PurplePTSD: Lynch, Mattison, And The Week 13 Players Of The Week

Press release from the PurplePTSD:

December 7, 2021

Tough loss this week against the Lions. The Vikings came out flat and were unable to match Detroit’s intensity. The team made a run in the 2nd half, but was unable to hang onto that lead after a late drive. The Vikings were down several players due to injury (Kendricks, Barr, Darrisaw, etc.), Peterson due to COVID protocol, and lost Thielen very early in the game. The coaching staff didn’t have the team ready to go and made several very questionable decisions. The team went for it on 4th and 10 right before half, a decision that setup the Lions with a short field for a FG to make it 20-6. Mike Zimmer decided to go for two very early in the game and ended up going for it a couple more times, finishing the day 0-3. The prevent defense on the final Lions drive was atrocious. All that being said, there were several players that stood out with solid performances, Justin Jefferson foremost among them. Here are the four that stood out:

Justin Jefferson

11 catches for 182 yards and a TD on 14 targets. Jefferson was the best player on the field for either team. He was a beast in an offense that had nothing around him to help. He consistently catches contested throws. There isn’t a WR playing better in the league right now. He will get even more of the focus while Adam Thielen is out with an ankle sprain.

Alexander Mattison

22 carries for 90 yards and a hard TD. 3 catches for 34 yards. Mattison and Justin Jefferson were most of the offense on Sunday. Mattison isn’t as explosive as Cook, but he sure does run hard. That TD run was a thing of beauty and at a time the team needed it. He also had back-to-back big runs to get the team going in the 2nd half and get the field goal.

Blake Lynch

Blake had a sack to force a 3 and out on the Lions’ 2nd drive in the 2nd half. He then had the sack and forced fumble on the 4th down attempt by the Lions. Those two plays were huge in the comeback attempt; the team might not have been able to take the lead without Blake’s efforts. Solid week for the backup player given that he did his job really well.

Cameron Dantzler

A lot of people will blame him for the last play, but that is not the case. Cam was playing outside leverage and was there in case of a cut to the outside by the receiver. Xavier Woods inexplicably was backpedaling in the endzone and did not get to the ball in time. The play call was terrible to begin with and just put the DBs in a tough spot. Cam got the interception to end one of the Lions’ drives in the 2nd half and what could’ve been a pivotal swing if the offense could’ve taken advantage of the situation. He was solid in coverage all day and performed better than his DB counterparts.

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