FIRST TO THREE

VIKINGS 3

RAIDERS 0

Yep, that was the final score.

The Vikings 1st ever trip to Las Vegas was certainly memorable. Even if we would all probably prefer to forget. 

Coming off the bye week, which followed two last second losses, it felt like this hellish Vikings season was tumbling towards extinction. The playoff odds had basically been cut in half in 2 weeks.

The decision was made to stick with Joshua Dobbs at QB despite the Chicago disaster, and the coaching staff hinted at catering more to Dobbs's skill set better. And the return of Justin Jefferson after 2 months out figured to help some.

But no, nothing was any different. The gameplan was basically the same big fat nothing, with Dobbs kept in the pocket, and so it was very apparent early that playing Dobbs was pointless. Now to be fair, Dobbs was given little help by his receivers, who had several drops. But Dobbs was also quite inaccurate at times and indecisive, and one bad throw to got Jefferson drilled in the ribs and knocked out of the game.

The injury bug continued to be a plague. JJ was knocked out again. Mattison left with an ankle injury. O'Neill hurt his ankle bad enough to require a walking boot. Ed Ingram missed the game. Dalton Risner was hurt.for a while. Jalen Nailor got a concussion. We're plain running out of bodies.

As bad as the offense was, the Vikings defense was stellar. Not that the Raiders are great, but they played close games to the Dolphins and Chiefs heading into their bye. And they have a couple of offensive stars in Davante Adams and Josh Jacobs and we kept them in check.

The first half was a punters paradise. The only scoring chance for either team came when Greg Joseph missed a 49 yard field goal. It was the first Vikings game to be 0-0 at halftime since 1997.

In the 3rd, the Raiders hit a big pass play to Hunter Renfrow and looked certain to get the game's 1st (only?) points. But then Josh Metellus forced a fumble and the Vikings preserved the scoreless tie. It was the first Vikings game to be 0-0 through 3 since 1971 (and the 1st Raiders game ever).

The game had long passed into macabre comedy. But something had to be done, and KOC finally pulled the trigger and replaced Dobbs with Nick Mullens. It just can't work with Dobbs if his mobility is not utilized. Mullens came in and immediately hit a big throw downfield to Hockenson. This drive quickly died too though, and we punted.

The defense gave us a third straight 3 and out (they had 5 in the game) and Mullens got to work. He completed a trio of clutch 3rd down conversions versions, the last of which was a big.play by Addison that finally put the Vikings in range to break the deadlock. Joseph was good this time from 36 out and finally after 58 minutes the game had a score.

It wasn't over yet. As good as this defense had played, they still folded at the end of the last 2 games. And the Raiders had almost 2 minutes. But there was no folding this time. On the very first play, Ivan Pace picked off an Aidan O'Connell slant throw and the game was over. 

There is no reason to feel shame over an ugly win. We just had a horribly ugly loss to the Bears. I'll take the ugly win every day, even if this was really pushing it.

I would assume Nick Mullens will be the starting QB through the rest of the playoff push. He can competently run a Kirk-ish offense, and it was clear KOC was not going to adjust to a more run-heavy QB. It's not exciting, but the safe call is probably the right call. 

This season is just about survival. So many teams are trying to make do with backup QBs and broken rosters, though likely none as battered as the Vikings.

The win keeps the Vikings in the 6 seed, and they gained a game back on several other wild card contenders. And fwiw they also pulled back within 2 of the Lions. This was a good week for the Vikings. 

Just not a pretty one.