The Vikings rallied from 10 points down in the fourth quarter to tie their game against the Broncos on Sunday afternoon, but they couldn’t pull off the victory.
Denver was able to drive 55 yards to set up Brandon McManus’s third field goal of the day with 1:54 left and Teddy Bridgewater was stripped of the ball on the final Vikings drive to send the team back to Minnesota as a 23-20 loser. The loss left coach Mike Zimmer “not happy with where we’re at” and he said that it seems like “everyone wants to make a play” in a big spot rather than doing their jobs, but he also found some things to like about the way his team played.
“But it’s not like they spit the bit,” Zimmer said, via the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “They want to do good. They want to impress. They want to be with all the elite teams in the league. I think every time we get in these situations and we’re able to teach and we’re able to coach and we’re able to fight back like we did in that ballgame, I think these are all great learning experiences with a young football team. And at some point in time, we’re going to get over the hump.”
Among the things to like in the second half was the way Bridgewater played despite a heavy pass rush and inconsistent success on the ground. The fumble was a bad ending, but he was 13-of-15 for 131 yards up until that point. It wasn’t enough to win, which is why Zimmer’s right to say the Vikings “have to get better” if they’re going to make the strides expected of them this season.
The Vikings have a bye this week to work on those strides before returning to host the Chiefs in Week Six.