At one point in the third quarter the Vikings offense had actually netted negative passing yards. After struggling in games against both the Broncos and Bears, Dobbs came out on Sunday and laid yet another egg. ![]() Why was Dobbs pulled? Simply put, he couldn’t get anything going for the third week in a row. O’Connell stayed true to his word, and it was Mullens who took the Vikings down the field to score what was ultimately the game-winning field goal. O’Connell had said earlier in the week that, if he was going to move away from Dobbs, he would do so with the Vikings still in striking distance of the game. Midway through the fourth quarter, O’Connell finally decided he’d had enough and went to backup quarterback Nick Mullens. The leading headline from this game is going to be the fact that head coach Kevin O’Connell finally pulled the plug on the Josh Dobbs experience - at least for the game itself. It was such a rough performance, in fact, that we’re skipping right over the bad and doubling down on the ugly. Sunday’s game against the Raiders was a tough watch, there’s no two ways about it. Wonnum, and crew pressured O’Connell early and often, and got home at crucial times to kill drives and keep Minnesota within striking distance despite the anemic offense. O’Connell never had a chance to get comfortable on Sunday, getting sacked five times and being flushed from the pocket on several other occasions. The most important in my eyes is their effectiveness in rushing rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell. The front seven for the Vikings were the stars of the show Sunday against the Raiders, in multiple ways. If not for defensive coordinator Brian Flores drawing up pressure at the right time, Minnesota could easily have lost this game going away. To the contrary, once again the Vikings defense was the only reason Minnesota was in this game and was ultimately able to come away with the win. Not much of anything went right for the Vikings on Sunday afternoon, but, in typical 2023 Minnesota Vikings fashion, blame can’t be placed at the feet of the defense. It should come as no surprise that, in a game which threatened to be the first in the overtime era to head to overtime scoreless, defense was among the only real highlights. It’s not much, but in a game where not many things went right for Minnesota, it’s something they may be able to build on with some pivotal games coming up - if O’Neill and Mattison are able to get healthy. It all came crashing down at the end of the second half, as both offensive lineman Brian O’Neill and Mattison himself suffered injuries that severely hampered Minnesota’s ability to run the ball in the second half. Mattison was able to find holes and rush the ball effectively against the Raiders front in the first half, to the tune of nine carries for 60 yards. Running back Alexander Mattison was well on his way to one of his best games of the season on Sunday in the first half. In a season where they have mostly struggled to run the ball, the Vikings run game looked very good in the first half against the Raiders, before injuries squashed any momentum they may have had. That said, this wasn’t a game completely bereft of good points for the Vikings. Things have to change in Minnesota, and they’re going to have to change quickly. Let’s be clear: That was an ugly game, and playing like that is not going to be good enough going forward. ![]() No one who watched the game on Sunday can be blamed for coming away from that spectacle feeling down about the Vikings and their hopes going forward. ![]() Let’s take a look at the good, bad and ugly from this performance. Ultimately, the Vikings were able to make one more play than the Raiders and escape with a 3-0 win. The game was about as ugly as it could possibly be, with neither team scoring until just under the two-minute mark in the fourth quarter. On the field it was a completely different story. Schedule-wise, Sunday went about as well for the Vikings as it could have. With four games remaining, and two games against the aforementioned Lions, the Vikings now find themselves sitting just two games back in the race for the NFC North title, while also firmly in the NFC Wild Card race thanks to a loss by the Seattle Seahawks against the San Francisco 49ers. They got some help on Sunday, too, as the Detroit Lions were upset by the Chicago Bears. It doesn’t matter how ugly the win is, all that matters for the Minnesota Vikings is that they secured the win on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders and moved to 7-6 on the season.
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