Vikings: Studs and duds against the Packers

That Vikings, Packers game was filled with so many emotions from start to finish. There were times during that game when I didn’t even know how to feel. I was in disbelief at times and at others I thought I needed to borrow my grandma’s oxygen tank.

A tie is a tie. People will say it’s better than a loss, but when it’s to one of the team’s most hated rivals, it might as well be a loss. Also, is there any other sport that ends in a tie? Can we change something about this? No game should ever end in a tie, especially when a league is set-up where you only play a 16-game regular-season. That’s just my thought about that.

For the most part, it’s pretty obvious who the two duds were during the game against the packers, so let’s just get the two out of the way now.

Two duds for the Vikings:

Daniel Carlson

The kicker, man. Yet again, another kicker issue, when will the Vikings catch a break? Minnesota probably has one of the best all-around teams in the league. Without a kicker who can make a field goal, the circle can’t be complete.

Carlson managed to nail all three extra point attempts, which is about 33 yards, but couldn’t put the pigskin between the uprights when he was kicking for three. He missed 49, 48 and 35-yard field goals, throughout the game. Each field goal went into the same area… Wide right.

He made a 48-yarder last week against San Francisco. Was it the pressure at Lambeau? Was it because of the grass field? When it comes to kicking I feel like it’s more to do with your psyche than it is your physical ability, but that’s just my thought process. It was good seeing his teammates back him up and not throw him under the bus, though.

Laquon Treadwell

He had a great start to the day. He caught what would be the first touchdown of the day for the Vikings and his career, but had a rough outing after that. Treadwell could benefit significantly in terms of production with most of the coverage in the direction of Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs.

You seen that on Sunday when Cousins found Treadwell several times open for a pass. Cousins put the ball right in his hands, but Treadwell just couldn’t hang on… To almost any of them. He was targeted six times and only caught two passes for 23 yards.

Cousins will throw the ball to whoever is open, if that open person can’t catch the ball, then he’s not doing his job. If someone can’t do their job, why should they have one? Everyone has been waiting for Treadwell to emerge as the receiver that everyone thought he would become, but maybe he really is a bust.

Two Studs for the Vikings:

Kirk Cousins:

Hey! We got ourselves a quarterback! No Vikings quarterback since Daunte Culpepper (2004) has thrown for over 400 yards (I lied, it was Brett Favre against the Arizona Cardinals in 2010). Check that, because Cousins did just that on Sunday. He completed 35-of-48 passes for 425 yards and four touchdowns, throwing only one interception.

Three of the four touchdowns came in the fourth quarter, where the Vikings offense put up 22 points. The way he led the charge in the fourth quarter proved how poised he can be in situations like the one he was in on Sunday.

Cousins seems like a true leader who doesn’t give up on his teammates. He fed the ball to Treadwell six times, despite his troubles catching the ball. I even caught Cousins talking to Treadwell after one of his key misses. He knows how to pick the team up when their down and that’s special to me.

Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs

I have to give it to both of them, I can’t choose one or the other. The ability that these two have to make plays are unreal. The two are so entertaining to watch, especially when it’s a game that comes down to the wire. I’m not going to lie, Diggs and Thielen left me speechless a few times, I was blown away..

Both receivers each racked up over 100 receiving yards. Thielen managed 131 yards off of 12 catches. He also caught what was a spectacular game-tying touchdown pass.

Diggs had an impressive day as well. He caught nine passes for 128 yards, he managed around 14 yards a catch. He also caught two touchdown passes, including this one:

This is Thielen’s second game with at least 100 yards receiving. Diggs bounced back from only having three catches off of six targets last week.