The Minnesota Vikings sustained more than a loss after the Kansas City Chiefs beat them 27-20 at U.S. Bank Stadium. Justin Jefferson suffered a hamstring injury in the fourth quarter. Josh Oliver fumbled on the first play, adding to their 12 turnovers this year. And they used up all their timeouts by the middle of the fourth quarter.
Turnovers have plagued the Vikings all season, and they haven’t been the situational masters they were last year. They’re 1-4 in one-score games after going 11-0 last season. Jefferson’s injury only makes matters worse.
Below are five numbers that tell the story of Sunday afternoon’s game:
7
Not only do the Vikings have 12 turnovers on the year, but seven have come in the first quarter this season.
2
Addison is gaining Cousins’ trust. Cousins turned to him to convert 2 fourth downs against Kansas City on Sunday.
9:05
After using a timeout on a pivotal third down in the third quarter and challenging a borderline catch by Travis Kelce, the Vikings only had one timeout entering the 4th quarter. They used it with 9:05 left to go in the game and didn’t have a timeout for the rest of the game.
50%
Brian Flores and the Vikings didn’t blitz Patrick Mahomes 86% of the time like they did Justin Herbert, but they still sent a blitzer on 50% of Mahomes’ snaps, far more than he usually sees.
64
Cousins said what we’re all thinking. “Jordan is the real deal,” he said after the game. “We hit on that draft pick.” Not only did Cousins go to him on fourth down, but Addison picked it up when Jefferson went down, leading all Vikings receivers with 64 yards.
