Vikings’ Kevin O’Connell Explains Back-to-Back Tush Push Fails in Overtime Loss to Bengals

The Minnesota coach discussed his team’s failed final offensive drive.

The Vikings lost another game in heartbreaking fashion in 2023, this time in part because of Minnesota’s unsuccessful executions of the Tush Push play.

In Saturday’s 27—24 loss to the Bengals, Minnesota attempted back-to-back Tush Push plays in overtime, and their efforts ultimately fell short by a matter of inches. The Vikings are the first team since the start of 2022 to fail to execute the play multiple times in a game, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

In a post-game press conference, coach Kevin O'Connell explained his choice to run the same play twice in Week 15's defeat:

“You’re looking at about four, five inches there. Don’t really wanna have to turn around and extend the ball and hand [it] off, I trust our guys in that moment to execute. … Thought we had a good look at it on third down. Officials spotted it otherwise. We gotta be able to get a little bit more than that in that moment on an inches type situation.”

KOC on the second sneak: “any time you are inside of four of five inches I don’t want to turn around and hand off the ball.”

He explained that Powell was in to keep the bengals out of goal line defensive personnel on the tush push

— Matthew Coller (@MatthewColler) December 16, 2023

O’Connell said “the guys up top” looked at the spot on quarterback Nick Mullens‘s second effort to execute the short-yardage play, and the Vikings coach surmised that the side judge “must have had [Mullens] short, maybe saw his knee go down.” 

O’Connell also explained he chose Brandon Powell as the lead pusher because “we were trying to keep them out of a goal line type of defense.” 

O’Connell discussed the Vikings’ failed Tush Push plays in overtime after a dramatic loss to the Bengals :: Katie Stratman/USA TODAY

At midfield, the Vikings needed just one yard to get a fresh set of downs and potentially drive down the field to kick a game-winning field goal. On a third-and-1, quarterback Nick Mullens tried to execute the Tush Push but failed. Mullens would try again on fourth down with, as many confused fans pointed out, 181-pound wideout Brandon Powell leading the push from behind.

The Vikings ended up turning the ball over on downs. Jake Browning and the Bengals closed out the game on a 29-yard field goal, coming back from a 14-point deficit at the start of the fourth.

The Bengals get the win over the Vikings in OT!

(via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/QvBM5Qmnem

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) December 16, 2023

In his first start for the Vikings this year, Mullens finished with 303 passing yards and two touchdowns, but he threw two critical interceptions in the red zone at the end of the first half. Those two failed Tush Pushes will surely haunt him, too.

The Tush Push, affectionately known in Philadelphia as the Brotherly Shove, has been at the center of debate in recent months due to the Eagles’ dominant success rate when executing the short-yardage play.