In football, it’s important to have the correct number of players on the field. Just ask ex-Vikings fullback Naufahu Tahi. He was the infamous 12th man on the field the play before Brett Favre threw an interception late in the fourth quarter of the January 2010 NFC Championship Game against the Saints.
The Vikings could’ve used a guy like Tahi on the field Sunday when the game was on the line and Minnesota had just 10 players on the field for Carolina’s fourth-and-one play with two minutes remaining. The Panthers wound up gaining four yards and a first down on the play, giving them a fresh set of downs and just a touchdown and two-point conversion from forcing overtime.
On a crucial 4th down and 1, with a chance to all but seal the game, the #Vikings had 10 men on the field. Not what I would call situational mastery! pic.twitter.com/qClNq0w4nr
— Luke Braun (@LukeBraunNFL) October 2, 2023
Fortunately, the Vikings wound up getting a stop and won the game 21-13. But they could’ve iced it with far less drama had they had 11 players on the field and stuffed the Panthers at fourth-and-one.
It’s the latest in a series of mistakes that have put the Vikings in a 1-3 hole to start the season. Nobody on the Vikings sideline appears to have noticed the defense was shorthanded because if they had noticed they surely would’ve used one of their three timeouts. Right?
Imagine if the Panthers would’ve wound up tying the game. The play would be under a microscope. The head coach and defensive coordinator would be getting grilled by the fans and media. Heck, maybe Carolina wins in overtime and the Vikings are 0-4. Now we’re talking about a real disaster movie.
Mistakes have killed the Vikings. Whether it was Justin Jefferson’s fumble out of the end zone that turned the tide in the Week 2 loss to the Eagles or any of the Vikings’ NFL-high seven lost fumbles, the inability to play a clean game is a major cause for concern.
If they don’t clean things up – even the things they’re getting away with – they’re going to get flushed down the toilet by the likes of the Chiefs and 49ers in the coming weeks. And if that happens, they can kiss their slim playoff hopes goodbye.
Meanwhile, Tahi and the 2009-10 Vikings is a great example of what can happen when you make critical mistakes. That five-yard penalty for 12 men in the huddle put the Vikings in a third-and-15 situation. Before the flag, it was third-and-10 from the 33-yard line, which was basically at the limit of kicker Ryan Longwell’s range.
There were 19 seconds to play when Tahi was flagged. Had he not been penalized, maybe Favre never throws across his body on the next play for an interception and instead slides and the Vikings wind up kicking a field goal to go to the Super Bowl. Instead, the Vikings Viking’d the situation and the Saints went to the Super Bowl. Sad.
