It’s long been clear that the Minnesota Vikings defense is entering a transition year. Mike Zimmer has thus been tasked with getting a myriad of young players adjusted to life in the NFL. The defensive transition, at least according to the prevailing wisdom, meant that the Vikings offense would shoulder the burden in the season’s opening weeks. So far, the offense has failed to live up to these expectations. Gary Kubiak and his uninspired play calling has been confusing and, quite often, infuriating.
Gary Kubiak and the Minnesota Vikings Struggles
Minnesota’s opening drive, though sometimes clunky, was successful. Adam Thielen did a nice job of getting open, and the Vikings kept their offense balanced. Once they got into the red zone, though, the offense stalled, so they settled for a Dan Bailey field goal.
Their second and third drives, in contrast, were completely uninspiring. In back to back series, the Vikings failed to get the ball away from their own endzone. On two straight third and longs, Kubiak chose to merely run the ball rather than make an earnest effort to pickup the first down. Fresh off a game where Minnesota’s opponent dominated the time of possession, it was shocking to see the offense so lackadaisical. The main takeaway from the opening three drives rested in how little Kubiak did to incorporate Minnesota’s playmakers.
Their fourth possession began with around six minutes left in the half. With the Vikings on their own two-yard line, Kubiak smartly called a designed rollout that saw Cousins find Irv Smith Jr. for a short gain. Dalvin Cook then picked up the first down, but offsetting penalties nullified the play. Shortly thereafter, the Vikings gave up a safety (for the second straight week) as Cousins failed to find an open man on third down.
At this stage, Cousins is what he is. The Vikings’ organization understands this, and they’ve decided to roll with him. The onus now falls on the coaches to put Cousins in a position to succeed. Heading into the half, Cousins was 6/17 for 59 yards, zero touchdowns, and two interceptions. They were one-for-six on third downs. Cook only touched the ball six times.
Miraculously, the Colts only led 15-3. The Vikings, in other words, still had a shot to win.
The Second Half
The defense held up their end of the bargain to begin the second half. Jalyn Holmes forced a hold on Braden Smith. Eric Wilson then had a tackle for a seven-yard loss. Yannick Ngakoue then had a strip sack. Facing 3rd and 38, the Colts wisely threw a short pass before punting the ball to Minnesota. Minnesota had favorable field position and some momentum.
The offense, though, continued their awful play. After an incomplete pass to Thielen on first down, Cousins threw his third interception. While it’s true that the Minnesota receiver had his hands on the ball, Cousins did throw it behind his receiver. Kubiak can’t be blamed for Cousins’ accuracy (or, rather, lack thereof) but he can be blamed for failing to integrate Minnesota’s playmakers, Cook foremost among them.
Kirk Cousins had a rough game vs. the Colts 👀 @brgridiron
11/26
113 yards
3 INTs
15.9 QBRVikings lost 28-11 pic.twitter.com/ORXawLUEj4
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 20, 2020
Gary Kubiak looked to rectify this obvious issue. Cook got the ball plenty more in Minnesota’s next drive. Minnesota found some success, but they were undone by Irv Smith’s costly penalty (Smith had a rough game). To end the third quarter, Minnesota’s offense had 36 plays for 111 yards. Minnesota only possessed the ball for 16:38.
Minnesota’s opening offensive possession in the fourth quarter featured more of the same: no urgency, a lack of precision, and an overall ineffective approach. Typically, Cousins is the king of garbage time. On Sunday, the Vikings even struggled to accumulate the meaningless stats that come from already losing the game.
Looking Ahead
It has only been two games, but there are some unsettling trends emerging for Minnesota’s offense. They have been unable to integrate their various playmakers into the game plan. A lack of creativity and urgency frequently leaves the Vikings behind the sticks. The offensive line was supposed to improve in their second year in Kubiak’s system, but we’re watching the usual underwhelming play.
Gary Kubiak’s uninspired play calling thus leaves fans with several questions. Why haven’t they made a better effort to integrate Justin Jefferson, Kyle Rudolph, and Irv Smith Jr. into the offense? Where are the creative screen passes from last season? Why does the offense fail to demonstrate any rhythm after the opening drive?
Kubiak is surely asking himself these same questions. According to the game broadcast, the Vikings now have a twelve percent chance of making the playoffs. If Kubiak can’t find answers quick, the Vikings’ season will be over sooner rather than later.
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