Vikings' offensive line looks awful in first loss, but they still can rediscover Super Bowl form
Every Super Bowl team has that non-Super Bowl moment in the regular season.
For the eventual champion Denver Broncos last season, it was Peyton Manning’s meltdown against the Kansas City Chiefs. For the 2014 New England Patriots it was Tom Brady doing the same in K.C. Even the Seattle Seahawks had a few moments of weakness late in the season before they won it all in 2013, mostly when their offensive line melted down. It was the unit that was said to be that team’s Achilles heel.
This isn’t a declaration crowning the Minnesota Vikings Super Bowl champions. We’re just saying they can. Yes, even after an awful performance in their first loss of the season, falling 21-10 to the Philadelphia Eagles.
The issues in this one were clear — and it starts with the offensive line. In a brutal performance, Sam Bradford was strip-sacked four (yes, four) times leading to three turnovers in a six-possession span that killed off whatever momentum they tried to get back in a road game coming off the bye week.
Bradford’s first pick came on a heavy pressure in which he was hit as he threw. He was attacked from behind, bludgeoned from his front side and harried up the middle for good measure. The run game was stuffed — outside of a 29-yard Matt Asiata run, the Vikings averaged less than 2.5 yards per carry and were stopped on a fourth-and-goal late in the game that could have given them a chance.
If a team turns the ball over four times and gets stopped twice inside the 6-yard line without scoring, it’s going to lose almost every time. And that’s why the Vikings likely are going to be fine in the long term. For real.
Sure, this performance was ugly as sin. But the defense forced four fumbles and picked off two passes of its own and was pretty darned good (even by its own lofty standards) for being put in so many tough situations in this game.
But Mike Zimmer has made his mark as a coach who solves problems and motivates. Granted, given all the losses on the O-line this season, there’s only so much motivation he can implore with the lack of talent. But Jake Long will get better, and there’s always the possibility that general manager Rick Spielman can find some help elsewhere for this unit — much like he did landing Bradford out of nowhere — even with some salary-cap restrictions that will be a hindrance.
This one bad performance doesn’t undercut all the good the Vikings have done to this point, such as not turning it over on 57 straight possessions coming into the game. And the upcoming schedule is hardly daunting. They could be facing the Chicago Bears’ third-string quarterback, Matt Barkley, next Monday night at Soldier Field. That might snap their confidence back in short order.
Does Bradford need to clean up his performance? Yes. More important, does the line have to be markedly better? Absolutely. But the best Vikings team we’ve seen in some time can put all its efforts into stopping this bleeding and still get to a Super Bowl.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
