Studs and duds from Vikings 27-20 loss vs. Chiefs
The Minnesota Vikings played well, but they couldn’t pull off the win in a 27-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
It was a very hard fought game for both teams, but they just didn’t have enough to pull it out in the end. Some of that was injury-related, as multiple Vikings left the game at one point, including wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
Throughout the game, there were multiple examples of studs and duds on Sunday, including a coach.
Stud: QB Kirk Cousins
The last two weeks, Kirk Cousins has not played with good pocket management or confident decision making. Against the Kansas City Chiefs, it was much improved.
He was sacked multiple times, but maneuvered the pocket well and even created outside of structure on a 17 yard pass to Jordan Addison. This is the type of play that the Vikings want to see from Cousins, as it will help them attack down the field.
Dud: S Harrison Smith
After a monster game against the Carolina Panthers, Harrison Smith hasn’t been noticeable in this game. The Chiefs have done a really good job limiting the success of the Vikings’ blitzes and that has limited the effectiveness of Smith.
One of the biggest plays of the game came on fourth down. Patrick Mahomes threw a deep ball to Justin Watson and Smith was trailing the play. He didn’t look back and the drive ended in a touchdown. Those mistakes are incredibly costly, especially against the reigning Super Bowl champion.
Stud: OLB Marcus Davenport
When the Vikings signed Marcus Davenport this offseason, there was a lot of discussion about why they gave him a contract. He was often injured and only had 0.5 sacks last season despite a top-10 pressure percentage.
Over his first two games as a Viking, Davenport has two sacks with a third that you can directly attribute to him. He is winning from multiple alignments and attacking the quarterback with consistency. This is the sidekick the Vikings needed opposite of Danielle Hunter.
Dud: HC Kevin O'Connell
Overall, O’Connell’s play calling was good and used space well. The Vikings couldn’t always take advantage of situations, but it wasn’t on the play-calling.
Where O’Connell failed the Vikings was in his game management. With just under 10 minutes left in the game, they burned their last timeout. That type of timeout management against a great team is inexcusable. That timeout would have been huge on the Vikings final drive.
Stud: WR Jordan Addison
With Justin Jefferson injuring his hamstring, Addison needed to step up in a big way and he did. Not only did he catch his third touchdown of his rookie year, but he caught six total passes for 64 yards.
The biggest one of the day was on a fourth down where he caught a hitch route for a first down. That play setup an Alexander Mattison touchdown to bring the Vikings within seven points. Addison has proven to be the player they thought they were getting at 23rd overall.
Dud: ILB Ivan Pace Jr.
After a banner first three games, the last two have been rather meh for the undrafted rookie. Ivan Pace Jr. was relatively invisible on Sunday afternoon. He had only three tackles and wasn’t making an impact blitzing. Pace wasn’t likely to continue at that pace but his drop over the last two weeks was significant.
