September 15, 2025 • 28 mins
Welcome back to the Vikings Postgame Report presented by Lumen - The trusted network of A.I. The Minnesota Vikings fell 22-6 to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday Night Football at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Falcons defense made it difficult for the Vikings offense throughout the game. Vikings Quarterback J.J. McCarthy threw for 158 yards and ran for another 25 yards on the ground but also had 2 interceptions. Running back Jordan Mason led the team with 30 yards rushing and Justin Jefferson had 3 receptions for 81 yards. Jefferson hit a milestone in the game, notching his 500th career reception in the 2nd Quarter. Will Reichard scored the only points for the Vikings, converting kicks from 33 and 51 yards, respectively. The Vikings defense continued to get pressure for the 3rd straight game as Linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. led the team with 9 tackles and Safety Theo Jackson had a fumble recovery on a nice punch out from Linebacker Eric Wilson. Linebacker Jonathan Greenard, Edge Rusher Dallas Turner, and Defensive Tackle Jalen Redmond all recorded sacks in the game. Paul Allen and Pete Bercich recap the game, including: the impact of injuries on the game, the need for the Vikings to continue to find their identity, and the pending matchup against the Bengals next Sunday afternoon. Plus, Head Coach Kevin O’Connell and Quarterback J.J. McCarthy’s press conferences all are in this edition of the Vikings Postgame Report - presented by Lumen - The trusted network of A.I.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Hey, what's going on?
Speaker 2 (00:19):
It was the Minnesota Vikings regular season home opener against
the Atlanta Falcons, and that was six days removed from
beating the Chicago Bears and starting one to zero. But
not such good news this evening. Atlanta wins twenty two
to six. There was one touchdown in the game. It
was scored by Atlanta, a rushing touchdown by Tyler Aljeer. Now,
(00:42):
the Minnesota Vikings were a battered bunch tonight and it
got worse during the game. They came into the game
down Jeff Okuda, Andrew van Ginkel, and Blake Cashman. Also
Christian Darisaw despite practicing a little bit, he didn't play
at left tackle justin school is a replace Placeman played
then he got hurt during the game. Walter Rouse had
(01:04):
to play a majority of the second half. Ryan Kelly,
tenth year center from Alabama UH he missed some practice
during the course of the week. He got hurt during
the game, so Michael Jurgens ended up playing center for
a majority of the second half and with Pete Bursajeh
Paul Allen. After the way I laid that thing out
and the fact they didn't score a touchdown. I want
to say other than that, miss Lincoln, how was the play.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
We and then you lose Aaron Jones toward the end
of the game as well. I mean, it's like it
put part of your party.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
You has to.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Say, you know, don't tell me how rough the waters are.
Just bring the ship in. And by that, I don't
mean you know that the Vikings are going to win
this football game, per se, but make you know, but
make it a game. And I'm looking at an offense
that continues to start slowly. We had some you know,
a couple we had a nice big play before halftime.
(01:56):
We have an opportunity to Jalen Naylor that that just
flat McCarthy. I know he's a rookie and he's starting,
but he finishes the day with a thirty seven point
five rating and just sometimes trying to trying to do
too much. I think the Zach Harrison sack is a
perfect situation. You have a break in protection, you get
(02:19):
to the top of your drop. I mean, I understand
he tried to duck it and then hope, but you know,
hold on to the football, right, hold on to the football.
But overall, just no rhythm the time of possession is
absolutely been killing us the last couple of games, and
we ended up with thirteen more minutes of the football.
(02:39):
And you look at so you look at the injuries,
and you're going, okay, well, our defense is playing an
extra quarter, an entire quarter, I mean on the field.
So the two hundred and eighteen yards rushing that they
got net was more than our entire offense got all day.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
That's the first time a Minnesota Vikings defense has admitted
more than two hundred rushing yards to a team since
September of twenty twenty three at Philadelphia Jalen Hurts in
that bunch twenty two to six, the final score of
the Falcons beat the Minnesota Vikings. And you know, granted,
there you have a rookie playing left guard. You're down
(03:16):
to your third left tackle with Walter Rouse, your second
center with Michael Jurgens, and then you have you have
fries or right guard and O'Neil a right tackle. But
still they you know, the Vikings allowed six sacks. And
what should be frustrating about that is, not only did
Atlanta have just won the previous week against Tampa Bay,
(03:37):
they only have thirty one last year that was second
worst in the NFL. So what they do. They drafted
a couple of guys defensively, Jalen Jalen Walker and James
Pierce from Tennessee, and they signed Leonard Floyd, the the
veteran journeyman edge rusher. And it's starting to come together
(03:57):
a little bit for them. They had six sacks to
Night Pete.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
They did, and I can't sit here and say that
that was just them lining up one on one. I
mean they had a couple of nice blitzes, a couple
of stunts. Uh, we had some protection issues on our end.
We're returning guys free. But those those are the mistakes
that that don't help. The ones that kill you are
the turnovers, Paul and even you know, even at the
(04:22):
interception at the end of the game.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
I mean those those have to stop.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
And it hasn't quite been an interest, you know, just uh,
a waterfall of interceptions. It's it's been fumbles, it's been
on a number of different things. But our offense is
lacking rhythm right now. It's it's lacking an identity right now.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
And I get it.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
We're we're trying to grow with the young man and
and you know, my question is, is you know you're
seeing Jalen Naylor and jj McCarthy being one on one
and the opportunities that are there in the passing game,
it has to be it's just difficult watch because we
should be throwing the football up and down the yard.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Will I understand, We'll get.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
There, yeah, but it's it's it's hard, man, It's hard
to watch a guy grow up.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
It also was a night Justin Jefferson not only had
three catches, but his first was the five hundredth of
his career. So he and Larry Fitzgerald Junior are the
two fastest and youngest in the history of the NFL
to do that. But really, you know, the game of
inches cliche with the NFL. It's a cliche because it
stands the test of time. And when it was a
(05:33):
two score game, fifteen to six, Jalen Naylor just blew
by rookie safety Xavier Watts for what would have been
a seventy two yard touchdown, and McCarthy saw it, but
he overthrew him, and that that was part of the
negativity tonight.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
It was and that I think the other actually, I
think the other play that stands out to me is
about a minute and a half left to go in
a third quarter. He short hopped the pass that Justin
Jefferson and Jay would have caught, you know, if you
if you would have caught, I'm sure he would have.
But that would have been another first down and an
extension of the drive. And at that time, it was
still a matter of field goals, right, it wasn't. It
(06:12):
wasn't a two touchdown type game, so we had They
had plenty of opportunities, just nothing. I mean, they figured
it out in the running game. They went to a
three wide look to run the you know, to get
to get Atlanta into a four man front where they
were able to really start running the football real well
with Jordan Mason. But still, uh, as much as our
(06:35):
defense kept them out of the end zone, except for
right at the end of the game, we we didn't
even sniff it.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
We didn't even come close.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Let's hear from Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell, who
has played the Falcons three times and is now two
and one against said squad.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
Get to injuries here in a second, but obviously very
disappointing performance tonight really just starts with obviously our ability
to take our week of preparation, even on a short week,
and show up and play a lot better in all
three phases. Got to coach better, specifically me, our team
(07:13):
will handle the adversity that is now right at our
you know, right at our feet, and we've got to
go back to work and improve immediately. There's some things
just overall, you know, we've got to stop doing many,
many things, sometimes very noticeable, sometimes things throughout plays that
(07:34):
you know, the negative plays are stacking up against us,
and and where it seems like right now we take
one step forward to take two steps back, and that's
across the board, you know, specifically on our offense, I
thought the defense battled, they held them to one to
five in the red zone and really kept us in
the football game, and just did not do enough clearly offensively.
(07:56):
And anytime you you know, lose the turnover battle, have
more penalties, you're you're going to have a hard time
winning a football game no matter what you try to do.
And I thought our guys stuck, stuck with it, hung together,
showed uh, you know, showed the type of team togetherness
they have. But in the end, we've got to start
executing at a little higher level. And that's as an entire group,
(08:20):
and that's me included. So, uh, we will go back
to work and attempt to, uh, you know, have a
really good posts a post game tomorrow where we all
look inward first and and try to improve find the
little things here and there throughout the game. Even if
somebody played fantastic, and I'm sure there's gonna be some
performances where guys did play well, are you playing to
(08:41):
a standard that we talk about? And that's all of
us coaching staff included. So we've got to clean up
our operation and clean up our you know, procedure as
well as our execution. And that's going to be a
theme that we will continue to focus on. I thought
our fans were phenomenal, which which makes it sting even
more knowing that we had that kind of atmosphere and
(09:04):
that's and that kind of support from our fan base.
And obviously there were some injuries. That is never going
to be an excuse. We put together roster. We feel
confident in guys stepping in across the board and performing.
So I want to update you guys on the injuries
before I take questions. Ryan Kelly didn't you know, have
(09:26):
a concussion. He was ruled out. Uh School also had
a concussion. He was ruled out. Grenard did have the
oblique but returned and and and battled and played his heart,
played his heart out fighting through that. Aaron Jones will
be evaluated for a hamstring. Don't know what that you
know what that looks like as of right now, but
(09:46):
we'll keep you guys updated, and then gave Murphy had
a his left knee m c L will be evaluated.
So came in a little banged up and added a
few names, but takes our entire football team needs to
be ready to go top to bottom. Guys that get
elevated all those things that's such as life in the NFL.
Back to where we go. You can't be a one
(10:07):
to know team if you're gonna allow an OH and
one to change anything about your mindset towards your individual
or collective group effort of trying to strive to become
the best football team we can this year long journey ahead.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
Kevin, what was your message after the game.
Speaker 4 (10:24):
It's a JJ, Yeah, it just you know, it was
one of those It was one of those games where
you know, once again only forty six plays. We just
you know, we've got to find a way as a group.
It's going to be easy to try to put the
microscope on JJ. And there's certainly some plays, some throws,
(10:44):
some things that I'm sure he would love to, you know,
get another out at. But I thought he also when
we did move it, you know, I thought he made
some throws and I thought he showed his athleticism, and
just as a group, we did not execute to our standard,
and it kind of moved from from guy to guy
at times, and you know, either a mental mental laps
(11:06):
or you know, physical labs, but either way, the negatives
start to mount and you're just not doing enough to
give yourself a chance to actually win the football game.
First and goal to two. The delay of the game, yeah,
you know, we uh, you know, we changed personnels. They
they told me they saw somebody step off our sideline
(11:27):
from very much further back than and once we had
made our substitution, that's why they held it. I got
to go back and see it. Obviously I'm looking down
at the area around the goal line. But my expectation was,
you know, at some point during that end of clock sequence,
there he would when they had had an opportunity to sub,
he would step away and uh, you know, he just didn't.
(11:50):
We we subbed, you know, we subbed, uh you know,
and got the play in before the headset communication went out.
Thought we'd get the playoff and and potentially get a
runoff there. Then we get moved back, we take a sack,
and that sequence was essentially over. So when we get
especially in a game like this, you know, that's a
critical critical time to put the ball in the end
(12:12):
zone and see if we can turn the momentum and
allow our defense to play with a little bit of momentum,
which they were never able to do. Any momentum they
had was able to overcome, you know, our sluggish performance
on offense. And you've got to play complimentary football. That's
the way we're going to build our game plans. That's
the way we're going to build ourselves as a team,
and it's going to take all three phases for sixty
(12:33):
minutes when you're playing against anybody in the NFL. I
thought Atlanta, you got to give them a lot of credit.
They came in Raheem had his guys ready to go,
and they beat us.
Speaker 5 (12:42):
Kevin some of the sacks and pressures where they had
guys coming in unblocked. What was the theme of why
those things happened when they had so many free runners.
Speaker 4 (12:50):
Yeah, I think, you know, there was there was definitely,
you know, there was definitely some times where some guys
got beaten some one on one situations. Got gotta go
back and see exactly Ben kind of what happened there.
But you know, you felt it certainly in the first
half there. And then you know, Ryan goes down in
the second quarter, School goes down in the third. We've
(13:11):
got some guys stepping in and you know, trying to play.
You're trying to help as much as you possibly can
from a schematic standpoint, with help here and there, especially
specifically on the edges. And then we had a miss
que kind of a you know, on the on the fumble,
was a little bit of a mental error there, and
we've got to get that cleaned up because that was critical,
(13:33):
you know, moment in the game where we got we
got some good field position and we had a chance
to once again try to capture the momentum in the game,
and we just didn't do it. I had a chance
at Speedy at one point on a third and short
thought it would be our best chance to try to
get a one on one for one of our guys
down the field, and you know, just overshot it a
little bit, And so there was just could we make
(13:53):
that one play, had a close to a twenty yard
run and get flagged for a holding call That sets
you back. So it just seemed to me Ben that
it was you know, it's the sacks come from a
lack of execution, sometimes on that down, sometimes it's on
a previous down. But forty six snaps and I believe
we had forty nine last week. We just got to
(14:15):
have more plays. We got to possess the football. We
we've we've got to find a way to stay on
the field longer because it's an important part of how
we need to play as a team, especially against a
team like that what you mentioned with Speedy, I think
the balls around thirty twenty eight something like that fourth down.
Do you think about that or is it? Yeah, we
had you know, we fumbled a snap early on when
(14:36):
I was pretty aggressive there with that fourth down early
it was inside of a half a yard and it
looked like the ball came you know, JJ might have
bobbled the ball a little bit and then we didn't
get that, gave the defense a short field they held
them to three. So definitely thought about it, but you know,
was hoping to get that one more timely stop to
try to have you know, anywhere from seven seven six
(14:58):
seven minutes left to try to then you know, activate
the ability to go try to you know, at least
put the ball on the end zone and then see
what happens there, whether you're in a sequence you know,
kind of like our opponent last week, where maybe it's
the on side, maybe it's there's enough time depending on
how much timeouts we have left to ultimately try to
see if we can get back in the football game.
(15:18):
And then at the end, obviously I made the decision,
you know, we we were kind of in a freeway situation.
Let them score, and knew it was going to take
two scores and two two point conversions, but at least
we would have the ball with some time and unfortunately
just didn't do anything with it.
Speaker 6 (15:33):
How much of the lack of rhythm offensively in some way,
in some way to be expected with a quarterback as
first two game versus how much do you feel as
if it's just been more lack of executions.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
Maybe, yeah, I think, you know, that's one of the
things that you know, we were are definitely going to
talk about, you know, as a coaching staff, because like
first half last week, you know, when you're talking about, okay,
you're on the road, maybe there's some you know, first
time on the road and things like that. Communication can
be tested. And I thought we improved as this game
went on, specifically in the second half last week. But
(16:08):
to me, being at home, having your snap count, having
your cadence, you've got to eliminate any and all pre
snap penalties, some of the straining penalties like a holding
call when a guy's in there. I think Walt was
in there on his first snap and just trying to strain,
and those are those things are going to happen. The
execution plays that are catastrophic are the ones that we've
(16:30):
got to find a way, you know, to eliminate, because
against any team in the NFL, if you do some
of the things we did tonight, you're gonna make it
really hard on yourself. You know, even if your guys
are fighting and scratching for sixty minutes, it was not
an effort thing in any three in any one of
the three phases. It's just we've got to find out,
you know, how we continue to strive to the standard
(16:51):
of execution that's required. You know, like I said, even
if a guy had a clean sheet for the whole
night but had a catastrophic error specifically around a quarterback too,
that's where we've got to try to find to elevate
elevate that bar and uh, you know, make you have
the cleanest possible execution around him. That's why we put
together the group we hope to put around him. Obviously,
(17:13):
when you've got your backup center coming in the game
and then your third tackle, you know, you know, playing
a significant amount of snaps, it's going to be hard.
But that's I mean, there's probably ten teams that went
through similar things today around the NFL, So you can't
I don't look at that as as you know, you
obviously adjust and you try to help any way you can.
But to me, the you know, the type of roster
(17:34):
and team I believe we have and I know we have,
the expectation is we're going to do what's required to
win a football game, and then we're gonna compete down
to the very end. Didn't think we did that tonight,
specifically on offense from an execution standpoint, all around that huddle,
and we've got to take a look at it. Guys
got to try to find you know, look look at
(17:54):
themselves very much. So like can I am I doing
everything on every single snap all forty six of this
mapps am I doing everything to to do my job
and be a trusted guy in that huddle. And once
we get to that point with the type of guys
we have, get as healthy as we can, I've got
all the confidence in the world that we are going
(18:15):
to you know, move the football and score points. This
is going to be a process, you know for our
our team, and our young quarterback is gonna, you know,
make some plays. He's gonna, you know, make some unbelievable throws,
which a couple a couple of those strows there that
got us down to the two I thought were big
time plays. And then other times he's gonna, you know,
have an attempt and just miss something a little long,
(18:37):
and you know, we'll go back and try to fix it.
But sometimes the fundamentals are gonna be right, the technique
they're going to be right, and he's just he's learning
on the fly right now. And there's the way you
overcome that is by the full groups execution level being
to a certain standard that we can go try to
compete and win with.
Speaker 5 (18:54):
On the the fumble that JJ picked up around the
goal line, there was looked like he was trying to
get a pitch off to Jordan Mason.
Speaker 4 (19:01):
What happened on that play, Yeah, it was a it
was kind of a play pass. He just dropped the ball.
It was kind of a you know, a play we've
you know, been practicing for a while. It just happened
to drop the ball in the play which is which
is tough because you you you end up in a
situation there where you know, we might have had, you know,
(19:22):
justin potentially there with them kind of selling out to
stop that play. Good sell by the guys up front.
We just dropped the ball and then we're, you know,
we're we're trying to find a way to get the
ball in the end zone from there. You know, he
was able to pick it up and at least get
it thrown away, and then we had the sequence with
the delay and then the sack and then we were
third and I believe goal from the maybe the fourteen
(19:43):
yard line. So that right there in the nuts in
the nutshell is what the night kind of was. And
there's nobody that's going to fix those things besides our
coaches and players. And you know, we've got the We've
got the greatest group ever in that locker room. I
have nothing but confidence and and our staff and myself
to you know, work with these guys and make sure
(20:04):
we continually constantly chase improvement. And it's early in the season.
We're one on one football team that's going to try
to win a game this week against a good team
coming in, and we certainly want to make sure we
play a lot better at home. That's for darn sure. Kevin.
Those first two runs last seem to be a lot
of mistakes, a lot of bad angles and as tackles.
What did you see from the side, Yeah, I thought,
(20:25):
you know, our defense scratch, you know, they they you know,
tried to scratch and call and play their hearts out.
But I did think tackling, you know, against a you know,
a good group. They've got some good guys when they
got the ball in their hands, you know, we had
some some players there. I thought Flow, you know, was
doing everything he could to try to limit some of
those runs and doing some things tactically, and we just
(20:45):
missed some tackles earlier on in the game and they
were able to kind of sustain some drives from it.
I thought it improved as the night went on, and
then they just fatigued. You know, they were just we
left them out there on the field far too much.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
I thought JJ McCarthy coming up shortly. But you know,
Kevin O'Connell was, he was he was dealt a short
It was the deck was limited. Let's just put it
that way. So hopefully some players get healthy and play
next week against Cincinnati. Andrew Van Ginkole missed this game
because of a concussion. I would fully expect him to
(21:17):
play next game. Christian Darisa is the wild card here,
you know, because he has been practicing, not necessarily every
day during the week, but he's had some full practices
but clearly is not ready to play. It'd be nice
if he played next game. But you mentioned that Aaron
Jones hamstring man. He's a running back, so you know,
Jordan Mason's nice to have as a change up to
(21:38):
Aaron Jones.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
He is, and you know, I Jordan Mason was the
guy for the beginning of the entire year for San
Francisco last year, so that you know, that's that's something
they think about. But yeah, Aaron Jones is such a
playmaker the ability to put he and Mason on the
field at the same time.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
To lose that ability or to lose.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
Any threat or any effectiveness in the running game right now,
Paul is gonna be tough. It's gonna be very, very
tough on the young quarterback. This is not a situation
where all of a sudden next week can start dropping
them back fifty times a game. We're not We're not
there yet. So Aaron Jones is a tough loss.
Speaker 4 (22:17):
All.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Let's hear from Minnesota Vikings quarterback Jay J. McCarthy.
Speaker 7 (22:22):
Obviously a very disappointing loss. You know, there's a lot
of things that immediately come to my mind of just
what we can do to get better. And you know,
just want to give kudos to the defense. I thought
they played absolutely outstanding. Uh will you know, absolutely Uh
played his butt off tonight. And we got to do
a better job as an offense just operating playing you know,
(22:44):
one play at a time and everyone executing their job.
All eleven of us. But yeah, this is unfortunate, but
I know we have a great you know, character culture
locker room that we're gonna respond from this, and we're
gonna learn and get better and bounce back next week.
Speaker 6 (23:03):
Anything that happened to Night's surprise, you did you experience
anything you hadn't experienced in the NFL before.
Speaker 7 (23:10):
You know what, I don't think, you know, anything really
surprised me. Every single game is just something new. I
wouldn't say it took me by surprise, but we just
got to do a better job of adapting, you know,
and taking advantage of opportunities when we're down in the
red zone to get seven points and not leave with
just three on the board. And yeah, there's a lot
of things we got to clean up, but you know,
it starts with me.
Speaker 4 (23:31):
I got to play.
Speaker 7 (23:31):
Better and we got to do a better job operating
this offense.
Speaker 6 (23:36):
JJ, you and Kevin look like I had a conversation
kind of then there just what was the extent of
that conversation Thenmonga.
Speaker 7 (23:44):
The extent was just, you know, there's a lot of
things we got to clean up, and there's a bright
future ahead in that locker room and just being able
to all be on the same page and really just
attack tomorrow, attack the meetings, attack the lyft, and get
back to you know, that one to know mentality every
single day. So I feel like, you know, it was
(24:04):
a short conversation that you never want to have, but
it was awesome that Koe have my back.
Speaker 8 (24:11):
J J.
Speaker 7 (24:11):
What what did you feel like the issue was with
somebody sacks time. There's a lot of things you can
factor into it. I think we'll get a better idea
of it when we look at you know, the all
twenty two and go through all the details. But I
feel like it just starts with the operation. You know,
we got to get in and out of the huddle fast.
We got to get the right calls protection wise, and
you know, I got to get the ball out as
(24:32):
quick as possible to the guys that can go make plays.
You know, there's a lot of opportunities where we left
it on the table with just you know, get the
ball out faster and you know, moving on from there.
But you know, I feel like it's an all eleven thing,
and you know, it starts with me first.
Speaker 4 (24:47):
I know people will look at two games and draw
plenty of conclusions. I'm just curious what do you take
from the two games you've played, and how do you
think about how you've played in those two games.
Speaker 7 (24:57):
We got a lot to do and I got a
lot to do personally. You know, there's a lot of
things about this game that you know show up and
you know, it's awesome to be part of such a
great group where I know we're going to grow together.
I know we're going to learn together. There's a lot
of love in that locker room, and that's what it
comes down to. You know, this is a long season.
You know everyone's telling me this is a freaking journey,
(25:18):
and I believe them wholeheartedly. So it's just about getting
it back to the drawing board and working on just
getting better at the little things and executing the simple
things better.
Speaker 8 (25:27):
JJ when you have guys going in and out with
the offensive line in front of you, like, how are
you trying to adapt and get on the same page
with new center, with a new tackle and just kind
of make sure that you can kind of sustain some.
Speaker 4 (25:39):
Offense going forward.
Speaker 7 (25:41):
It's really just next man up mentality. I know that
ko Quace Greggs all those guys put together a group
that you know, when that next guy steps up, it
shouldn't be a falloff at all. So I feel like,
you know, there was really no big changes in terms
of the mentality and you know the operation standpoint. But
at the end of the day, we just you got
to you know, continue to keep getting better and realize that,
(26:03):
you know, in those moments it shouldn't have any falloff
and we just got to keep executing the little things better.
That's what it really comes down to. So yeah, let's
say that on.
Speaker 5 (26:11):
The sneak, when you drop the ball there was there.
You got the same page of communication wise drives the
exchange and it is just a matter you dropped it
when it hit your hands.
Speaker 7 (26:21):
Yeah, take that on me for sure. I dropped it.
And uh, you know, you got to be better and
little things.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
Like I said, all right, So the Vikings are one
and one. Cincinnati next game. Joe Burrow hurt his toe
in a victory over Jacksonville today, So the Bengals are sweating.
They're starting quarterback coming to US Bank Stadium, and we'll
see how this thing works out. Because Jamar Chase and
Justin Jefferson in the same game. You know, I mean
(26:47):
Justin's not gonna want to have a three catch forty
two yard game or whatever with Jamar in the building,
and Jamar is a game changer with t Higgins should
be a good one next week.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
It should be.
Speaker 3 (26:57):
And that's the thing is you got to have short
memory when you win and an even shorter one when
you lose. And you know, for the Vikings, you had
a short week. Hopefully with back to back home games,
they could settle down a little bit, put together a
good week of practice, get maybe get some guys healthy,
and going into the Cincinnati game, where right, you got
(27:20):
you want to get some momento. You can get to
two and one, and then you got you know, then
you got the road trip, right, you got the road trip.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
Two games on the road or reseas.
Speaker 3 (27:29):
You can split a couple of those and just get
better along the way. Because that stretch where we're playing Philadelphia,
we're playing Baltimore, We're playing a lot of teams at home.
You've got to be a lot better than obviously what
you are now. But man, it's you want to see
it progress, I guess, is what I'm trying to say.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
You want to see the.
Speaker 3 (27:50):
Whole operation progress where it's getting better, but you're maybe
missing a play here or there. Right now, it's kind
of a lot of the same thing, and you know,
it's really you got to look hard to point to
some things that are promising, and I think the protection
of the quarterback is probably the biggest number one thing
(28:12):
right now.
Speaker 2 (28:13):
I'll talk to your next game, my brother. Thanks.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
That's p Versation and I'm Paul Allen.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
We thank luhmen for sponsorship of the postgame report. Thank
you very much, Lumen, and hopefully we have better news
for you next week. Atlanta beat Minnesota twenty two to
six at us Bank Stadium, and that's the postgame report
at vikings dot com.
Hey, what's going on?
Speaker 2 (00:19):
It was the Minnesota Vikings regular season home opener against
the Atlanta Falcons, and that was six days removed from
beating the Chicago Bears and starting one to zero. But
not such good news this evening. Atlanta wins twenty two
to six. There was one touchdown in the game. It
was scored by Atlanta, a rushing touchdown by Tyler Aljeer. Now,
(00:42):
the Minnesota Vikings were a battered bunch tonight and it
got worse during the game. They came into the game
down Jeff Okuda, Andrew van Ginkel, and Blake Cashman. Also
Christian Darisaw despite practicing a little bit, he didn't play
at left tackle justin school is a replace Placeman played
then he got hurt during the game. Walter Rouse had
(01:04):
to play a majority of the second half. Ryan Kelly,
tenth year center from Alabama UH he missed some practice
during the course of the week. He got hurt during
the game, so Michael Jurgens ended up playing center for
a majority of the second half and with Pete Bursajeh
Paul Allen. After the way I laid that thing out
and the fact they didn't score a touchdown. I want
to say other than that, miss Lincoln, how was the play.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
We and then you lose Aaron Jones toward the end
of the game as well. I mean, it's like it
put part of your party.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
You has to.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Say, you know, don't tell me how rough the waters are.
Just bring the ship in. And by that, I don't
mean you know that the Vikings are going to win
this football game, per se, but make you know, but
make it a game. And I'm looking at an offense
that continues to start slowly. We had some you know,
a couple we had a nice big play before halftime.
(01:56):
We have an opportunity to Jalen Naylor that that just
flat McCarthy. I know he's a rookie and he's starting,
but he finishes the day with a thirty seven point
five rating and just sometimes trying to trying to do
too much. I think the Zach Harrison sack is a
perfect situation. You have a break in protection, you get
(02:19):
to the top of your drop. I mean, I understand
he tried to duck it and then hope, but you know,
hold on to the football, right, hold on to the football.
But overall, just no rhythm the time of possession is
absolutely been killing us the last couple of games, and
we ended up with thirteen more minutes of the football.
(02:39):
And you look at so you look at the injuries,
and you're going, okay, well, our defense is playing an
extra quarter, an entire quarter, I mean on the field.
So the two hundred and eighteen yards rushing that they
got net was more than our entire offense got all day.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
That's the first time a Minnesota Vikings defense has admitted
more than two hundred rushing yards to a team since
September of twenty twenty three at Philadelphia Jalen Hurts in
that bunch twenty two to six, the final score of
the Falcons beat the Minnesota Vikings. And you know, granted,
there you have a rookie playing left guard. You're down
(03:16):
to your third left tackle with Walter Rouse, your second
center with Michael Jurgens, and then you have you have
fries or right guard and O'Neil a right tackle. But
still they you know, the Vikings allowed six sacks. And
what should be frustrating about that is, not only did
Atlanta have just won the previous week against Tampa Bay,
(03:37):
they only have thirty one last year that was second
worst in the NFL. So what they do. They drafted
a couple of guys defensively, Jalen Jalen Walker and James
Pierce from Tennessee, and they signed Leonard Floyd, the the
veteran journeyman edge rusher. And it's starting to come together
(03:57):
a little bit for them. They had six sacks to
Night Pete.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
They did, and I can't sit here and say that
that was just them lining up one on one. I
mean they had a couple of nice blitzes, a couple
of stunts. Uh, we had some protection issues on our end.
We're returning guys free. But those those are the mistakes
that that don't help. The ones that kill you are
the turnovers, Paul and even you know, even at the
(04:22):
interception at the end of the game.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
I mean those those have to stop.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
And it hasn't quite been an interest, you know, just uh,
a waterfall of interceptions. It's it's been fumbles, it's been
on a number of different things. But our offense is
lacking rhythm right now. It's it's lacking an identity right now.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
And I get it.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
We're we're trying to grow with the young man and
and you know, my question is, is you know you're
seeing Jalen Naylor and jj McCarthy being one on one
and the opportunities that are there in the passing game,
it has to be it's just difficult watch because we
should be throwing the football up and down the yard.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Will I understand, We'll get.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
There, yeah, but it's it's it's hard, man, It's hard
to watch a guy grow up.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
It also was a night Justin Jefferson not only had
three catches, but his first was the five hundredth of
his career. So he and Larry Fitzgerald Junior are the
two fastest and youngest in the history of the NFL
to do that. But really, you know, the game of
inches cliche with the NFL. It's a cliche because it
stands the test of time. And when it was a
(05:33):
two score game, fifteen to six, Jalen Naylor just blew
by rookie safety Xavier Watts for what would have been
a seventy two yard touchdown, and McCarthy saw it, but
he overthrew him, and that that was part of the
negativity tonight.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
It was and that I think the other actually, I
think the other play that stands out to me is
about a minute and a half left to go in
a third quarter. He short hopped the pass that Justin
Jefferson and Jay would have caught, you know, if you
if you would have caught, I'm sure he would have.
But that would have been another first down and an
extension of the drive. And at that time, it was
still a matter of field goals, right, it wasn't. It
(06:12):
wasn't a two touchdown type game, so we had They
had plenty of opportunities, just nothing. I mean, they figured
it out in the running game. They went to a
three wide look to run the you know, to get
to get Atlanta into a four man front where they
were able to really start running the football real well
with Jordan Mason. But still, uh, as much as our
(06:35):
defense kept them out of the end zone, except for
right at the end of the game, we we didn't
even sniff it.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
We didn't even come close.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Let's hear from Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell, who
has played the Falcons three times and is now two
and one against said squad.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
Get to injuries here in a second, but obviously very
disappointing performance tonight really just starts with obviously our ability
to take our week of preparation, even on a short week,
and show up and play a lot better in all
three phases. Got to coach better, specifically me, our team
(07:13):
will handle the adversity that is now right at our
you know, right at our feet, and we've got to
go back to work and improve immediately. There's some things
just overall, you know, we've got to stop doing many,
many things, sometimes very noticeable, sometimes things throughout plays that
(07:34):
you know, the negative plays are stacking up against us,
and and where it seems like right now we take
one step forward to take two steps back, and that's
across the board, you know, specifically on our offense, I
thought the defense battled, they held them to one to
five in the red zone and really kept us in
the football game, and just did not do enough clearly offensively.
(07:56):
And anytime you you know, lose the turnover battle, have
more penalties, you're you're going to have a hard time
winning a football game no matter what you try to do.
And I thought our guys stuck, stuck with it, hung together,
showed uh, you know, showed the type of team togetherness
they have. But in the end, we've got to start
executing at a little higher level. And that's as an entire group,
(08:20):
and that's me included. So, uh, we will go back
to work and attempt to, uh, you know, have a
really good posts a post game tomorrow where we all
look inward first and and try to improve find the
little things here and there throughout the game. Even if
somebody played fantastic, and I'm sure there's gonna be some
performances where guys did play well, are you playing to
(08:41):
a standard that we talk about? And that's all of
us coaching staff included. So we've got to clean up
our operation and clean up our you know, procedure as
well as our execution. And that's going to be a
theme that we will continue to focus on. I thought
our fans were phenomenal, which which makes it sting even
more knowing that we had that kind of atmosphere and
(09:04):
that's and that kind of support from our fan base.
And obviously there were some injuries. That is never going
to be an excuse. We put together roster. We feel
confident in guys stepping in across the board and performing.
So I want to update you guys on the injuries
before I take questions. Ryan Kelly didn't you know, have
(09:26):
a concussion. He was ruled out. Uh School also had
a concussion. He was ruled out. Grenard did have the
oblique but returned and and and battled and played his heart,
played his heart out fighting through that. Aaron Jones will
be evaluated for a hamstring. Don't know what that you
know what that looks like as of right now, but
(09:46):
we'll keep you guys updated, and then gave Murphy had
a his left knee m c L will be evaluated.
So came in a little banged up and added a
few names, but takes our entire football team needs to
be ready to go top to bottom. Guys that get
elevated all those things that's such as life in the NFL.
Back to where we go. You can't be a one
(10:07):
to know team if you're gonna allow an OH and
one to change anything about your mindset towards your individual
or collective group effort of trying to strive to become
the best football team we can this year long journey ahead.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
Kevin, what was your message after the game.
Speaker 4 (10:24):
It's a JJ, Yeah, it just you know, it was
one of those It was one of those games where
you know, once again only forty six plays. We just
you know, we've got to find a way as a group.
It's going to be easy to try to put the
microscope on JJ. And there's certainly some plays, some throws,
(10:44):
some things that I'm sure he would love to, you know,
get another out at. But I thought he also when
we did move it, you know, I thought he made
some throws and I thought he showed his athleticism, and
just as a group, we did not execute to our standard,
and it kind of moved from from guy to guy
at times, and you know, either a mental mental laps
(11:06):
or you know, physical labs, but either way, the negatives
start to mount and you're just not doing enough to
give yourself a chance to actually win the football game.
First and goal to two. The delay of the game, yeah,
you know, we uh, you know, we changed personnels. They
they told me they saw somebody step off our sideline
(11:27):
from very much further back than and once we had
made our substitution, that's why they held it. I got
to go back and see it. Obviously I'm looking down
at the area around the goal line. But my expectation was,
you know, at some point during that end of clock sequence,
there he would when they had had an opportunity to sub,
he would step away and uh, you know, he just didn't.
(11:50):
We we subbed, you know, we subbed, uh you know,
and got the play in before the headset communication went out.
Thought we'd get the playoff and and potentially get a
runoff there. Then we get moved back, we take a sack,
and that sequence was essentially over. So when we get
especially in a game like this, you know, that's a
critical critical time to put the ball in the end
(12:12):
zone and see if we can turn the momentum and
allow our defense to play with a little bit of momentum,
which they were never able to do. Any momentum they
had was able to overcome, you know, our sluggish performance
on offense. And you've got to play complimentary football. That's
the way we're going to build our game plans. That's
the way we're going to build ourselves as a team,
and it's going to take all three phases for sixty
(12:33):
minutes when you're playing against anybody in the NFL. I
thought Atlanta, you got to give them a lot of credit.
They came in Raheem had his guys ready to go,
and they beat us.
Speaker 5 (12:42):
Kevin some of the sacks and pressures where they had
guys coming in unblocked. What was the theme of why
those things happened when they had so many free runners.
Speaker 4 (12:50):
Yeah, I think, you know, there was there was definitely,
you know, there was definitely some times where some guys
got beaten some one on one situations. Got gotta go
back and see exactly Ben kind of what happened there.
But you know, you felt it certainly in the first
half there. And then you know, Ryan goes down in
the second quarter, School goes down in the third. We've
(13:11):
got some guys stepping in and you know, trying to play.
You're trying to help as much as you possibly can
from a schematic standpoint, with help here and there, especially
specifically on the edges. And then we had a miss
que kind of a you know, on the on the fumble,
was a little bit of a mental error there, and
we've got to get that cleaned up because that was critical,
(13:33):
you know, moment in the game where we got we
got some good field position and we had a chance
to once again try to capture the momentum in the game,
and we just didn't do it. I had a chance
at Speedy at one point on a third and short
thought it would be our best chance to try to
get a one on one for one of our guys
down the field, and you know, just overshot it a
little bit, And so there was just could we make
(13:53):
that one play, had a close to a twenty yard
run and get flagged for a holding call That sets
you back. So it just seemed to me Ben that
it was you know, it's the sacks come from a
lack of execution, sometimes on that down, sometimes it's on
a previous down. But forty six snaps and I believe
we had forty nine last week. We just got to
(14:15):
have more plays. We got to possess the football. We
we've we've got to find a way to stay on
the field longer because it's an important part of how
we need to play as a team, especially against a
team like that what you mentioned with Speedy, I think
the balls around thirty twenty eight something like that fourth down.
Do you think about that or is it? Yeah, we
had you know, we fumbled a snap early on when
(14:36):
I was pretty aggressive there with that fourth down early
it was inside of a half a yard and it
looked like the ball came you know, JJ might have
bobbled the ball a little bit and then we didn't
get that, gave the defense a short field they held
them to three. So definitely thought about it, but you know,
was hoping to get that one more timely stop to
try to have you know, anywhere from seven seven six
(14:58):
seven minutes left to try to then you know, activate
the ability to go try to you know, at least
put the ball on the end zone and then see
what happens there, whether you're in a sequence you know,
kind of like our opponent last week, where maybe it's
the on side, maybe it's there's enough time depending on
how much timeouts we have left to ultimately try to
see if we can get back in the football game.
(15:18):
And then at the end, obviously I made the decision,
you know, we we were kind of in a freeway situation.
Let them score, and knew it was going to take
two scores and two two point conversions, but at least
we would have the ball with some time and unfortunately
just didn't do anything with it.
Speaker 6 (15:33):
How much of the lack of rhythm offensively in some way,
in some way to be expected with a quarterback as
first two game versus how much do you feel as
if it's just been more lack of executions.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
Maybe, yeah, I think, you know, that's one of the
things that you know, we were are definitely going to
talk about, you know, as a coaching staff, because like
first half last week, you know, when you're talking about, okay,
you're on the road, maybe there's some you know, first
time on the road and things like that. Communication can
be tested. And I thought we improved as this game
went on, specifically in the second half last week. But
(16:08):
to me, being at home, having your snap count, having
your cadence, you've got to eliminate any and all pre
snap penalties, some of the straining penalties like a holding
call when a guy's in there. I think Walt was
in there on his first snap and just trying to strain,
and those are those things are going to happen. The
execution plays that are catastrophic are the ones that we've
(16:30):
got to find a way, you know, to eliminate, because
against any team in the NFL, if you do some
of the things we did tonight, you're gonna make it
really hard on yourself. You know, even if your guys
are fighting and scratching for sixty minutes, it was not
an effort thing in any three in any one of
the three phases. It's just we've got to find out,
you know, how we continue to strive to the standard
(16:51):
of execution that's required. You know, like I said, even
if a guy had a clean sheet for the whole
night but had a catastrophic error specifically around a quarterback too,
that's where we've got to try to find to elevate
elevate that bar and uh, you know, make you have
the cleanest possible execution around him. That's why we put
together the group we hope to put around him. Obviously,
(17:13):
when you've got your backup center coming in the game
and then your third tackle, you know, you know, playing
a significant amount of snaps, it's going to be hard.
But that's I mean, there's probably ten teams that went
through similar things today around the NFL, So you can't
I don't look at that as as you know, you
obviously adjust and you try to help any way you can.
But to me, the you know, the type of roster
(17:34):
and team I believe we have and I know we have,
the expectation is we're going to do what's required to
win a football game, and then we're gonna compete down
to the very end. Didn't think we did that tonight,
specifically on offense from an execution standpoint, all around that huddle,
and we've got to take a look at it. Guys
got to try to find you know, look look at
(17:54):
themselves very much. So like can I am I doing
everything on every single snap all forty six of this
mapps am I doing everything to to do my job
and be a trusted guy in that huddle. And once
we get to that point with the type of guys
we have, get as healthy as we can, I've got
all the confidence in the world that we are going
(18:15):
to you know, move the football and score points. This
is going to be a process, you know for our
our team, and our young quarterback is gonna, you know,
make some plays. He's gonna, you know, make some unbelievable throws,
which a couple a couple of those strows there that
got us down to the two I thought were big
time plays. And then other times he's gonna, you know,
have an attempt and just miss something a little long,
(18:37):
and you know, we'll go back and try to fix it.
But sometimes the fundamentals are gonna be right, the technique
they're going to be right, and he's just he's learning
on the fly right now. And there's the way you
overcome that is by the full groups execution level being
to a certain standard that we can go try to
compete and win with.
Speaker 5 (18:54):
On the the fumble that JJ picked up around the
goal line, there was looked like he was trying to
get a pitch off to Jordan Mason.
Speaker 4 (19:01):
What happened on that play, Yeah, it was a it
was kind of a play pass. He just dropped the ball.
It was kind of a you know, a play we've
you know, been practicing for a while. It just happened
to drop the ball in the play which is which
is tough because you you you end up in a
situation there where you know, we might have had, you know,
(19:22):
justin potentially there with them kind of selling out to
stop that play. Good sell by the guys up front.
We just dropped the ball and then we're, you know,
we're we're trying to find a way to get the
ball in the end zone from there. You know, he
was able to pick it up and at least get
it thrown away, and then we had the sequence with
the delay and then the sack and then we were
third and I believe goal from the maybe the fourteen
(19:43):
yard line. So that right there in the nuts in
the nutshell is what the night kind of was. And
there's nobody that's going to fix those things besides our
coaches and players. And you know, we've got the We've
got the greatest group ever in that locker room. I
have nothing but confidence and and our staff and myself
to you know, work with these guys and make sure
(20:04):
we continually constantly chase improvement. And it's early in the season.
We're one on one football team that's going to try
to win a game this week against a good team
coming in, and we certainly want to make sure we
play a lot better at home. That's for darn sure. Kevin.
Those first two runs last seem to be a lot
of mistakes, a lot of bad angles and as tackles.
What did you see from the side, Yeah, I thought,
(20:25):
you know, our defense scratch, you know, they they you know,
tried to scratch and call and play their hearts out.
But I did think tackling, you know, against a you know,
a good group. They've got some good guys when they
got the ball in their hands, you know, we had
some some players there. I thought Flow, you know, was
doing everything he could to try to limit some of
those runs and doing some things tactically, and we just
(20:45):
missed some tackles earlier on in the game and they
were able to kind of sustain some drives from it.
I thought it improved as the night went on, and
then they just fatigued. You know, they were just we
left them out there on the field far too much.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
I thought JJ McCarthy coming up shortly. But you know,
Kevin O'Connell was, he was he was dealt a short
It was the deck was limited. Let's just put it
that way. So hopefully some players get healthy and play
next week against Cincinnati. Andrew Van Ginkole missed this game
because of a concussion. I would fully expect him to
(21:17):
play next game. Christian Darisa is the wild card here,
you know, because he has been practicing, not necessarily every
day during the week, but he's had some full practices
but clearly is not ready to play. It'd be nice
if he played next game. But you mentioned that Aaron
Jones hamstring man. He's a running back, so you know,
Jordan Mason's nice to have as a change up to
(21:38):
Aaron Jones.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
He is, and you know, I Jordan Mason was the
guy for the beginning of the entire year for San
Francisco last year, so that you know, that's that's something
they think about. But yeah, Aaron Jones is such a
playmaker the ability to put he and Mason on the
field at the same time.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
To lose that ability or to lose.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
Any threat or any effectiveness in the running game right now,
Paul is gonna be tough. It's gonna be very, very
tough on the young quarterback. This is not a situation
where all of a sudden next week can start dropping
them back fifty times a game. We're not We're not
there yet. So Aaron Jones is a tough loss.
Speaker 4 (22:17):
All.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Let's hear from Minnesota Vikings quarterback Jay J. McCarthy.
Speaker 7 (22:22):
Obviously a very disappointing loss. You know, there's a lot
of things that immediately come to my mind of just
what we can do to get better. And you know,
just want to give kudos to the defense. I thought
they played absolutely outstanding. Uh will you know, absolutely Uh
played his butt off tonight. And we got to do
a better job as an offense just operating playing you know,
(22:44):
one play at a time and everyone executing their job.
All eleven of us. But yeah, this is unfortunate, but
I know we have a great you know, character culture
locker room that we're gonna respond from this, and we're
gonna learn and get better and bounce back next week.
Speaker 6 (23:03):
Anything that happened to Night's surprise, you did you experience
anything you hadn't experienced in the NFL before.
Speaker 7 (23:10):
You know what, I don't think, you know, anything really
surprised me. Every single game is just something new. I
wouldn't say it took me by surprise, but we just
got to do a better job of adapting, you know,
and taking advantage of opportunities when we're down in the
red zone to get seven points and not leave with
just three on the board. And yeah, there's a lot
of things we got to clean up, but you know,
it starts with me.
Speaker 4 (23:31):
I got to play.
Speaker 7 (23:31):
Better and we got to do a better job operating
this offense.
Speaker 6 (23:36):
JJ, you and Kevin look like I had a conversation
kind of then there just what was the extent of
that conversation Thenmonga.
Speaker 7 (23:44):
The extent was just, you know, there's a lot of
things we got to clean up, and there's a bright
future ahead in that locker room and just being able
to all be on the same page and really just
attack tomorrow, attack the meetings, attack the lyft, and get
back to you know, that one to know mentality every
single day. So I feel like, you know, it was
(24:04):
a short conversation that you never want to have, but
it was awesome that Koe have my back.
Speaker 8 (24:11):
J J.
Speaker 7 (24:11):
What what did you feel like the issue was with
somebody sacks time. There's a lot of things you can
factor into it. I think we'll get a better idea
of it when we look at you know, the all
twenty two and go through all the details. But I
feel like it just starts with the operation. You know,
we got to get in and out of the huddle fast.
We got to get the right calls protection wise, and
you know, I got to get the ball out as
(24:32):
quick as possible to the guys that can go make plays.
You know, there's a lot of opportunities where we left
it on the table with just you know, get the
ball out faster and you know, moving on from there.
But you know, I feel like it's an all eleven thing,
and you know, it starts with me first.
Speaker 4 (24:47):
I know people will look at two games and draw
plenty of conclusions. I'm just curious what do you take
from the two games you've played, and how do you
think about how you've played in those two games.
Speaker 7 (24:57):
We got a lot to do and I got a
lot to do personally. You know, there's a lot of
things about this game that you know show up and
you know, it's awesome to be part of such a
great group where I know we're going to grow together.
I know we're going to learn together. There's a lot
of love in that locker room, and that's what it
comes down to. You know, this is a long season.
You know everyone's telling me this is a freaking journey,
(25:18):
and I believe them wholeheartedly. So it's just about getting
it back to the drawing board and working on just
getting better at the little things and executing the simple
things better.
Speaker 8 (25:27):
JJ when you have guys going in and out with
the offensive line in front of you, like, how are
you trying to adapt and get on the same page
with new center, with a new tackle and just kind
of make sure that you can kind of sustain some.
Speaker 4 (25:39):
Offense going forward.
Speaker 7 (25:41):
It's really just next man up mentality. I know that
ko Quace Greggs all those guys put together a group
that you know, when that next guy steps up, it
shouldn't be a falloff at all. So I feel like,
you know, there was really no big changes in terms
of the mentality and you know the operation standpoint. But
at the end of the day, we just you got
to you know, continue to keep getting better and realize that,
(26:03):
you know, in those moments it shouldn't have any falloff
and we just got to keep executing the little things better.
That's what it really comes down to. So yeah, let's
say that on.
Speaker 5 (26:11):
The sneak, when you drop the ball there was there.
You got the same page of communication wise drives the
exchange and it is just a matter you dropped it
when it hit your hands.
Speaker 7 (26:21):
Yeah, take that on me for sure. I dropped it.
And uh, you know, you got to be better and
little things.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
Like I said, all right, So the Vikings are one
and one. Cincinnati next game. Joe Burrow hurt his toe
in a victory over Jacksonville today, So the Bengals are sweating.
They're starting quarterback coming to US Bank Stadium, and we'll
see how this thing works out. Because Jamar Chase and
Justin Jefferson in the same game. You know, I mean
(26:47):
Justin's not gonna want to have a three catch forty
two yard game or whatever with Jamar in the building,
and Jamar is a game changer with t Higgins should
be a good one next week.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
It should be.
Speaker 3 (26:57):
And that's the thing is you got to have short
memory when you win and an even shorter one when
you lose. And you know, for the Vikings, you had
a short week. Hopefully with back to back home games,
they could settle down a little bit, put together a
good week of practice, get maybe get some guys healthy,
and going into the Cincinnati game, where right, you got
(27:20):
you want to get some momento. You can get to
two and one, and then you got you know, then
you got the road trip, right, you got the road trip.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
Two games on the road or reseas.
Speaker 3 (27:29):
You can split a couple of those and just get
better along the way. Because that stretch where we're playing Philadelphia,
we're playing Baltimore, We're playing a lot of teams at home.
You've got to be a lot better than obviously what
you are now. But man, it's you want to see
it progress, I guess, is what I'm trying to say.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
You want to see the.
Speaker 3 (27:50):
Whole operation progress where it's getting better, but you're maybe
missing a play here or there. Right now, it's kind
of a lot of the same thing, and you know,
it's really you got to look hard to point to
some things that are promising, and I think the protection
of the quarterback is probably the biggest number one thing
(28:12):
right now.
Speaker 2 (28:13):
I'll talk to your next game, my brother. Thanks.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
That's p Versation and I'm Paul Allen.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
We thank luhmen for sponsorship of the postgame report. Thank
you very much, Lumen, and hopefully we have better news
for you next week. Atlanta beat Minnesota twenty two to
six at us Bank Stadium, and that's the postgame report
at vikings dot com.
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