PurplePTSD: How Did Nick Vigil And KJ Osborn Play On Sunday?

Press release from the PurplePTSD:

Henrique Gucciardi

2021-09-22

Last week I wrote an article about Patrick Peterson’s and Dalvin Tomlinson’s debut. After the game against the Cardinals, I thought about making it a weekly thing. The boss approved, so here I am again. As you’ve seen, this week’s topic is LB Nick Vigil and WR KJ Osborn. I will do my best to not repeat a player unless he was a big part of the game – for either good or bad. Without further ado, let’s go.

I didn’t mention him last week, but Vigil had a really good game against the Bengals. This week though, he wasn’t as good. Don’t get me wrong, Vigil’s performance wasn’t bad, but also wasn’t good. He made one of the biggest plays on defense with the pick-six, when he did a good job reading Murray’s eyes and snatching the ball. He also made a touchdown-saving tackle on Maxx Williams and almost recovered a fumble. However, he had a quiet 1st half. Kyler’s passes rarely went near him, and not because his coverage was excellent. Against the run, he also didn’t make much of a difference, as he struggled to disengage from blocks and missed some tackles.

The tackling was a problem for the entire defense, but Vigil had a couple of ugly ones. On a sideline pass to Edmonds, Vigil should’ve shoved him out of bounds after the catch, but the RB stopped and Vigil ended up on the ground. He managed to tackle Edmonds, but only after a 13-yard gain. Again, it’s not like he had a bad game, but he was better against his former team.

Osborn really pissed me off last season, with him having 0 impact in the return game and offense. For 2021, he was praised throughout the offseason by coaches and teammates, emerging as the prime candidate for the WR3 job. He couldn’t make his case in the preseason, but that’s because the QBs played poorly. Still, he did enough to hold on to the job. Week 1 against the Bengals he showed why, catching 7 passes for 76 yards, including a 6-yard reception to convert on 4&4.

This week, he improved his performance and scored his first NFL touchdown (congratulations). It was a beautiful design by Kubiak, with Osborn and Jefferson running a switch concept – JJ started closer to the sideline and ran a curl, with Osborn running a wheel behind him. The defense got confused, no. 17 was wide open, and won the foot race against the safety. His 64-yard TD inflated the total number, but he led the team in yards (91) and was 2nd in receptions with 5 (Jefferson and Thielen had 6 each). Also, once again Cousins trusted him on the last drive, with two passes going to the 2nd-year wideout – he caught both passes and set up Joseph’s 37-yard kick. Safe to say that the WR3 job is his.

Feel free to tell me a player to watch during the game, either in the comment section or on Twitter: @h_gucciardi

This press release was produced by the PurplePTSD. The views expressed here are the author’s own.