The Minnesota Vikings won their sixth straight game on Sunday to improve to 7-1. Once again, they fooled around with a less-than-stellar opponent. But they shouldn’t apologize for it. The 20-17 victory over the Washington Commanders was far from sexy. For weeks, everyone has said that the Vikings aren’t as great as their record says they are. Skeptics say that they aren’t an “elite team.” And, after this week, it’s fair to ask who is.
On Thursday night, the Philadelphia Eagles let the Houston Texans hang around for most of the game. Philadelphia prevailed, winning 29-17 in a game that was much closer than the score indicates. The Kansas City Chiefs had to rely on overtime to beat a Tennessee Titans team that completed five passes in 68 minutes of play. And the Buffalo Bills, who many already have penciled in as victors next week against the Vikings, fell to the overachieving yet inferior New York Jets on Sunday.
The Vikings aren’t making it pretty, but there appears to be little panic when adversity hits. That’s the sign of a mentally strong team, and the Vikings have a pretty strong roster on paper. Throw that together with their smart, innovative head coach, and it becomes increasingly harder to exclude this team from the league’s elite.
Here are five numbers that tell the story of the Vikings’ victory over the Commanders.
7
The Vikings received the opening kickoff and stormed downfield. Minnesota capped off the nine-play, 78-yard drive with a nine-yard touchdown pass from Kirk Cousins to Justin Jefferson to take an early 7-0 lead.
Unfortunately, the Vikings offense struggled to replicate that success for much of the afternoon. Their next seven drives resulted in zero points as the Commanders took a 17-7 lead early in the fourth quarter. It was the same offensive lull the team has encountered in nearly every game this season, and it almost cost them again.
9
Before the game, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that Kevin O’Connell informed him that newly-acquired tight end T.J. Hockenson would have a heavy role in the offense. Fans wondered if he would just be a decoy because he only spent five days in purple following last week’s trade.
Instead, Hockenson provided the Vikings offense with the type of tight end play that had been non-existent so far in 2022. He caught a team-high nine passes on nine targets for 70 yards. No play was more important than when Kirk found Hockenson on third-and-4 with 2:41 to play in regulation. Hockenson turned the short pass into a nine-yard gain, helping the Vikings get a fresh set of downs to bleed the clock and set up a game-winning score.
23
Minnesota’s off-season acquisition of Za’Darius Smith has proven to be one of the best signings this season. Smith was named NFC Defensive Player of the Month in October and fit right into the Vikings’ new 3-4 defense. His fellow edge rusher, Danielle Hunter, had a slower start to the season. He had three sacks through the first seven games.
But on Sunday, it appeared that Hunter had finally hit his stride in the defense to provide the lethal pass rush that the Vikings need moving forward. Hunter sacked Taylor Heinicke twice, notching seven total pressures on the day. Smith didn’t get credited with any sacks, but he led the team with nine pressures. Altogether, Minnesota pressured Heinicke 23 times and racked up three total sacks.
11.8
Cousins may have played his best game of the season on Sunday. His box score still appeared pedestrian. He was only 22/40 passing for 265 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. But all top three wide receivers had drops that helped stall drives. Still, Kirk remained undeterred.
With an aggressive mindset, Kirk had an average depth of target (ADOT) of 11.8 yards on Sunday, his highest mark of the season. None was more impressive than the 47-yard rainbow that he dropped into Jefferson’s hands to set the Vikings up inside the red zone. Although the Vikings would settle for a field goal to cut the deficit to 17-10, the play sparked the offense for the rest of the game.
15
Tied 17-17, the Vikings took possession at their own 46-yard line with 6:12 to play in regulation. Reminiscent of their 17-play, 75-yard touchdown drive against the Chicago Bears in Week 5, Minnesota drained the clock with a methodical, intentional drive.
Washington had already used two timeouts, so the Vikings hit the Commanders with small gains that helped run the clock. When the drive stalled at Washington’s 4-yard line, the Vikings sent Greg Joseph out for the field goal attempt with 1:52 to play. Fortunately for Minnesota, the Commanders were flagged for unnecessary roughness on the kick, and the Vikings got a new set of downs.
Instead of going for a quick touchdown, Dalvin Cook took two handoffs and danced around in the backfield. Kirk took a four-yard loss on third down. Joseph would again trot out for the game-winning field goal; this time, the 28-yarder counted with 12 seconds remaining. The drive spanned 15 plays, 44 yards, and ate six minutes off the clock.
