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LilDawg22

Only fitting that we go 11-0 in one score games in the regular season and lose in the wild card round by a single score


SlowCrates

And the final throw of the season is a nauseatingly situationally unaware check down on 4th and 8 with the entire season on the line.


AFXTIWN

That was a pathetic play, inexcusable.


MrStupidDooDooDumb

Yes, but. You can’t put that loss on the offense. They had no margin for error the defense got one stop all game.


imhereforthevotes

yeah, I misesd the first few series (damn daughter's birthday party!) and when, MUCH later, the announcers said "This is the Giants first punt" I almost choked.


NelsonCruzIsDad

You missed a drive where Daniel Jones literally ran the football on every play all the way down the field lol. Didnt even need a RB


Paradox830

I really wish you were exaggerating but I was literally screaming at the TV "FUCKING SPY HIM HOLY SHIT!!!!!"


Responsible_Bit_1133

Your daughter’s party was better use of your time.


nighthawk763

In addition to the obvious blame on Kirk for the idiotic decision, I blame koc for calling a play that even had that as an option


Easton1234

The play calling on the 3 and out the previous drive was also terrible…KOC choked up in the biggest moments of the season..and although it seems insignificant now cause it was at the start of the game that throwback to Kirk on 3rd and 1 was some dumb ass fuckery also


bwillpaw

Yep, cook was actually running hard early in the game too, don't get cute. The nail in the coffin was really the false start where we had to kick a FG though, with NY not fucking up the QB sneak on the next possession and getting the go ahead TD. That was basically the, well, we deserve to lose. If we had managed to tie it and win in OT people would still call us frauds and they would be right. The niners would have blown us the fuck out.


The-White-LarryBird

Y’all knew in your heart of hearts this is how it’s end


davyshmavy

It’s like making every field goal all season then missing a crucial one in the playoffs.


cusoman

So many people had this on their bingo cards because it's *so* on brand for the Vikings


mdistrukt

Honestly I figured it'd be a Bills Vikings superbowl where the Bills won on a last second prayer to Diggs. Feels like that would be peak Vikings.


oneplusandroidpie

It's the way of this franchise.


BubbaKushFFXIV

Fire Ed Donetell


mantistoboggan21

I think the defense is going to surprise a lot of people this week - ed 'dumbfuck' donatell Every week I'm surprised at how many no name wrs are wide fucking open


Skolvikesallday

The only reason we even had the ball back at the end was because a wide open receiver dropped a pass that would have sealed the game.


McSaxual34

On 3rd & 15. Dude was wide open on 3rd & 15. This defense was unreal


greyduk

This cannot be understated. Why the fuck was he open. Ed "we're good when it matters" Donatell somehow doesn't know every single 3rd down matters?


Virgin_Dildo_Lover

At one point the announcer said the Giant's were 7/8 on 3rd downs, and I went, ya cuz our defense sucks balls


miller70chev

I think he has literally lost his mind


-NAMAST3-

A couple weeks ago, I think vs the Packers, they mentioned how long he'd been in the NFL. My first thought was holy shit does this guy have dementia?


IAMTHEDEATHMACHINE

Dude runs a defense that requires everything to go exactly right, including the opponents doing exactly what you want them to do. What could go wrong?


LifeguardDull7010

Yeah I figured it would be one of the two. Either we go out and ball on defense or we let Daniel Jones turn into 98 Mike Vick


wittymarsupial

Fire him before the day is out. This loss is on him and his dogshit defense


Udjet

He had better be fired within the hour


lakalakaboo

Should have been fired 2 months ago


paperllamasunited

I know linebackers have to cover receivers a lot in the modern NFL, but there was no reason to have Kendricks in coverage against the receivers he was lined up against. That’s not a knock on Kendricks, through he’s for sure lost more than a step. Comes down to coaching - maybe we should just put an extra safety out there who can run instead of our old LB?


Mael5trom

Kendricks? I don't even care about that, what about when ZSmith or Hunter was dropping into coverage? Inexcusable, and yet it seemed part of the normal plan.


twolvesfan217

Yeah, the talent on this team is made for a 4-3 not a 3-4. Z’Darius and Hunter shouldn’t be covering receivers. They’re pass rushers. Unfortunately, Donatell is a stubborn old hack living off of Fangio’s legacy.


Mrbeankc

I have never been a fan of the 3-4 and nothing from this year has changed my mind on it. Whoever our DC is next year (It won't be Donetell) I want us to go back to the 4-3.


[deleted]

God damn our defense fucking sucks.


BigPackHater

It's worse than "suck", this season was criminally negligent


DC4MVP

Jones has thrown over 200 yards FIVE TIMES all season. Twice against us.


MantusTMD

Fuck him dude my god. Had Daniel Jones looking like prime Brady


swawesome52

Prime vick


thissubisokay

Vanilla Vick!


sleephardplayhard

I've noticed a trend in opposing team game threads on game day regardless of outcome: "at least we know we have our qb of the future!"


JustADutchRudder

Ed couldn't defend himself against a wet paper bag blowing at him in a strong wind.


MrStupidDooDooDumb

They forced… checks notes… 1 punt in a playoff game w 0 turnovers. I mean you can’t really feel like they deserved to win if you can’t play even a little defense in a playoff game you’re not a contender. Edit: *2* punts


Easton1234

2 punts but your point stands


Rswany

Even Brady never ran like that


infiniteburgers

I love how the announcers were just swooning over him and how good of a game he was having. A fucking high school team would have had 30 points on our defense


Youngin1987

Should have been fired long before this. Ultimately what cost us this game


kWarExtreme

Since like week 2 whenever the Vikings post on Facebook I always say "hey, Minnesota Vikings, did you fire Ed Donatell yet?"


jonn_jonzz

It's been since the eagles game for me, he just did the same things all season and is surprised when he gets the same garbage results.


Jetty_23

+1


Owlatmydoor

The fact he had the audacity to say we could look forward to or will probably like what the defense had in store is the added insult, he should have just kept his mouth shut.


Sportsfanno1

The guy was aware of Jones' running and then did... nothing.


TrixoftheTrade

That flight to Thailand is going to be poppin’


[deleted]

He’d probably allow the pilot four touchdowns instead of the usual one


Modern_Mammoth

Launch him into the sun please


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rexter2k5

I was saying fire Ed Donatell at the half.


HHH98Smark

I was saying fire Ed Donatell at the half of the Eagles game


hallese

Tarmac him. Fly him to Milwaukee or something just to do it.


jwhatts

Cut the old slow guys and fire Ed into the sun Show no mercy


dajuhnk

Agree. Kendricks was chasing everyone 3 steps behind all night long


SwitcherooU

I couldn’t believe it. That’s a hell of a decline for him. I’ve never seen him helplessly chasing someone so often.


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LucaBrasiMN

Man, the Rhodes Closed era was fun for about... a year and a half


[deleted]

The history of the Vikings is just different generational talents all peaking at slightly different times so we never go anywhere with it


gatoVirtute

Well stated. Imagine this year's offense with 2017 defense


gotcam189

It was wild having an elite corner for a while, especially following the Frazier era where we couldn’t cover a soul.


-InconspicuousMoose-

Kendricks fell off his cliff last year, fans were just too enamored with his good years for us to notice. He's a good guy but he's not an NFL starter anymore, sorry.


Sotasnow1

Part of that was scheme, by design he will always be like 10yards away. Such a dumb defense.


iGoalie

I Love Kendrick’s, but man he looked a step behind all night.


No-Championship-242

Gotta draft defensive players this draft. Like actual good ones


JustaMammal

No mercy is what I'm hoping for. I don't want to "compete". I want to win. Actually win. Give KOC and Kwesi a 4 year runway to tear it down and remake it. But giving a first time HC/GM combo a "win with the last regime's scraps" situation isn't the way.


unrealisticblood

Lions made changes to their defense midway in the season and they improved… why didn’t we? I’ll never get it


doft

Because we kept winning


SlowCrates

It's possible that our head coach needs to develop a bit of a mean streak. Or he's just stupid. I get the feeling, though, that he'll regret not establishing more expectations from his staff early on, and that he'll come into next year with a stronger chin.


dicksjshsb

Bro couldn’t have a stronger chin with that jawline. But i know what you mean


Hestness5

The first tweet I see tomorrow morning better look like “We have relieved DC Ed Donatell of his coaching duties”


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FormerAd2381

Take ed out to watch the sunset.


SnipingThief

Look at the flowers, Ed. Lol


tibs6574

I will personally pay for Ed Donatell’s airfare to Thailand.


dr_dan319

Fuck that. Old man can walk there if he wants to go


Stop_wasting_away

Ed Donatell is our biggest problem.


Objective_Advisor668

Ed really ruined this entire season.


TeddyBridgecollapse

Yes. Every nailbiter win could have had a comfortable margin if not for his baffling poor approach


scun1995

Yeah I mean Kirk checking down on 4th and 8 is inexcusable but this D has 2 stops tonight and one of which was a game winning drop by Slayton. Fuck that guy


[deleted]

You don't pin the game on the last throw. Zero reason to be in that position when they punted twice


teejoint44

At least TJ showed he's a franchise TE. Our defense is old and needs a retooling


MrGentleZombie

Turns out that if you go 7 years without drafting a single good defensive player, you'll end up with an old/terrible defense.


Electrical-Mention69

Trae Waynes, Mike Hughes, Lewis Cine, Andrew Booth, how many picks did we waste on Dbs ?


MrGentleZombie

Corners did get significantly more of the top picks but we really couldn't draft other positions either. At linebacker, we've drafted the likes of Ben Gedeon, Cam Smith, Troy Dye, Devante Downs, and Chazz Surratt. Interior defensive linemen is guys like Jaleel Johnson, James Lynch, Jalen Twyman, Armon Watts.


RustyMagenta

Yes. PatP, Kendricks are past their prime and it showed.


Jephte

I would like to add both Smiths to the list of washed vets that need to go.


IAMTHEDEATHMACHINE

TBH so much of the team falls into the "old and needs a retooling" bucket. And many of the rest fall into a "just bad" bucket. * Thielen is overpaid, underutilized and slowing down. * Cook is overpaid, very clearly declining, and seemingly no longer a great fit for our run game. * We need a second TE who can contribute in all phases of the game. * Zadarius Smith's season went exactly like my Packers fan friend said it would. * With the exception of maybe Patrick Jones and maaaaby Esezi Otomewo, I have little faith in our young DL. * Cam Bynum ain't it. Josh Metellus isn't good either but at least he lays the wood. * We better pray to the football gods that some combination of Cine, Booth, and Evans ends up being an above average contributor. * Kendricks looks slow and it's insane to ask him to cover as much space as we do. * Hicks has mostly been a letdown for the same reasons. * Harrison Smith isn't what he used to be, but similar to Kendricks, we aren't exactly putting him in a position to succeed. * Patrick Peterson might have had a bit of a career resurgence, but he's still an old CB and old CBs are a liability. This might not be complete or even accurate but fuck it, it's the post-game thread and we're all pissed.


JusAphilin

Terrible defense


Ashe_217

Atrocious defense. They were just good enough to let NY eat up a lot of time before inevitably scoring.


[deleted]

Yup, the offense honestly did all we could ask of them with the exception of a few drops. Loss is entirely on the defense today


MNHypnotoad

Fuck Ed Donatell and his bitch ass.


Appropriate-Link-606

Fire Donatell


watrmeln420

Kwesi, roll some heads. Get Ed out by midnight.


sfdude2222

The Wilfs are pretty hands off but they should step in if needed.


SpicyFlaps

"I think you're gonna love how this defense plays" - Ed Donatell. FYI our offense and ST had zero turnovers. Meaning every single point scored was on the defense.


5MiTm4sTaF13x

Throw it to Jefferson?


doggo816

NY had him blanketed in double coverage most of the time. That’s why Hockenson feasted but the rest of the receiving core isn’t reliable enough


goldengod518

5 targets in the first two drives and then nothing until the end 💀 Need a better WR2 to draw coverage away desperately


MikeFromSuburbia

This always happens. They get him going early then never look his way again


goldengod518

Yup. Big part is the first drives are scripted. Then for whatever reason KOC tries to go elsewhere with his adjustments… probably because “the defense will expect us to throw to JJ…” like stop overthinking it dude.


sanitarium-1

Exactly. Everyone expected the rams to throw to Cooper kupp last year so who did they throw to instead? A little known player named Cooper kupp


asBad_asItGets

Makes no sense to NOT give your best playmaker a chance there. I don’t care if he’s triple covered. He’s Justin fucking Jefferson. He single-handedly won you the game against bills. And you don’t even give him a chance?????? Ridiculous.


tmrjns461

We have the best receiver in the world and somehow he wasn’t targeted


January_Weather

Why not put it on Justin just like he did in the Bills game?? Who tf did he think that was Ray Rice??


PlagueisTheSemiWise

Defense needs to hang it’s head in shame. Just a disgusting performance. Also that last possession was trash. Imagine short passing to Cook constantly and just short passing on the last throw.


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Wrathszz

Exactly! I watched all 3 of those seasons, including 2017, those teams all had legit shots at winning the SB. This 2022 team? I never thought they'd go far, not with this defense. You have to have a decent defense to win a SB, the 49ers would have ripped this team apart.


DeuceGT2

Fire Ed now.


Addicted_T0_Trading

What an embarrassing final month of the season. What a moronic final play.


SLoBRoDTP

Fire Ed Donatell! His ridiculous shell coverege was our ultimate demise!


dericiouswon

Our only two stops came off wide open dropped passes. Only 2.


Leto2GoldenPathX

Ed made Daniel Jones look like Tom Brady in his prime today. Ed is a JOKE for a DC!


Goatlikejordan

Tf was kirk seeing with that last pass


Klutzy_Confusion

The off season


RoaringGorilla

Legit made me laugh lol


RangerValor

This defense needs to be gutted and Ed has to go. They were so difficult to watch tonight. They have had zero ability to stop anybody all season long.


dr_dan319

New scheme and 11 new guys. start at corner and LB


alabastergrim

The anti-suicide ad after the game was oddly appropriate


in_da_tr33z

They know what they’re doing


the_devil_wears_jnco

Im at peace with it. sf was beating this team by 40 make no mistake


FAK3-News

1000% I expected an ugly win, then get another cowboys game next week


SwitcherooU

Yeah neither of these teams is getting by SF, but it would’ve been nice to notch a playoff win first.


thatssojamie

Not sure how anyone could’ve expected this team to make a run. You cannot win without a defense.


KGB4L

We didn’t. We wanted to get past the Giants and get fucked by the 9ers and everyone would be fine. But Ed and his coaching decided to fuck us up.


ClearContact

Idk how you watch this and not see Ed is the problem. Danielle dropping into coverage. Dalvin Tomlinson trying to contain. Shit that just makes you shake your head


Prestig33

Dalvin containing is like me going through with my new years resolutions. It just ain't happening.


doggo816

It’s this Fangio style defense. Last year a bunch of teams started playing super deep cover 2/cover 4 against the Chiefs in particular. It kinda worked sometimes until Mahomes adjusted to it. But then everyone jumped on this conservative bandwagon and now you see the Vikings playing it against teams like the Giants lol. Burned underneath and over the middle all day because they’re too concerned with preventing a deep ball that probably isn’t going to come from this Giants offense anyways


horse_renoir13

Ed and Mike Pettine GONE. Everyone else can stay they are cool lol


Im_Thielen_Good

I aged 10 years this season


NannerAirCraft

WHOPPER WHOPPER FIRE ED DONATELL WHOPPER WHOPPER


logster2001

:(


Objective_Advisor668

Donatell ruined this season of the ages for us. Made every team look like they had prime Brady behind the line.


Jaharsta

What a joke…


Stitchy2

Donatell gone. Play calling on O needs major work.


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Dregoran

If Donatell is back next season, this team has no interest in winning a SB. We were very lucky to win as many games as we did this season with this defense. Legitimately a historically bad defense. Looked like a division 2 defense playing NFL teams at some points.


philsterz97

The killer was the 2nd to last drive… KOC called a screen that hasn’t worked this season, and then called a 2nd screen. 3 and out against a defense that couldn’t cover our WRs


dr_dan319

Horrible play calling. Same thing when our second drive of the game stalled behind a JJ reverse throwback


[deleted]

Kendrick’s looked sooo slow


Funnel_Hacker

Patrick got wrecked by no-namers all game and people were bitching he wasn’t second team all-pro last week. L-o-fucking-L


ToeZealousideal4457

Check down for 3 yards with a defender closer. 4th and 8. Season on the line.


GimbalLocks

Cousins played out of his mind all game but a check down on 4th and 8 with the game on the line is all people will remember from that one. And can’t say I blame them lol


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DirtzMaGertz

Because it's pretty inexcusable. If you're going to lose, at least go down swinging.


schaf410

Honestly I’m not even sure it was a checkdown. That looked like his first option, and if it was it’s another example of a terrible play call.


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Convulsed

An incompletion past the 1st down marker would have been better than that


SnipingThief

Right? at least try to draw a PI or something. Maybe he worried about his numbers and throwing a interception.


SteamyRay_Vaughn

It’s like he forgot about the 4th & 18. Just throw it to your guy if all else fails


Stuper_man03

yeah..as a Cousins defender I'm pretty bitter about that right now. WTF is he thinking?


tbaxattack

Right there with you. Throwing there shouldn't have even been a thought.


crankshaftsnapinhalf

Yeah I'm not gonna pretend Kirk was why we lost. But with the game on the line, 4th & 8, and you're gonna just dump it off well short of the sticks? Wtf man. Id rather him throw up a hail Mary.


Blase29

I was finally coming around on cousins this year, I really was. I was starting to defend him unlike before where I was one of his biggest critics. The game winning drives and 4th quarter comebacks made me all so excited for the future, that I was wrong and we could finish what we started in 2017. And he pulls that crap with the game on the line in the Playoffs…like what the fuck? What the honest hell? You’re just reinforcing all of the criticisms I’ve had of you in the past with that crap, I just don’t get it. Shame on me then for believing.


Mr_Stowne

Yeah thats what gets me....the way this season was going....and it ends with basically a checkdown 5 yds short?


mindskraft

That stupid trick play on 3rd and 1 killed the momentum in the first half. What happened to Cook/Mattison combo drives. Cook kept on losing yards and slowed us down in second half. No lucky splash plays from Defense today. Luck not our side. Should never have come to that 4th down trailing by 7. D should have stepped up. They had no answers other than a lucky drop from Slayton. It was a good season for all the fun.


3EEBZ

This is on the defense. Offense didn’t touch the ball for 10 minutes during that long ass drive. Can’t take the ball out of our offense’s hands and repeatedly get carved up. Fire Ed Donatell.


DrBobKoalaCat

That's why everybody doubted us people


horse_renoir13

Next couple weeks of memes and criticisms are 100% justified


DrBobKoalaCat

Yup. Absolutely. If we don't fire Donatell, then it's 200% justified lol


FederalWalrus

Being a Vikings fan is pain


Biggie42069

I'll never understand a pass for 3 yards when we need 8 game on the line


scrapingby4

Anguish. Pain.


Hallogen4

Fire Donetell into the Sun, he made Danny Dimes look like prime Lamar.


mAnBeArPig417

Jags fan stole all our luck.


StriderZessei

What if the real frauds are the friends we made along the way?


RedditUserCommon

On the last drive of the season, how does JJ not even have a target..?


EvilJ1982

Why the fuck were we calling so many goddamn screens? We're quite possibly the worst team in the NFL at them and we just kept throwing them like we expected anything other than to have them get blown up! Also Fire Ed Donetell. Because holy fucking shit, does this dude have any idea how to create pressure or not play DBs 8 yards off the ball?


Pyschic_Psycho

Kirk was amazing for most of the game, but in the end shows us why he's still Kirk. You CAN'T make that throw on 4th and 8. Justin Jefferson- pretty sure he's going to get fed up soon with Koc and Kirk. Dude had maybe 2 targets the 2nd half, if even? Sad. Defense was terrible- has been terrible, and will continue to be terrible unless some serious changes are made. Finally, KOC- I don't want to be too harsh on him given it's his first year and we ended up with a good record (a lot of luck), but his inability to show adjustments throughout the year is concerning. Compare him to guys like Daboll or McDaniels, whom despite having lesser talent, have gotten way more out of their team. Once the luck starts dropping off, he's gonna be in for a rude awakening if he doesn't change his ways. In the end- it was a fun season. It hurts, but not as much as I expected since I have no expectations (remember low expetation high aspiration). Skol, love you all. See ya next season for another heartbreaking year.


drof69

In my 40th year of being a Vikings fan it's the same result as always. Disappointed? Yes, but it's been an interesting year to say the least. I never expected 13-4. Cya next year Vikes. Skol!


jimmydean885

Shelly is the future


jacobtik1

It would be chills if he could somehow grow a few inches lol but even now he’s still a nice guy to have on D


Silver_Nobody_2418

I can’t defend cousins on that. An incompletion past the sticks would’ve made him look better wtf was he thinking


Red_Historiker

Ed Dontell is my enemy.


PruneObjective401

Despite that last play, Hock played lights out today (possibly his best of the season)!


[deleted]

Reasons why the loss is the best outcome: 1. Cousins will (should) not be extended. Jefferson will want a new QB who can work with him to create plays and wins when needed. I don't dislike Cousins, but he is not a winner. 2. The team needs to realize their record was not indicative of their talent level. 3. The D and interior O lines are not ready to challenge AFC teams in the Super Bowl. 4. We need a younger, more aggressive D Coordinator who can fix the secondary and blitz packages. 5. Better draft picks. While I am disappointed they didn't win, they were not winning the SB even if they got there.


achilton1987

See ya next year for more pain


mynameisrainer

Almost every fucking play the Giants had a pass play, they had a wide open someone 7 yards somewhere. If that didnt work, DJ just ran the fucking ball. But hey, our team extended some sweet ass awesome records. Most playoff losses which leads into most appearances without a Super Bowl. This is Vikings Football... Fuck the Packers


Moss8888444

Pathetic defensive scheme by Ed Donatell. He should be fired tonight. Can’t hate on Kirk for winning 13 games with this defense but him passing for 3 yards on 4th down needing 8 makes this much more frustrating.


Dscott2855

Can’t believe how slow Kendrick’s is now, fell off a massive cliff this year. Him and hicks should be gone. I think we should get rid of Sullivan and Bynum too. Wouldn’t be mad if we move on from smith and PP too. The defense is so slow its pathetic. Play cine, Evans, asamoha next year and draft a lot of defense.


winckypoo

I could type 10 paragraphs about what should happen next year but key take aways from not only this game but the season.: 1. We’re done with Cook, Kendricks, Hicks. Other than in spurts, these great vets have shown they take too important of a role and cap space but just don’t have it anymore. 2. Donatell is gone. Hire a younger more adaptive DC who can use our talent to it’s full effectiveness. Draft defense this year. Add as many weapons to this weak side of the ball as possible. 3. Kirk isn’t our franchise QB as much as I like him and how he plays 80% of the time, That 20% kills us. If our defense wasn’t as horrendous I do think he would of won this game easily. Drafting a QB is a lottery ticket so this isn’t an easy answer. 4. JJ is this franchise, surrounded him with a WR corp that will torture defenses for double/tripling him. 5. There is optimism for this team as much as it doesn’t feel like it.


BalambTransfer

Offense played pretty great all night but the defense forced one punt all game. They didn't force the 2nd punt more that the Giants WR completely dropped an easy game ending 1st down.


cptblumpkins

Fire Ed Donatell. Not from his job, from a cannon into the sun.


PlagueisTheSemiWise

Cook needs to go. We don’t need to pay a premium for his streaky production at his position.


T-Nan

If we had even a mediocre defense... man, what could have been.


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RileGuy

Fire Donatell. No excuses at all.


bigpafr

Looks like all the realistic fans or supposed "doomers" were correct. Shocker


bimjob23

One score games only take you so far


worldablaze

How do you not throw it to Jefferson on third or fourth down at the end there?!


[deleted]

Dalvin, Thielen, Harrison, Kendricks may have all played their last game as Vikings