The Vikings and Raiders Played a Historically Inept Game on Sunday
The Vikings’ week 13 win over the Raiders was a borderline comical affair between two teams that refused to score. Before Minnesota went up 3-0 in the final minutes, there were grumblings around the stadium that 0-0 could be possible. It’s borderline impossible to hold offenses scoreless in today’s NFL as evidenced by the historical nuggets from this one. It was the lowest-scoring game in the past 16 seasons and the lowest-scoring indoor game in NFL history. The only silver lining for the Vikings’ offense from that game was that they managed not to come out on the losing end.
The Vikings Have to Play a Different Quarterback Moving Forward
After another brutal offensive showing the Vikings have to answer the same question that they faced before the bye week. What are they going to do at quarterback? Josh Dobbs has played so horrendously the past three games that he’s almost certainly out of the equation. That leaves the Vikings with a choice between rookie Jaren Hall and veteran journeyman Nick Mullens. Conventional logic would assume that because Mullens led the offense to victory down the stretch against the Raiders, he will be the first in line to start. That may very well end up being the case, but what does that do for the Vikings?
Mullens has shown multiple times throughout his career that while he’s a capable backup, he’s not a quality NFL starter. Mullens had ample opportunity to prove himself with two separate 8 game stints with the loaded 49ers. As good as Kevin O’Connell is, if Kyle Shanahan couldn’t make it work nobody likely will. Again, that’s not to say that Mullens isn’t an excellent backup that can keep Minnesota in most games.
What does moderately competent play from a backup quarterback on an expiring deal do for the Vikings’ short and long-term outlook though? The Vikings still wouldn’t have a chance against any of the three top teams in the NFC with Mullens. They also would still need to figure out their backup quarterback situation for next year and beyond. With that being the case, it makes sense that the Vikings could look to Hall instead. In very limited action, Hall has shown some impressive qualities. The Vikings may as well see if they have a cost-controlled backup for next season and beyond in Hall. Regardless of who starts Saturday, the quarterback position will continue to be one to monitor in Minnesota.
Vikings Week 13 Bright Spots
The Entire Defense
It’s tough to say who should get most of the credit when a defense stifles a team the way the Vikings did Sunday. Therefore, the entire unit will share the credit here. They were outstanding from start to finish in shutting out the Raiders. There were really only two moments in the whole game where it felt like the Raiders “might” score. One was on a long opening drive to start the game that ultimately ended in a punt. The other was after a long pass that had the Raiders in the Red Zone before they promptly fumbled.
The Vikings notably blitz with abandon under Brian Flores. That was clearly affecting Raiders rookie quarterback Aiden O’Connell’s internal clock throughout. He was forced into multiple bad decisions that killed drives for the Raiders. The final mistake was the interception by linebacker Ivan Pace that killed Las Vegas’s final drive.
If there was a face to the onslaught Sunday it was Pace’s performance as the leader of the Vikings defense. Since taking over as the defensive play caller for the injured Jordan Hicks, the defense has been humming. On Sunday Pace led Minnesota with 13 tackles and tacked on a sack to go along with his interception. If Pace keeps this up, he’s going to end up a finalist for Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Vikings Week 13 Disappointments
Receivers not Named Jefferson
This isn’t pardoning Dobbs’ ball placement, which was terrible all day, but his receivers weren’t great either. There were so many balls that should have been caught during the game. Not all of them were recorded as drops, but there are just certain passes that NFL receivers should catch more times than not. It felt like not a single one of those balls was hauled in by the Vikings receivers on Sunday. Jordan Addison, K.J. Osborn, and T.J. Hockenson all had bad moments during the game. The only nice snag of the game came from Justin Jefferson on the play he got hurt. If Jefferson ends up missing time, this group is going to have to step up in his absence, no matter who is under center.
Main Photo: [Brad Rempel] – USA Today Sports
