So I’ve always been a huge Vikings fan and many people over the years have told me it was all rigged! As I’ve watched games over the past few years, I’ve come to believe this! How could a referee miss or change so many game-defining plays? How do you pick up the flag when one or more penalties are evident on the same play: PI, hands over face, helmet off on the field? Come on, this is ridiculous!
— Brian in Central Minnesota
The play Bryan was referring to that had most Vikings fans furious occurred on fourth-and-12. Cousins was pressured but still passed the football to Jordan Addison.
Chiefs cornerback LaJarius Sneed, who was reported earlier in the game for illegally covering his face with his hands while punching Jefferson at the line of scrimmage, had his hands on Addison as the ball dropped on the shoulders. Officials initially threw flags.
While they were meeting, Snead took off his helmet to dispute the call. The video shows an officer reminding him to put his helmet back on instead of flagging him for the violation. After the meeting, referee Rand Clark declared that there was no foul for pass interference.
About 25 yards from where the ball landed in the end zone, the Chiefs went on a blitz with linebacker Drue Tranquill and cornerback Trent McDuffie before the ball was thrown. Replay showed that Tranquill illegally touched CJ Ham’s facemask with his hand, and CJ Ham caught Tranquill’s blitz.
Coaches, players, and team staff (including your actual staff) can be fined or punished for criticizing officials.
When asked about what he was told about the flag being raised, head coach Kevin O’Connell did his best to explain the situation.
“Yeah, not much. Obviously when the flag first came out, I wasn’t surprised that it was called a flag at that moment. You know, I wanted to try to figure out when and where it turned the other way,” O’Connell Nair said. “Be careful at this point. But it’s very unfortunate and, you know, not every player on the field has a helmet on. But that’s what it is. We’ve overcome all adversity and we didn’t do enough today and that’s it. It’s something that we as a team will continue to work towards. We have to be committed to doing it – in a game like this, every little thing matters. “In this case, things may or may not go your way. We have to find a way to eliminate that and some of those results from affecting our chances of winning games.”
Members of the outside media could have requested a joint report with one person available to ask questions of officials, but they declined that option.
There are private conversations between teams and the league every week, but it never puts the toothpaste back in the tube.
What do they have to do to wake up?
The season could be over quickly due to a mistake in Game 1. Well, maybe not, but any message sent to the players about the importance of ball security was lost in what was an otherwise promising opening game. The Chiefs look absolutely beatable, but we’re currently 1-4. If they don’t turn things around, we could be 4-13.
Apparently, I heard they were trying to control the clock by running the ball, but that’s hard to do when you’re already trailing by a touchdown, but not impossible. So why go to the air? Speaking of which, I was hoping to see some N’Keal Harry. (Brandon) Powell is not the answer for this team and after last week, more (Cam) Akers and especially (Ty) Chandler would be welcome. Happy Thanksgiving from Canada.
When the opposing quarterback is this good and the offense has a history of scoring, run and run the ball is the strategy. Patrick Mahomes made some mistakes but was able to get away with playing “interceptable” football. He also made several key plays that set him apart from other quarterbacks.
We don’t entirely know the extent of Jefferson’s injury, but it could open up more opportunities for Haley and Powell. Harry made some nice plays in limited time during training camp and the preseason and offers something the Vikings don’t have in other players at the position. Powell has performed well throughout training camp and is skilled with the ball. It looked like he was already involved in the game plan for some games before Jefferson got hurt. I think he can still contribute.
Akers and Chandler will likely continue to see more opportunities in the future. The Vikings ended up with just 70 yards on 18 rushing attempts, with the only double-digit run being a 15-yard run by Chandler on a fake punt.
The Vikings still haven’t had a 20-plus yard run or a rushing touchdown this season.
