After catching just two passes for six yards and a touchdown in the Vikings’ 34-31 overtime loss to the Ravens on Sunday, wide receiver Adam Thielen said it’s “getting old” making excuses after every close loss.
“We know we have the guys, we know we have the quarterback, we know we have the skill-position guys, we know we have the offensive line, we know our coaches are busting their tails to do whatever it takes, but it’s kind of getting old,” said Thielen.
“It’s getting old, the talk about that. I know the fans are done with it, us coming in here every single week and saying, ‘We have the guys, we’ve just got to go out and execute.’ So I don’t really know what to say, because that’s the same thing each week.”
Minnesota has no problem finding excuses for all five losses:
- Bengals: Penalties and Dalvin Cook’s overtime fumble
- Cardinals: Greg Joseph’s missed 37-yard field goal to end the game
- Browns: Missed pass interference call in the end zone on the last play
- Cowboys: Didn’t prepare for backup quarterback Cooper Rush
- Ravens: Bad call on horse-collar tackle that led to a Ravens field goal
“Seven out of the eight games have come down to the last play, so I gotta figure out a way to teach them how to finish these games so we end up being on the other side of this thing as opposed to the way it came out yesterday,” coach Mike Zimmer said Monday.
In a perfect world, Cook doesn’t fumble, Joseph doesn’t miss, the refs make the right calls and the Vikings don’t let a backup QB carve them like a Thanksgiving turkey. But this is the real world and the Vikings are a 3-5 team staring at two more tough games on the road against the Chargers and at home against the 7-2 Packers.
“It’s very frustrating,” Zimmer said. “You really feel like we’ve got a smart team and typically when you go out there and you win those games at the end, the attitude changes, the complexion of the season and everything else. That part is frustrating, yeah. We fight like crazy and we can’t get it done at the end.”
Zimmer added: “I keep talking to our guys about, do the things we do good and stick with it and continue to build off of those things as opposed to throwing everything out the window and starting new. It’s not to that point.”
There’s no doubt that Zimmer’s on the hot seat, but it appears that he has at least another game to right the ship and keep the Vikings in the NFC playoff race.
