However, considering that he had spent a significant portion of the season on injured reserve, he was essentially what you would expect from a backup. missing simple tosses, a few of which fortunately were dropped after going straight to the defense. Some passes were made straight to the defense, where they were not picked up and returned for a touchdown.
It was called back, though, because Trey Hendrickson was offsides by the very tip of his helmet. Errant passes, one of which was a comically poor interception that was somehow sacked and thrown at B.J. Hill, were interspersed with the person sacking him and intercepting it as the process of being sacked was ongoing.
missing blitzes and getting rocked by them; we’ll address some of this issue in our discussion of game-planning. To cut a long tale short, Nick Mullens did not perform poorly and was not the Vikings’ downer in this game.
The Defensive Failure
As the fourth quarter got underway, an image on the NFL Network broadcast stated that the Vikings had not allowed a touchdown in about 160 minutes of play. The next play, they conceded a touchdown. I’m grateful for the announcer curse.
The Vikings lost in overtime in the fourth quarter after actually controlling the game for forty-five minutes. allowing three touchdowns to be scored after nearly three games without any being scored. Maybe it was allowing Tee Higgins to humiliate them with a catch that would be featured in future NFL advertisements. or allowing Jake Browning to make some really nice throws into the Vikings’ signature drop-eight coverage.
They were unable to stop the pass dropping guys into coverage or provide pressure on blitzes. The ideal combination to blow a lead. This was the kind of defensive meltdown that other teams could see coming and capitalize on. The Vikings are absolutely and utterly screwed if Detroit pulls off any of the comparable maneuvers Cincinnati was able to execute. All they have going for them is this defense. This squad will not be in the postseason if they are unable to win with a backup quarterback.
The two quarterback sneaks that, for lack of better words, failed spectacularly are what most people probably took away from the game on Saturday. Those are the terms I’ll chose to use.
The Vikings went farther backward than forwards on two consecutive plays thanks to a tush-push from 5′ 8″ and 181 pounds return specialist Brandon Powell. This resulted in the Vikings turning the ball over on downs in overtime and thus ending the game.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell stated that neither of them believed Cincinnati had the proper package on the field to stop it, which is why they were assigned to the respective positions. Powell was on the field to serve as a stand-in for the previously arranged up jet-sweep play.
