The Vikings had multiple chances to send Sunday’s game against the Chiefs to overtime, thanks to a defensive game plan that limited returning league MVP Patrick Mahomes at times. But the Vikings’ fourth one-score loss of the season left them with more questions to worry about.
They fell 27-20 to the Chiefs on Sunday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium, in a game they finished with Justin Jefferson watching on the sideline because of a hamstring injury. The Vikings also had Garrett Bradbury, Akayleb Evans, T.J. Hockenson and long snapper Andrew DePaola leave the game at times.
Kansas City finished a pair of third-quarter drives with touchdowns to take a 27-13 lead, before the Vikings pulled within seven. But Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, who’d earned several penalties for his physical coverage of Jefferson, wasn’t called for pass interference on Jordan Addison on Kirk Cousins’ best chance to tie the game, and Kansas City sacked Cousins to prevent him from throwing into the end zone on the game’s final play.
Why it happened: Against the Chiefs, the Vikings were always going to have to be more efficient offensively than they’d been in their first four games of the season. But a Josh Oliver fumble on the Vikings’ first offensive play gave the Chiefs a short field for the opening score, and the Vikings had to settle for a short field goal when an apparent miscommunication between Kirk Cousins and K.J. Osborn led to Cousins’ pass sailing through the end zone, despite the fact Osborn was open. The Vikings allowed the Chiefs to go 9-for-15 on third downs, and the game’s lone turnover and several missed opportunities tipped it to the Chiefs.
What it means: The Vikings are 1-4, having lost four straight at home dating back to last year’s playoff game against the Giants, and trail the Lions by three games in the NFC North. They’ll play two division games on the road this month, with a Monday night game against the 49ers in between their trips to Chicago and Green Bay. The schedule gets easier in November, but without a surge of victories before then, the Vikings might have a tough time mounting a playoff run.
Play of the game: Late in the third quarter, the Vikings sent six after Patrick Mahomes on a second-and-goal from the Minnesota 4, but the Chiefs picked up the pressure without any trouble. Mahomes flipped an easy pass to Kelce, who’d returned from the ankle injury he’d sustained when his foot got caught in the U.S. Bank Stadium turf, and Kelce caught the ball between Byron Murphy Jr. and Camryn Bynum in the end zone for a 27-13 lead.
Turning point: Cousins had driven the Vikings downfield for a chance to tie the game in the final five minutes, despite Jefferson’s hamstring injury and the fact T.J. Hockenson left the game for several plays. He threw under pressure to the end zone for Addison on a fourth down, and side judge Dominique Pender initially threw a flag on Sneed, whose physical coverage of Addison hadn’t been penalized on third down. But after a conference with officials in the end zone, referee Land Clark announced there was no flag, to an incredulous Vikings sideline and a chorus of boos at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Next up: at Chicago, Oct. 15, noon