Despite Victory over Buccaneers, Vikings Still Struggling to Finish Games

Amid the satisfaction of a road victory lingers the stench of disappointment in a game the Minnesota Vikings should have handily won. The Vikings beat the Buccaneers 19-13 through some late-game heroics, but the team’s inability to put away a bad team is concerning and follows the problem the team had in Buffalo the week before.

When a young team strapped for top-level talent has a team on the ropes, the importance of putting it away cannot be overstated. Wins have been tough to come by for the 2014 Vikings, and they almost gave another one away.

Considering Minnesota’s domination early in the game, especially defensively, it would have been an epic collapse. Through Tampa Bay’s first seven offensive drives, the Bucs only gained an average of 7.3 yards per drive. Five of those offensive possessions ended three-and-out. The first of the seven ended in an interception.

That early domination was a product of numerous things the Vikings did defensively to suffocate Mike Glennon and the Tampa Bay offense. Blitzing stood at the forefront. Through eight drives, Mike Zimmer was calling a high percentage of blitzes, and the results were tremendous.

Avg. # of rushers	Blitz %	Yds per drive	Points per drive
4.6	56.5%	9.4	0

But after the Vikings took a two-score lead and the game neared the fourth quarter, Zimmer took his foot off Tampa Bay’s throat, despite the struggles of the offensive line and quarterback. Zimmer called off the dogs.

Avg. # of rushers	Blitz %	Yds per drive	Points per drive
4.3	33.3%	46.3	4.3

*Overtime drive not included.

On the fateful drive that saw the Bucs march down the field and steal a late lead, Zimmer was even more conservative calling blitzes.

Avg. # of rushers	Blitz %	Yards	Points
4.3	25%	71	7

He became less and less aggressive in terms of defensive play-calling as the game wore on, trying to ice away the lead, but actually played a part in the defense’s regression from its effectiveness earlier in the game. The blitz-heavy game plan was working, but Zimmer got cold feet after the Vikings took a lead.

Why did Zimmer take his foot off the accelerator? His response to the defense’s collapse last week in Buffalo may have something to do with it, per Andrew Krammer of 1500 ESPN:

"

Zimmer also told reporters: "We were trying to be aggressive [on defense] with them all day...maybe it caught up to us in the end." #Vikings

— Andrew Krammer (@Andrew_Krammer) October 19, 2014"

So when it came down to the end of the game, especially the final drive, Zimmer was inclined to pull back with the blitzes and add numbers into coverage. The plan failed this time around.

It should be noted that Tampa Bay only mustered 13 points. From a wider perspective, the defense’s performance was not problematic or what kept the Vikings from running away from the Buccaneers. Needing a stellar two-minute drill to squeeze 13 offensive points out of a very leaky Tampa Bay defense is not how this game was scripted from an offensive standpoint.

Beyond the offense’s struggles to string together a run of successful plays and finish drives for points, a few coaching nuggets may have kept the Bucs around late in the game.

Adding to the conservative way Zimmer handled blitzes at the end of the game is the conservative way he addressed fourth-down decisions. This showed up in previous games when the coach was pressed into difficult decisions; he may have held back the Vikings again on Sunday.

On the Vikings’ first drive, Zimmer called on the field-goal unit on 4th-and-3 from the Tampa Bay 38. Blair Walsh ended up missing the 56-yard field goal. He also called on the punt team in 4th-and-2 and 4th-and-1 situations, both at midfield. Those decisions may have held back the offense’s ability to maximize points and extend the lead early in the game.

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The coaching staff also retreated into its conservative shell late in the game in terms of offensive personnel. With a little over seven minutes remaining, the Vikings offense took the field with a 10-6 lead and the opportunity to start a game-clinching drive. Despite giving rookie back Jerick McKinnon the bulk of the workload earlier in the game, the Vikings stuck with Matt Asiata later on.

Asiata caught a check-down pass on first down but could only net five yards. He was then given a carry on second down, picking up his usual one-yard gain.

McKinnon averaged 5.2 yards per carry against a rather stout Tampa Bay run defense. Taking out the previously mentioned carry, Asiata ran for absolutely no yardage on three carries. Calling Asiata’s number in that crucial situation was the conservative strategy, and it was the wrong one.

Despite the staff’s trust in Asiata in pass protection and the veteran’s worth in some pass-catching situations, McKinnon gave the Vikings a better chance to gain enough yards to keep the chains moving and the clock ticking.

Special teams penalties also kept the Vikings from turning defensive stops into advantageous field position to kick-start offensive drives. The Vikings were unable to close out the game as a result. Mike Zimmer voiced his frustration with this after the game, via VikingUpdate:

"

Mike Zimmer said he is "just about fed up" with the penalties in the return game. Said it's usually young guys. Exum last three weeks.

— VikingUpdate.com (@VikingUpdate) October 26, 2014"

Two rookie defensive backs, Jabari Price and Antone Exum, both committed costly penalties on special teams that kept Tampa Bay around. Special teams is one more unit that was unable to play a complete game against a poor Buccaneers team.

So when it comes down to it, numerous factors are at play in the Vikings’ late-game struggles. The youth of the team, especially at the quarterback position, must count for something.

The coaching staff is responding by making highly conservative decisions that are actually limiting Minnesota’s ability to put games away. Trust in the young players, even ones like McKinnon who have surely earned it, is not yet there.

As the season moves forward, look for the conviction that young players have in their assignments, whether offensively, defensively or on special teams. Mental mistakes must be cut out. Had that happened in Tampa Bay, the Vikings would have run away with a convincing victory.

The teams and its fans should be pleased with the end result, a hard-fought win away from home, while acknowledging that some trends must be reversed moving forward.

Statistics via ESPN.com unless noted otherwise.