PurplePTSD: Vikings Lean On Their Stars To Earn A Victory In LA

Press release from the PurplePTSD:

Josh Frey

2021-11-15

The stars were all out in SoFi Stadium where the Vikings took on the Chargers and ultimately earned a hard fought 27-20 victory. While many of these stars happen to play on the offensive side of the ball, it was the defenses that shined early on. Joey Bosa and Co. put a ton of pressure on Kirk Cousins and the Vikings o-line while the Vikings made things difficult on the Chargers talented group of receivers.

The first quarter ended in a 0-0 stalemate, but after that, the two teams got rolling. A trio of field goals had the Vikings up 6-3 when the first of the Vikings stars broke through. Eric Kendricks picked off a pass from Justin Herbert and took it down inside the red zone. Minutes later, Tyler Conklin would catch one of his two touchdowns on the day, giving the Vikings a 13-3 lead.

Then, things got a bit ugly. The end of the first half has been an issue for the Vikings all season, and Sunday would be no different. Minnesota allowed the Chargers to run a successful two minute drill, and then they opened up the second half with another long touchdown drive, putting the Vikings in a 17-13 hole.

After a pair of punts on the following drives, it was Justin Jefferson’s time to shine. He was the catalyst of the next touchdown to Conklin, catching a 36-yard pass and drawing a DPI penalty on another target. Minnesota worked down to the goal line where they were stopped on three plays, but a fourth and goal pass to Conklin reclaimed the lead, 20-17.

After an LA three-and-out, momentum clearly rode with the Purple. This time, Dalvin Cook got into the scoring act, punching a ball into the end zone and earning 27 of his 118 yards from scrimmage on the day.

The Vikings led 27-17 and would not look back. The Chargers were held to a field goal on their next drive, making the deficit 27-20, and then the Vikings would use aggressive football to close out the game. First, Dalvin Cook dragged LA defenders for an 11 yard run on 2nd & 17. Then, Cousins found Jefferson for 27 of his 143 yards on an amazing sideline grab. Finally, to put the final nail in the coffin, Thielen caught another third-and-long pass for 18 yards, and Cook punched ahead for four yards on 4th & 2 to seal the win.

The Vikings move to 4-5 on the year in an important victory to keep pace in the NFC wild card while the Chargers fell to 5-4 in an AFC West race that seems to grow tighter by the week. Minnesota will head back home to take on the 8-2 Green Bay Packers in a divisional matchup while the Chargers remain at home to host the 5-3-1 Pittsburgh Steelers.

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