(Eden Prairie, MN) — Placement and perception at the top of the
NFC shifted dramatically Sunday as the Minnesota Vikings (10-2)
moved ahead of Philadelphia (10-2) into the top spot in the
conference heading into Week 14.
Your thoughts on that and now controlling the conference, head
coach Mike Zimmer?
“No thoughts,” Zimmer said the day after his team controlled the
Falcons in Atlanta 14-9. “We’ve got four games left. My only
thoughts are about the Carolina Panthers and trying to get a win
this week.
“All that stuff is nice to talk about, for you guys to talk about.
But for us, we don’t talk about it. We go about our business.”
The Eagles were bounced in Seattle while falling to 1-2 against
teams that now have a winning record. The Vikings, meanwhile,
dominated Atlanta, holding the Falcons to 275 yards, no touchdowns
and a 1-for-10 success rate on third down.
Zimmer says he and the Vikings are looking at the Panthers…and that’s it
The Vikings have now beaten the Saints, Rams and Falcons. But the
road battles continue Sunday when the Vikings travel to Carolina
for the third of three straight road games.
The Vikings are 5-1 on the road and have won eight straight
overall, but Carolina (8-4) will be the more desperate team.
“That’s a very good team,” Zimmer said.
Things should get easier after Carolina. The Vikings finish up with
the Bengals at home, the Packers in Green Bay and the Bears at home.
They’ve already beaten the Packers and Bears, and Zimmer is very
familiar with the Bengals, whom he worked for as defensive
coordinator until getting the Vikings job in 2014.
–Not that it’s even an issue anymore, but, yes, quarterback Case
Keenum and not Teddy Bridgewater will start on Sunday at Carolina.
Keenum has the eight-game win streak going. He also threw only five
incompletions in 30 passes while not turning the ball over in
Atlanta.
“He is making the plays he needs to make and not trying to overdo
things,” Zimmer said. “Sometimes, like in the Washington game, he
tried to do things and make some plays he shouldn’t have really
tried to make and he is staying within himself.”
Keenum completed his last 15 passes, including 13 in the second
half. The Vikings moved past the Falcons and now rank No. 1 in
third-down offense (45.96 percent).
“I think part of that is the different options that we have,”
Zimmer said Monday. “Being able to have man-beaters, zone-beaters,
pressure-beaters, those concepts in there (helps).”
–Defensively, the Vikings also rank No. 1 on third down. After
holding Atlanta to one conversion in 10 attempts, the Vikings’
defense is allowing conversions on only 27.21 percent of third-down
plays.
Even one time when they didn’t dominate the Falcons on third down,
they got lucky. Cornerback Xavier Rhodes had loose coverage on a
third-and-4 play in which Mohamed Sanu was credited with an 11-yard
catch in the red zone.
But the play was overturned after head coach Mike Zimmer challenged
the call. Replay showed the ball hit the ground before Sanu scooped
it up.
Atlanta had to settle for a field goal and a 9-7 lead.
“Yes, it definitely hit the ground,” Rhodes said. “Then again, I
need to be in tighter coverage, way tighter coverage. Thank God, it
hit the ground.”
NOTES: RT Mike Remmers missed his fourth straight game. He missed
three games because of a concussion and Sunday’s game because of a
lower back injury. Rashod Hill started at right tackle for the
fourth straight game. … MLB Eric Kendricks, listed as
questionable with a hip injury, played one of his best games of the
year. He had 10 tackles, including eight solo. … TE David Morgan,
a versatile blocking tight end, left Sunday’s game because of a
concussion. … WR Adam Thielen had four catches for 51 yards. It
was his first game without at least five catches. But his final
catch — a 22-yarder on third-and-4 – allowed the Vikings to run
out the clock to end the game. … RB Jerick McKinnon, an Atlanta
native, had 14 touches for 52 yards and a touchdown. He followed up
his 2-yard receiving TD by doing the “Dirty Bird.” An ode to the
1998 Falcons might have stung a bit for Vikings fans who were at
the Metrodome in January of 1999 when the Falcons did their “Dirty
Bird” celebration after upsetting the Vikings in the NFC title
game. The Vikings had gone 15-1 that year.
REPORT CARD VS. FALCONS
–PASSING OFFENSE: A – Case Keenum threw only five incompletions in
30 attempts, didn’t turn the ball over and had two touchdowns in
the first two trips into the red zone. The third and final red-zone
trip ended with the Vikings taking a knee to end the game. Tight
end Kyle Rudolph had a touchdown reception and a savvy rub route
that sprung running back Jerick McKinnon free for his touchdown
catch.
–RUSHING OFFENSE: B – Latavius Murray continues to run harder and
better as the season progresses. He averaged 4.8 yards on 16
carries. He had a 30-yard run to the 2-yard line and a nice power
run to convert a third-and-1. The Vikings had 105 yards on 31
carries (3.4).
–PASS DEFENSE: A-plus – The Falcons came into the game ranked No.
1 in third-down conversions (48.09 percent). They went 1-for-10
while failing on their last nine tries. Julio Jones was coming off
a 253-yard, two-touchdown game. Cornerback Xavier Rhodes
contributed mightily to holding Jones to two catches for 24 yards.
–RUSH DEFENSE: B-minus – With 102 yards, the Falcons gained about
27 yards more than the Vikings were giving up on average. But there
were no serious gashes. The Vikings gave up only one run of 10 or
more yards (13), and still lead the league in that category with
only 12 on the season. Devonta Freeman averaged 6.2 yards, but had
only 12 carries.
–SPECIAL TEAMS: B – A week after struggling against the Lions, the
special teams pitched in while making no blunders. Kai Forbath made
both extra points and didn’t attempt a field goal after having two
kicks blocked at Detroit. The highlight against Atlanta was punter
Ryan Quigley dropping a 46-yard punt at the 3-yard line and getting
it to spin sideways out of bounds at the 2. That flipped the field,
leading to a Falcons three-and-out and a 53-yard touchdown drive
for the Vikings. Quigley averaged 45.0 yards on five punts with a
net of 43.4.
–COACHING: A-plus – Pat Shurmur’s offense was perfectly balanced
with 31 runs and 30 passes. It also didn’t turn the ball over,
converted four of its last six third downs and scored touchdowns in
both red-zone trips that weren’t kneeldowns to end the game.
Defensively, Mike Zimmer pitched about as close to a perfect game
as you’ll see. The Falcons were riding a three-game winning streak
and coming off back-to-back 34-point games. But they mustered only
275 yards, no touchdowns and converted only one of 10 third downs.
The special teams weren’t called on much, but Quigley’s punting set
up the first touchdown.