For the last several weeks, the hardest part of doing the good, the bad and the ugly was finding something bad.
Sure, Minnesota was sometimes winning ugly, but for the most part, the Vikings were exceeding expectations. That made it hard to focus on the negatives.
Now, after the loss to the Cowboys at U.S. Bank Stadium Sunday, it will be hard to focus on the positive. The pass defense didn’t always look bad, for instance, but the group gave up pretty important big plays, especially at the end.
So here it is. This is the good, the bad and the ugly from the Vikings’ loss:
The good: Kirk Cousins, until the final drive
Photo:Brad Rempel/USA TODAY Sports
What’s really hard about this game is how well Kirk Cousins played for the most part. Cousins finished with 314 passing yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions. He also had a clutch, 39-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson that gave his team a 28-24 lead in the fourth quarter. That ended up not mattering after the defense went and gave up a touchdown after that. When the defense gives up 31 points, it’s hard to win. But Cousins still could have when the team got the ball back with 1:37 left in the fourth. Instead, he turned it over on downs. This game is not on Cousins, but I’m sure Vikings fans will still be frustrated, considering he could have pulled off end-of-game heroics, but didn’t.
The bad: The defense
Photo: Bruce Kluckhohn/AP Photo
The Vikings defense gave up 180 rushing yards in the game. Cowboys quarterback Andy Dalton, who at times has looked terrible this year, threw three touchdown passes and just one interception. During its win streak, Minnesota’s defense had been good about holding the team to less than 30 points, as the Vikings offense controlled the game. That did not happen Sunday and it was a big reason why the team lost.
The ugly: The special teams
Photo: Charlie Neibergall/AP Photo
Surprise, surprise: the Vikings special teams didn’t look great at times. K.J. Osborn fumbled a punt return that was luckily recovered. Minnesota had a fake punt called back because Kris Boyd wasn’t set. At least the long snaps were good.
