Vikings Crushed by Falcons 40-23

The Vikings looked atrocious today, and they should have lost by more than 17 points. The overall score does little justice to the level at which the Vikings were dominated today. A couple touchdowns after the outcome of the game was already decided helped bring the score closer together, but they meant close to nothing besides stat padding and fantasy football scores.

It was clear how this game was going to go after the first play of the game, when Kirk Cousins threw the ball directly to Atlanta linebacker Deion Jones. Things never got better from that point forward. Two more interceptions before halftime for Cousins took away any energy that the team had going forward. All three of the interceptions led to points for the Falcons, two touchdowns and one field goal. At half time the Falcons led 20-0.

Coming out of halftime I was surprised Cousins was still in the game, as he clearly was not playing his best football. He eventually got the Vikings on the board with an 11 yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson with 6:25 left in the third quarter. The fact that it took nearly 40 minutes of game time to score any points against a winless team frustrated me. The amount of talent that the Vikings have on offense should not be held scoreless for nearly three quarters.

Justin Jefferson was one of the bright spots today, finishing the game with 9 catches for 166 yards and 2 touchdowns, as well as a 2 point conversion. The rookie has been one of the few exciting players to watch on this Vikings team, and has even drawn early comparisons to Randy Moss. Jefferson seemed to me as the only player with any energy in the third quarter. I understand that at the time when the score was 23-7 it's difficult to comeback, but if it's going to happen it would be against the Falcons. I think Jefferson was trying to bring the type of energy that would lead a comeback, but it was just not reciprocated by the rest of the team.

Without Dalvin Cook the running game really struggled, as Alexander Mattison carried the ball only 10 times for a measly 26 yards. Ameer Abdullah and Mike Boone didn't have any success either, combing for 3 carries for 6 yards. Against the 32nd ranked defense in the league (that's dead last), I expected a much bigger game from Mattison, as did a lot of people. However, being down 20-0 at the start of the first half doesn't allow for a lot of runs to be called, which simultaneously hurt Cousins play-action plays.

The defense did not look very good today either. Allowing 40 points to an 0-5 team is unacceptable. Only one takeaway in the game, which was a fumble at the end of the first quarter. That fumble recovery could have turned the tide of the game had the Vikings been able to score points of the turnover. The defense didn't play completely terrible, but they failed to make stops in big moments and were stuck on the field for extended periods of time.

The rookie cornerbacks looked decent at times in the game. Cameron Dantzler had a couple of nice tackles in the backfield and Jeff Gladney was the one that forced the fumble. However the young defensive back group couldn't keep up with Julio Jones forever, as he ended up with 8 catches for 137 yards and 2 touchdowns. One of those 2 touchdowns was a backbreaking 40 yard touchdown on a fourth and 3 in the third quarter. Coming into the year I knew that the cornerbacks were going to be the Vikings biggest weakness, but I was hopeful that they would do better than this. That was my first mistake, being hopeful of the Vikings.

Although Cousins did end the game with 3 touchdowns and nearly 350 yards, it couldn't erase the abysmal first half that he had. This year Cousins has really struggled in the first half, posting a first half QBR of only 56.7. In the second half Cousins has a QBR of 116.6, which is mostly caused by playing from behind nearly every game. The reality is that Cousins will put up decent stat lines, but he really struggles when games don't start his way. In games against the Packers, Colts, and now Falcons as soon as things started to unravel in the first half, he was unable to rally the team behind him and make games truly competitive.

The game was truly disappointing to watch. After a game where the Vikings were a play away from a huge upset against the Seahawks, the last thing I expected was a dud against the Falcons. Cousins has frustrated me all season, and at this point I'm looking for other options. I think Cousins is slowing losing his chance to be the Vikings starting quarterback. In his career the most interceptions he has had in a season is 13, and with 10 already he is well on his way to break that record.

Mike Zimmer has been disappointing to watch as well, and I do not understand his commitment to Kirk Cousins and his style of football. I was already weary of Zimmer before the season started, as things have not been the same since the NFC Championship loss to the Eagles. I don't think Zimmer has adjusted to the new era of high scoring offenses with mobile, strong quarterbacks. Neither Zimmer or Cousins fit the role of the new age of football. Zimmer's decision against the Seahawks last week was frustrating to watch, but he did it again this week. Early in the second quarter the Vikings had a chance to make it a one possession game. After running into a wall on first and second down, Zimmer called a pass play which honestly worked. Irv Smith Jr just had the ball punched out of his hands by a nice defensive play. Rather than take the points, Zimmer elected to run the ball into the wall once more, keeping the Vikings down 2 possessions.

I think Zimmer doesn't trust his defense and it shows in these fourth down decisions. He knows that the defense is young and can't keep up and he doesn't trust them to get stops when it matters. Granted they haven't been able to make stops, I think it would help if Zimmer showed some confidence in them.

At this point in the season I think the Vikings should start thinking about the future. At 1-5 this season is not going anywhere, so why sabotage our future draft pick by trying to win games? I know tanking isn't openly accepted by some people, but to me, I would rather watch the Vikings with careful optimism about the future rather than disappointment in current games. Knowing what this team is capable of, or what they should be capable of, makes it harder to watch when they struggle as much as they did today.

There's a reason I'm not a NFL GM, but if I was I would look for options besides Cousins. Right now the backup is Sean Mannion and I'm not sure he's much better. I would be excited to see a trade for another quarterback or a free agent signing, even if it is just to have a better backup behind Cousins. Trading for someone like Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold, or Dwayne Haskins would all be preferable to Mannion, and I wouldn't mind seeing them step into a game if Cousins fails to produce as he did today.

In the free agent market, from an pure athletic performance, Colin Kaepernick wouldn't be a bad option. I know it would cause a lot of controversy, and it might have more negative effects than not, but Kaepernick is not a bad quarterback. I would be curious to see if he could revitalize the Vikings offense, and how he would play either Cook, Thielen, and Jefferson.

The 1-5 Vikings look forward to a much needed Bye week next week, and hope to regroup. A refreshed Vikings team will take on the 4-1 Packers in week 8.

As always, with cautious optimism, skol Vikings.