Vikings left searching for answers after loss
The Minnesota Vikings have been built around a stifling defense since Mike Zimmer was hired as head coach.
That foundation has developed a frightening amount of cracks, onefourth of the way through Zimmer’s fifth season. The Vikings allowed 456 passing yards in their 38-31 loss in Los Angeles to the Rams on Thursday night, the highest total against them since 1980.
Zimmer said afterward he’s never been a part of pass defense so poor in his career, which includes successful stretches as an innovative defensive coordinator with Cincinnati and Dallas. The following afternoon, Zimmer wasn’t in any better of a mood when he was asked to assess the coverage breakdowns that led to five touchdown passes by Jared Goff.
“It was guys getting out of position. There was some misdirection plays. It was similar to what we’ve gotten before,” Zimmer said on a conference call with reporters. “Some of it was corners, some of it was safeties, some of it was linebackers, some of it was nickels, some of it was me.”
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“I might be over-coaching them some,” Zimmer said.
The good news is the Vikings have three extra days to recover from the Rams game and prepare for their trip to Philadelphia. The bad news is that next game is against the Super Bowl champion Eagles, who were last seen by the Vikings in that 38-7 blowout in the NFC Championship Game. As dominant as Zimmer’s defenses have been, certain teams with versatile and creative passing attacks have been able to exploit them. The Eagles last season and the Rams this year are two glaring examples.
Zimmer stopped short of blaming his system for the problems against the Rams, noting the 24-7 victory by the Vikings in Minnesota last season, but the most devastating plays against them on Thursday night were the result of mismatches that Rams head coach Sean McVay helped create with either pre-snap confusion or clever play-calling.
Vikings outside linebacker Anthony Barr wound up in coverage on three of the five touchdown passes, to running back Todd Gurley , wide receiver Cooper Kupp and wide receiver Robert Woods.
“They had a good game plan against us,” defensive end Danielle Hunter said. “We made more mistakes than they did, and then they ended up on top.”
Cowboys injuries: Dallas Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee has been ruled out Sunday against Detroit because of a hamstring injury, and defensive tackle Maliek Collins will be sidelined for a second straight week by a knee injury.
Lee’s absence means he will have missed at least one game because of injury in eight of his nine NFL seasons. The only exception was Lee’s all-pro season of 2016 when he sat out a meaningless finale against Philadelphia after the Cowboys had clinched the NFC East title.
Hamstring issues sidelined Lee for five games last season. He was on the injury report with a hamstring problem before last week’s 24-13 loss to Seattle, then injured the other hamstring.
Collins has battled injuries throughout his three-year career, but these are the first two games he has missed.
Romo doesn’t advance: Tony Romo shot a 1-over 72 at Garland Bridges (Texas) to complete a failed bid to advance in the first stage Web.com Tour’s Qualifying Tournament.
The former Cowboys quarterback tied for 72nd at 13-under 297 in the 76player field, with the top 22 and ties moving on to the second stage.
“Each day I got better and my swing got tighter,” Romo said. “It’s a tight golf course and if you miss a couple spots here and there you can put up a big number. I think three holes were our whole week in a nutshell. But a 72 today, getting closer.”
The Romo, 38, is an NFL analyst for CBS.