Vikings' Defense Gashed in Season-Ending 31-24 Playoff Loss to Giants

Kirk Cousins threw short of the sticks on the game-deciding fourth down play. The season is over.

The Vikings didn't lose a one-score game all year, going a record 11-0 in contests decided by eight points or fewer during an incredibly fun, dramatic, and chaotic regular season.

So, naturally, they opened the playoffs with a one-score loss, falling 31-24 to the Giants in the wild card round of the postseason.

Facing a fourth and 8 with the game — and the season — on the line, Kirk Cousins threw short of the sticks to T.J. Hockenson, who was tackled to end the game. It was a baffling decision that marred an otherwise excellent game from Cousins, who was tasked with keeping the Vikings alive on a day where their defense struggled from start to finish.

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It was all set up for another dramatic late-game win for the Vikings, who got all kinds of experience in those moments this year. The football gods blessed them with an opportunity. A Darius Slayton drop forced the Giants to punt it back to the Vikings, who trailed by a touchdown with three minutes left. Then an iffy roughing the passer call on Dexter Lawrence sparked their drive.

They found themselves near midfield, then couldn't find a play to keep the drive moving towards the end zone. On first down, Cousins threw too far for Adam Thielen down the sideline. Second down was a short pass to Dalvin Cook. On third down, Cousins threw just behind K.J. Osborn, who was covered well.

Then, on fourth down, Cousins made the inexplicable decision to check it down to T.J. Hockenson in the flat, who never had a chance to pick up any yards after the catch. Fair or not, that's all anyone is going to remember from Cousins' first home playoff game with the Vikings.

Now, the team enters the offseason facing lots of questions about what to do with expensive veteran players. This season, in which the Vikings went 13-4, won the NFC North, and came out on top in all kinds of absurdly entertaining games, was a heck of a ride.

But fans and analysts will undoubtedly pose a fair question after this loss: Can the season be considered a success when it ended like this, so far away from the ultimate goal of hoisting a Lombardi Trophy?

For most of the day, Cousins and the Vikings' offense kept them in the game despite having a small margin for error. Cousins was great, completing 31 of 39 passes for 273 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a score on a QB sneak. Cousins was decisive and accurate with the football, even under significant pressure from the Giants' pass rush.

Hockenson, acquired in a trade with the Lions before Week 9, was the Vikings' most impactful pass-catcher in this game. Taking advantage of the attention the Giants were paying to Justin Jefferson, Hockenson shredded their secondary for 129 yards on ten catches. It's just the second 100-yard game ever by a Vikings tight end in the postseason, after Steve Jordan had 149 yards in a game in January 1990. Hockenson was on the receiving end of numerous chunk plays and helped move the chains on several third and fourth downs.

It's not his fault his route on the final meaningful play of the game called for him to go to the flat.

The Vikings' defense couldn't stop a nosebleed in the first half, and really, all game. They made Daniel Jones — who threw for 301 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 78 yards — look like Josh Allen. The Giants racked up 267 yards of offense before halftime, getting whatever they wanted through the air and with the combination of Jones and Saquon Barkley running the football. As has been the case for most of the season, Ed Donatell's defense struggled to generate pressure or contest throws over the middle of the field.

In between Vikings touchdown drives at the start and end of the half, the Giants went on a 17-0 run. Their first two possessions took roughly five minutes combined, as they ripped off big play after big play against Minnesota's defense. Saquon Barkley sprinted for a 28-yard score to tie the game at seven, and a 47-yard reception by Darius Slayton set up a touchdown catch by Isaiah Hodgins on the Giants' second drive.

The third scoring drive was much more slow and methodical. Already leading 14-7 in the second quarter, the Giants went 85 yards on 20 plays, taking nearly 11 minutes off the clock. They converted on four consecutive third downs before stalling in the low red zone and settling for a field goal. That's when the Vikings' offense roared back to make it a 17-14 game at halftime.

Throughout the game, we saw several examples of the tiny margin for error the Vikings' offense operates with when the defense is offering little to no resistance. On the Vikings' second possession, Kevin O'Connell got too cute on third and short, calling for Jefferson to take a reverse and throw the ball back across the field to Cousins. It didn't work, and the Giants followed it up by marching down the field for a touchdown.

Then, in the fourth quarter, the Vikings had a poorly-timed three and out that allowed the Giants to take a few minutes off the clock.

All day long, the Giants were able to stay on schedule. They converted seven of their first ten third down attempts, largely because they seemed to always be in third and short. They finished with 431 total yards, averaging over six yards per play. The Vikings' veteran-heavy defense just seemed to be a step slow at all times. Players like Eric Kendricks, Jordan Hicks, Patrick Peterson, and Harrison Smith weren't quite in position to make plays. There wasn't a ton of pressure generated by the defense, and Jones had all kinds of room to escape the pocket and run when pressure did arrive.

Jones also converted a couple hard-to-stop QB sneaks in the game.

In the end, Cousins and the Vikings' offense came up short. But it was the defense's persistent struggles that put them in that position in the first place.

This one will sting for the Vikings. Losing in that fashion, at home, in the first round of the playoffs wasn't in the plans. Whatever their point differential was in the regular season, this team had dreams of making a deep run. They believed it was possible.

Instead, the season ends in disappointing fashion.

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