Amidst Backup Woes, Defense Fails Vikings in 24-27 Loss to Bengals

The Vikings chose to start Nick Mullens at QB. Though he struggled, the bigger issue was the defense. We go over quarterback sneaks, offensive playcalling and a stunning day from receivers.

Photo by Jeff Dean/Getty Images

After a non-controversial decision to bench Joshua Dobbs and start Nick Mullens at quarterback, the Minnesota Vikings fell 27-24 to a backup-led Cincinnati Bengals

The Vikings had been riding their incredible defense for weeks, hoping that their backup quarterbacks could score just enough points to put them in a position to win. That put an extraordinary amount of pressure on an undermanned defense, buoyed by an incredible scheme.

But hoping that the defense would simply stop every touchdown imaginable was too much and no amount of crazy plays from the receivers (good) or crazy plays from the quarterback (maybe good?) could overcome this overreliance on a defense that eventually broke.

It was always going to be difficult to put this much faith in the defense, but that doesn’t mean the defense would find itself absolved of blame. Neither would it be appropriate to argue that Nick Mullens paid the Vikings’ confidence back with steady play.

Instead, Minnesota found themselves in a curious position – one where both units were at fault but where the individual play of most of the players on either side of the ball had great days. And the coaching staff carries their fair share of blame as well.

“We let one slip away,” Kevin O’Connell said after the game.

The Vikings Receiving Corps Was Outstanding

One expects a receiving corps to shoulder the load when a backup comes to play, but they hadn’t been doing that for the past several weeks. They had difficulty getting open and were reeling in fewer passes than they should have, even after accounting for inaccuracies or defensive back positioning.

Against the Bengals, Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson shined, and a returning Justin Jefferson immediately made a big impact – not just in the plays that he made but in how he pulled coverages away from other receivers.

Jefferson’s presence was immense, and it’s clear that the Vikings are reliant on his play. It’s a shame we didn’t get to see him over the last several weeks, as it’s obvious that he could have helped swing games – directly or indirectly – by himself, turning losses into wins.

But that shouldn’t used to diminish Addison, who had the best game of his short career with 111 yards and two touchdowns. The yardage is great, but what really stands out are the low-percentage catches he turned into big gains.

Early into the Week 15 matchups, Addison has the two most improbable completions of the week, with his one-yard touchdown ranking second at 23.5 percent and his 37-yard catch and run on the ball below his waist at 21.4 percent.

It’s unclear how much the chip data considers the vertical positioning of the ball in calculating catch percentage, but it certainly was one of the more impressive touchdowns we’ve seen this year. Unfortunately for the Vikings, it wasn’t even remotely close to the most impressive touchdown of the game.

Addison was the offensive star and his two touchdowns expanded on his lead he has among rookies for total touchdowns. Stunningly, after a slow start to the season and Puka Nacua’s record-breaking introduction to the league, Addison is in the conversation for the best rookie receiver in the NFL, along with Zay Flowers.

Hockenson deserves plaudits as well. Reeling in passes outside of his frame and generating yards after the catch – what the Vikings envisioned when they traded for him, but not always present in 2023 – helped him generate a solid 63 yards. What’s great is that almost none of his yards were empty, either getting the Vikings over the first-down marker or nearly so in high-leverage situations. Not for nothing, Hockenson placed second among Vikings receivers in expected points per target.

The Running Game Was On Point

The Vikings running game provided outstanding support as well. Ty Chandler ran the ball well enough to openly question why he wasn’t getting carries sooner – he was a rare back who earned positive expected points on his carries. It helps to consistently gain eight yards on first down.

He ended the game with 132 yards – the first 100-yard rusher for the Vikings this season, a worrisome accolade to note in Week 15 – on 23 carries. Those 5.7 yards per carry didn’t just come on a small burst of big plays; his success rate was an astounding 50 percent – unusual for a running back.

Chandler wasn’t alone in creating run success – the offensive line did an excellent job against an admittedly beleaguered defensive line after D.J. Reader went down due to a torn tendon in his quad. That context – along with the context that the Bengals entered the game 26th in rush EPA allowed per carry – is important in evaluating Chandler and the offensive line, but it’s still worth celebrating his success.

The Vikings run blocking unit has largely been successful all year, sometimes against bad run defenses, but the team couldn’t generate rushing success with either Cam Akers or Alexander Mattison running the ball. This is just one game, but it seems like an important distinction.

QB Sneaks Were Not Part of That Running Success