was too much the focus facing a team with a horrid pass defense, and failed in key spots.

Kirk wasn't perfect. He was off on some throws, but as usual he was being barraged behind an OL that simply will not protect him. Ever. And yet he still almost pulled off another comeback.

We are at the precipice. 0-3. You're back to being 2 back in the division again. You still have 4 games against the Lions and Packers, but you can't think you're sweeping that. You can't win a game yet. And you have the Chiefs and 49ers looming in October. You might not have a winnable home game again til November. 

This is as self-destructing a Vikings team as I have ever seen. Nothing has been fixed, and new issues keep popping up. Whatever optimism I cling to was extinguished when that last pass was picked off. 

This shouldn't be happening, but is. And eventually it's no longer just misfortune. It's just what you are. The Vikings are 0-3 on merit, and I don't know if it's going to get any better. I really think the season is over.