WEBVTT - Vikings Postgame Report: Vikings Win 29-22 After Bears Claws Back | CHI | Week 5 0:00:18.920 --> 0:00:23.400 Hey everybody. Okay, everybody listening to the postgame report, Okay, 0:00:23.720 --> 0:00:26.680 I mean three consecutive wins for the Minnesota Vikings. That's 0:00:26.720 --> 0:00:30.160 good news. But they've all come down to the wire. 0:00:30.680 --> 0:00:33.920 And Pete Versus the analyst of the Vikings radio network, 0:00:33.920 --> 0:00:38.320 and yours truly, Paul Allen, we deeply care about your 0:00:38.400 --> 0:00:42.600 mental wherewithal because this team is working on your minds 0:00:42.640 --> 0:00:45.960 and your hearts right now. But the bottom line is, 0:00:46.000 --> 0:00:49.000 the Minnesota Vikings are four and one a day the 0:00:49.080 --> 0:00:52.400 Green Bay Packers lost in London to the New York Giants. 0:00:52.600 --> 0:00:55.240 So you get some breathing room with that four and 0:00:55.320 --> 0:00:59.600 one and they win twenty nine twenty two when Cam 0:00:59.720 --> 0:01:03.960 down Unseler steals the ball from his former teammate a 0:01:04.120 --> 0:01:09.080 Mere Smith Marsett and wins the game. Peter, are you okay, Yeah, 0:01:09.360 --> 0:01:12.080 I'm fine. But and you can't make those things up right. 0:01:12.120 --> 0:01:15.120 I Mean, the other thing is is this the last 0:01:15.120 --> 0:01:17.880 couple of weeks. You go to London, you play a 0:01:17.959 --> 0:01:20.440 road game there, you play a Monday night game in Philadelphia. 0:01:20.480 --> 0:01:21.920 I mean, it's been a lot of travel, a lot 0:01:21.959 --> 0:01:23.760 of back and forth. We choose not to take the 0:01:23.840 --> 0:01:26.680 buy early, decide to say, hey, we'll take a home game, 0:01:26.680 --> 0:01:30.000 We'll play one of our division rivals, and you know, 0:01:30.240 --> 0:01:32.520 you come out all guns blazing. And I think the 0:01:32.600 --> 0:01:36.479 key the takeaway from all of this, Paul, is really 0:01:37.080 --> 0:01:40.000 we stopped ourselves today. You know, you know hat tip 0:01:40.040 --> 0:01:42.400 of the Bears. You know, they they they they hung 0:01:42.400 --> 0:01:45.320 in there, came back, found a way scrappy way to 0:01:45.360 --> 0:01:48.520 get a lead. We had one turnover, they had a 0:01:48.600 --> 0:01:51.720 you know, on site's kick that didn't work. But the 0:01:51.720 --> 0:01:54.520 bottom line is is that we hung in there and 0:01:54.560 --> 0:01:56.640 found a way to win this football game, and when 0:01:56.680 --> 0:01:59.120 we needed it from our offense, we got it. Um, 0:01:59.560 --> 0:02:03.360 they really didn't stop JJ. Again, it's a matter of 0:02:03.480 --> 0:02:07.360 us just stopping ourselves. I think, Paul, the interception didn't help. 0:02:08.400 --> 0:02:11.440 So add all those things together you come out with 0:02:11.480 --> 0:02:14.519 the type, you know, type football game. And Kirk Cousins 0:02:14.520 --> 0:02:18.679 began the game as Peaches referenced a team record seventeen 0:02:18.919 --> 0:02:22.240 of seventeen and in the first half, Justin Jefferson had 0:02:22.320 --> 0:02:26.200 one hundred thirty eight receiving yards, which means he finishes 0:02:26.240 --> 0:02:29.480 with one fifty four. So when it comes to the 0:02:29.520 --> 0:02:32.440 first half and the second half, twelve catches, one fifty 0:02:32.440 --> 0:02:35.440 four at the end of the bottom line equation for JJ, who, 0:02:35.520 --> 0:02:37.320 by the way, did throw a pass to Dalvin for 0:02:37.360 --> 0:02:40.640 twenty three yards and it was sweet. But with Jefferson, 0:02:41.040 --> 0:02:44.640 you know, when we're watching these replays, he is open, 0:02:44.880 --> 0:02:47.920 you know, but sometimes there's pressure on Kirk and whatever 0:02:48.080 --> 0:02:51.600 leads to JJ not catching passes when he's open. One 0:02:51.760 --> 0:02:53.800 thirty eight in the first half, and you finish this 0:02:53.800 --> 0:02:56.880 thing with one fifty four, that's weird. It is weird, Paul, 0:02:56.880 --> 0:02:58.720 and I think the one thing to keep in mind 0:02:59.440 --> 0:03:02.000 is the fact that if you have if we go, 0:03:02.240 --> 0:03:04.160 if we're going against a team that doesn't have the 0:03:04.200 --> 0:03:07.120 athleticism at corner to roll up and jam and slow 0:03:07.160 --> 0:03:09.400 down JJ at the line of scrimmage, they're gonna have 0:03:09.440 --> 0:03:11.320 a long day. And the Bears definitely did not have 0:03:11.440 --> 0:03:15.240 that athleticism in their backfield, and we made them pay 0:03:15.280 --> 0:03:17.200 for it, especially early on in this game. I mean, 0:03:17.240 --> 0:03:20.679 this offense was a well oiled machine going all the 0:03:20.720 --> 0:03:23.200 way into jest about just before the half, you know, 0:03:23.280 --> 0:03:25.520 just before the halftime, and the only thing that slowed 0:03:25.600 --> 0:03:27.880 us down we're penalties things like that on ourselves, and 0:03:28.800 --> 0:03:30.400 so that's a it's a great thing to see the 0:03:30.440 --> 0:03:32.440 It's also great to see the running games start to 0:03:32.480 --> 0:03:36.320 emerge Dalvin Cook not just being efficient but being explosive. 0:03:36.600 --> 0:03:39.360 We're still waiting for that really big long run. I 0:03:39.440 --> 0:03:41.680 think seventeen yards is still the longest run that we've 0:03:41.680 --> 0:03:44.320 had all year. Madison doing a great job, you know, 0:03:44.320 --> 0:03:46.160 out of the backfield. He had one drop it comes 0:03:46.160 --> 0:03:48.960 back later, and a key reception for a first down. 0:03:49.080 --> 0:03:53.440 So when when we were just executing, executing the play 0:03:53.520 --> 0:03:56.040 that's called, we were up and down the field on them. 0:03:56.120 --> 0:03:58.240 So that's a good sign. It wasn't as if the 0:03:58.280 --> 0:04:01.160 Bears blew this thing, you know, when we were doing 0:04:01.200 --> 0:04:04.880 what we do. You know, our offense was unstoppable. Coming 0:04:04.960 --> 0:04:08.600 up on the postgame report following an exciting twenty nine 0:04:08.680 --> 0:04:12.120 twenty two victory at us Bank Stadium over the Chicago Bears. 0:04:12.120 --> 0:04:14.720 Where by the way, the Vikings are undefeated at home, 0:04:14.960 --> 0:04:18.440 and they're undefeated through the first half of the division swing, 0:04:18.680 --> 0:04:21.039 and that includes a victory over Green Bay, which now 0:04:21.080 --> 0:04:25.120 has two losses. You will hear Kevin O'Connell's press conference, 0:04:25.200 --> 0:04:29.960 Kirk Cousins press conference also three takes with Ron Johnson. 0:04:30.240 --> 0:04:34.919 Then right at the end Kevin O'Connell's very exuberant post 0:04:35.040 --> 0:04:38.279 game locker room speech to the team. But let's begin 0:04:38.400 --> 0:04:42.120 with Ben Lieber and Gabe Henderson and Between the Lines. 0:04:42.440 --> 0:04:45.200 Welcome to a winning edition of Between the Lines, fueled 0:04:45.240 --> 0:04:48.640 by Gatorade, the Vikings victorious over the Chicago Bears twenty 0:04:48.720 --> 0:04:51.919 nine to twenty two. My name is Gabe Henderson. Alongside 0:04:51.920 --> 0:04:54.440 Ben Lieber and Ben we were just talking about how 0:04:54.480 --> 0:04:58.120 the game just ended. Cam Dansler stole the ball away 0:04:58.120 --> 0:05:00.520 from Amirisith Marsett, who was drafted by the Vikings a 0:05:00.560 --> 0:05:02.360 couple of years ago. He stripped him like he owed 0:05:02.400 --> 0:05:05.960 him money. I've never seen a walk off by a 0:05:06.080 --> 0:05:08.760 cornerback ever since I've been covering of the NFL. What 0:05:08.839 --> 0:05:10.480 were your thoughts on that last play of the game. 0:05:10.520 --> 0:05:12.240 First of all, you said you were nervous, and then 0:05:14.000 --> 0:05:16.799 Viking fans, I wasn't nervous at all. I was fully 0:05:16.839 --> 0:05:18.760 confident that our defense was going to make the stops 0:05:18.760 --> 0:05:21.360 and make the plays. But you, my friend, you had 0:05:21.400 --> 0:05:23.480 some nerves and yet I still got hair though, so 0:05:23.520 --> 0:05:25.800 I think that's that's the main thing. But when Kirk 0:05:25.880 --> 0:05:28.440 Cousins threw that interception the second to last drive of 0:05:28.560 --> 0:05:30.400 the game. I was worried that how are we going 0:05:30.480 --> 0:05:32.760 to bounce back? And we bounced back that last drive 0:05:33.120 --> 0:05:35.200 five or five on third down. What did you see 0:05:35.240 --> 0:05:37.760 on that last drive offensively that stood out to you 0:05:37.839 --> 0:05:40.039 for this Vikings offense, Well, we crushed it on third down. 0:05:40.200 --> 0:05:42.040 I don't think that we ever had a super long 0:05:42.160 --> 0:05:44.839 third down. Everything was like third and four, third and five. 0:05:44.880 --> 0:05:47.760 So I think that is meaningful where we're not having, 0:05:47.839 --> 0:05:50.880 you know, big time yards to gain in those situations. 0:05:50.880 --> 0:05:53.719 So I just thought that they were they were poised. 0:05:54.160 --> 0:05:56.640 You know, the whole offense was just poised. There wasn't 0:05:56.680 --> 0:05:59.280 a lot of scrambling going on. At least the feeling 0:05:59.320 --> 0:06:01.280 for me on the side adeline as I'm watching the game, 0:06:02.200 --> 0:06:05.400 it was surgical, it was methodical, very much like the 0:06:05.440 --> 0:06:07.680 game opened up with the first three drives by putting 0:06:07.720 --> 0:06:10.240 twenty one points on the board. There was there was 0:06:10.279 --> 0:06:12.720 no hesitation, no panic from this team. I think that 0:06:12.720 --> 0:06:15.440 that really matters. And head coach Kevin O'Connell talks about 0:06:15.440 --> 0:06:17.840 their Gritton resilience. I think five games in we definitely 0:06:17.880 --> 0:06:20.640 saw that throughout this game, and we saw that on 0:06:20.680 --> 0:06:23.160 the last drive. But I feel like, I mean, I'm 0:06:23.160 --> 0:06:24.960 just gonna be honest here, I feel like that Groten 0:06:25.040 --> 0:06:28.240 resilience some somewhat warranted because we were up twenty one 0:06:28.279 --> 0:06:30.560 to three, right, so you would say, okay, let's let's 0:06:30.560 --> 0:06:32.160 put it, put our throat in their throats and let's 0:06:32.200 --> 0:06:35.600 continue to score, score on touchdowns or kick a field goal. 0:06:35.760 --> 0:06:38.920 The momentum shift right before the half. How did you assess, 0:06:39.000 --> 0:06:41.799 you know, just how the first half ended for the Vikings, 0:06:41.800 --> 0:06:43.599 I mean, coming off the first two drives where they 0:06:43.600 --> 0:06:47.760 scored on scored twelfth lay touchdown drives. Well, you know, 0:06:47.839 --> 0:06:50.240 going back to the to the previous games, we were 0:06:50.279 --> 0:06:52.440 really good offensively at the end of the first half, 0:06:52.480 --> 0:06:54.680 which we talked about, which was a departure from the 0:06:54.760 --> 0:06:57.440 last season. So now all of a sudden we get 0:06:57.440 --> 0:06:59.600 into this game. We scored twenty one and then all 0:06:59.600 --> 0:07:02.320 of a sudden, you know, we can't put the ball 0:07:02.360 --> 0:07:05.240 in the end zone. We are faultering, faultering at the 0:07:05.360 --> 0:07:07.400 end of the first half. They pick up all the 0:07:07.480 --> 0:07:09.080 momentum at the end of the first half and then 0:07:09.080 --> 0:07:12.400 they continue that into the second half. So that's the 0:07:12.440 --> 0:07:15.240 adversity part that we're talking about. Not only is adversity 0:07:15.320 --> 0:07:18.320 sometimes how you handle success, which we didn't handle success 0:07:18.360 --> 0:07:20.760 after those first three drives, and then it's about how 0:07:20.760 --> 0:07:23.400 you bounce back, and I thought they bounced back in 0:07:23.400 --> 0:07:26.760 a way that shows you know championship caliber that again, 0:07:26.800 --> 0:07:30.200 there was never a panic. Obviously, they made some adjustments 0:07:30.240 --> 0:07:33.840 the Chicago Bears. They went to a different safety look, 0:07:33.880 --> 0:07:36.560 a lot of single high safety. Early in the game, 0:07:36.600 --> 0:07:38.840 they brought another safety down in the runbox because they 0:07:38.840 --> 0:07:40.280 thought we were going to run the ball so much 0:07:40.360 --> 0:07:42.160 we were able to kind of pick them apart. Then 0:07:42.160 --> 0:07:43.600 in the second half they went a little bit more 0:07:43.640 --> 0:07:46.000 too high safety look. So that means that we just 0:07:46.040 --> 0:07:47.880 have to dink and dunk our way down the field. 0:07:47.920 --> 0:07:50.600 We can't take some bigger shots. So good adjustment by them, 0:07:50.600 --> 0:07:54.000 but ultimately better adjustments by us, Better adjustment by Kirk Cousins. 0:07:54.040 --> 0:07:56.400 Also in this game, if you three wind back to 0:07:56.520 --> 0:07:59.120 last week, getting on the plane after land to win, 0:07:59.200 --> 0:08:01.920 Christian derrisaw put his chain on Kirk Cousins, and I 0:08:01.920 --> 0:08:04.320 feel like we saw a different Kirk Cousins to start 0:08:04.360 --> 0:08:07.640 their first half. Seventeen straight completions to start the game today, 0:08:07.680 --> 0:08:10.360 that's a Vikings franchise record. And then fast forward to 0:08:10.400 --> 0:08:13.560 the second and last drive he extends a play or 0:08:13.800 --> 0:08:16.120 gets a first down conversion on a third and five. 0:08:16.480 --> 0:08:19.920 What were your thoughts on just his play today. I 0:08:19.960 --> 0:08:22.160 thought he'd just looked crisp. You know, you look at 0:08:22.200 --> 0:08:26.400 those seventeen for seventeen on the passing completions. Every time 0:08:26.400 --> 0:08:28.280 he got to the top of his drop, he was 0:08:28.360 --> 0:08:30.280 He had that little bounce to him, a little bounce, 0:08:30.320 --> 0:08:33.240 a little swagger to d and everything was as quick. 0:08:33.280 --> 0:08:35.280 His eyes was like first read, second read, get the 0:08:35.280 --> 0:08:37.040 ball out. I don't think that he held the ball 0:08:37.080 --> 0:08:39.800 for more than three seconds on any one of those completions. 0:08:39.840 --> 0:08:43.079 He was decisive, he was accurate. He knew that all 0:08:43.120 --> 0:08:44.880 he had do was just throw the ball to an 0:08:44.880 --> 0:08:47.120 open receiver and let those guys do all of the work, 0:08:47.160 --> 0:08:49.679 don't try to do too much. And you couple that 0:08:49.720 --> 0:08:52.720 with you know, some running, some running with from Dalvin 0:08:52.720 --> 0:08:55.560 and Madison, and you've got a perfect balance to this offense. 0:08:55.559 --> 0:08:58.480 They had rhythm. They used tempo as well. Second play 0:08:58.480 --> 0:09:00.920 of the game, they go up, no hot, they use tempo, 0:09:01.000 --> 0:09:04.400 get to the line, assess the defense, bark out an audible. 0:09:04.440 --> 0:09:06.880 Put your offense in the best situation. I thought, for 0:09:07.040 --> 0:09:08.800 at least those three drives did a good job of 0:09:08.840 --> 0:09:11.280 getting the calls into him so he could get lined 0:09:11.360 --> 0:09:13.160 up and make the calls on the field man. That's 0:09:13.160 --> 0:09:15.319 a really good point Before we talk the running game. 0:09:15.360 --> 0:09:18.000 I gotta give Justin Jefferson a shot out twelve receptions 0:09:18.000 --> 0:09:21.560 one hundred and fifty four yards today. Somehow best they 0:09:21.720 --> 0:09:23.760 care about guarding him on the first half. I feel 0:09:23.760 --> 0:09:26.200 like they did they watch film of him before. I 0:09:26.200 --> 0:09:28.400 don't know, but to your point, they made adjustments in 0:09:28.440 --> 0:09:31.680 the second half and they, I guess limitsed Justin Jefferson 0:09:31.720 --> 0:09:33.720 so let less than fifty yards in the second half. 0:09:33.720 --> 0:09:35.960 But Dalvin Cook got going in the second half. In 0:09:36.040 --> 0:09:39.240 my opinion, this was probably Dalvin Cook's best performance today. 0:09:39.280 --> 0:09:41.080 How would you assess the way he was able to 0:09:41.120 --> 0:09:43.000 get on the edges and run the ball today, Well, 0:09:43.040 --> 0:09:44.319 not only on the edges, but he was able to 0:09:44.400 --> 0:09:46.800 kind of carve some some runs on the inside part 0:09:46.840 --> 0:09:48.680 of the defense as well. He was just doing things 0:09:48.679 --> 0:09:50.520 that you know only Dalvin can do. And we talk 0:09:50.559 --> 0:09:52.960 about his vision, the way he's able to skate and 0:09:53.000 --> 0:09:56.720 sort of float through the defensive line. Um, I thought 0:09:56.720 --> 0:09:58.480 he played phenomenal. I was I was still waiting for 0:09:58.520 --> 0:10:01.000 that one, that one big pop, you know, the one 0:10:01.040 --> 0:10:02.480 big home run hit. But like I said, in the 0:10:02.480 --> 0:10:06.160 second half, they changed their defensive philosophy. They went to 0:10:06.280 --> 0:10:09.160 more of a two safety look, which is really hard. 0:10:09.200 --> 0:10:10.840 I mean, it's hard in the passing game to to 0:10:10.880 --> 0:10:13.600 really take the top off. And also, um, it doesn't 0:10:13.600 --> 0:10:15.079 allow for a lot of home run hits on the 0:10:15.120 --> 0:10:17.320 ground because there's two outlets or two safeties in the 0:10:17.400 --> 0:10:18.839 in the in the back end of the the defense that's 0:10:18.840 --> 0:10:21.720 going to stop those things. So, m we made the 0:10:21.840 --> 0:10:24.800 right adjustments and Dalvin, uh, you know, he was doing 0:10:24.880 --> 0:10:27.760 Dalvin things. Yeah, Dalvin is going to do Dalvin things. 0:10:27.760 --> 0:10:30.000 Moving to the defensive side of the ball. We went 0:10:30.080 --> 0:10:32.360 up to twenty one to thrown offense. Then the Bear 0:10:32.400 --> 0:10:35.320 score nineteen un answered points. How would you assess this? 0:10:35.600 --> 0:10:38.719 I guess bend but don't break defensives game for this 0:10:38.800 --> 0:10:42.200 Minnesota Vikings defense today, I mean it worked for you know, 0:10:42.320 --> 0:10:44.400 most of the first half, and I think you know 0:10:44.440 --> 0:10:47.600 that we walked away with like forty five total yards 0:10:47.640 --> 0:10:50.760 given up in the first half. And then obviously they 0:10:50.800 --> 0:10:54.720 made some adjustments. We talk about it time and time. Again, 0:10:54.920 --> 0:10:58.360 I just don't think that we're blitzing the right way. 0:10:58.400 --> 0:11:00.840 I don't think that we're calling the pressure years the 0:11:01.000 --> 0:11:03.360 right way and really executing some of the things and 0:11:03.400 --> 0:11:05.520 getting some of these guys free. We might be blitzing, 0:11:05.600 --> 0:11:07.960 we might be bringing a fifth guy, or we might 0:11:08.000 --> 0:11:09.560 be bringing a fifth guy and dropping a guy and 0:11:09.600 --> 0:11:12.800 still bring a four man rush. It's just not really 0:11:13.120 --> 0:11:15.240 working to the way we hope it to work. You 0:11:15.280 --> 0:11:18.079 want a free rush when you when you sacrifice your 0:11:18.080 --> 0:11:21.000 defenders like that late in the game. I thought we 0:11:21.080 --> 0:11:22.640 did do a good job of that. They had a 0:11:22.760 --> 0:11:24.600 drive towards the end of the game where we called 0:11:24.640 --> 0:11:27.440 three run blitzes and stuffed them at the line of scrimmage, 0:11:27.520 --> 0:11:30.920 not necessarily tackle for loss, but some short yardage gains. 0:11:30.960 --> 0:11:32.760 So we start we start to dial up a little 0:11:32.760 --> 0:11:34.400 bit more pressure. I just like to see that a 0:11:34.440 --> 0:11:36.680 little bit more so we're not bending all the time. 0:11:37.080 --> 0:11:39.199 And I feel like a lot of that was due 0:11:39.240 --> 0:11:41.320 to Justin Field. It's just athletics as them also. I 0:11:41.320 --> 0:11:43.320 mean sometimes when we blitzed them where we were able 0:11:43.679 --> 0:11:45.400 to get to the quarterback justin p Field, it's just 0:11:45.559 --> 0:11:48.040 made Justin Phield type plays. Spinning out of the pocket 0:11:48.520 --> 0:11:50.560 using his four four speed to get a first down. 0:11:50.559 --> 0:11:52.160 But at the same time, I do agree with you 0:11:52.200 --> 0:11:54.960 with trying to get more bends, which so you don't 0:11:54.960 --> 0:11:57.400 have to bend as much later in the game. But defensively, 0:11:57.440 --> 0:11:59.280 my last question for you for the defensive side of 0:11:59.280 --> 0:12:01.240 the ball is where do we go from here? Right, 0:12:01.920 --> 0:12:04.400 we're at a point now where the Vikings are starting 0:12:04.400 --> 0:12:06.599 to get these close wins. The last few games have 0:12:06.760 --> 0:12:08.640 been close. In my opinion, I'm not sure why because 0:12:08.679 --> 0:12:10.920 we should just blow these things out. But how would 0:12:10.960 --> 0:12:13.200 you assess the way this defense is starting to progress? 0:12:13.320 --> 0:12:16.840 And I guess hold when it really matters, well, I 0:12:16.880 --> 0:12:21.760 guess to your point about about justin scrambling. Okay, what's 0:12:21.840 --> 0:12:23.560 concerning is, and this is where I think it's going 0:12:23.600 --> 0:12:26.080 to help our defense is our rush lanes aren't the 0:12:26.080 --> 0:12:28.319 most disciplined. You know, some of those times we had 0:12:28.320 --> 0:12:30.000 four man rushes with a little bit of a twist 0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:31.880 game going on, and we're just kind of stuck on 0:12:31.880 --> 0:12:33.920 the blocks. We're late with our eyes to get to 0:12:33.960 --> 0:12:35.679 get off of the blocks and make a play on 0:12:35.679 --> 0:12:38.440 the quarterback as he's kind of skating around inside that 0:12:38.520 --> 0:12:41.720 the pocket we have Kyler Murray coming up soon. You know, 0:12:41.720 --> 0:12:44.000 we have Josh Allen coming up soon, you know, after 0:12:44.040 --> 0:12:47.960 the bye week, you know, a week possibly too possibly 0:12:48.000 --> 0:12:49.480 too one next week, and a little bit of Teddy 0:12:49.520 --> 0:12:52.560 Bridgewater if he's in there as well. We're going to 0:12:52.640 --> 0:12:55.640 face a lot of mobile quarterbacks in this league. So 0:12:55.920 --> 0:12:57.920 I think that not only do we have to pressure 0:12:57.920 --> 0:13:00.160 a little bit more, get a little bit more strateiug 0:13:00.320 --> 0:13:02.640 about what types of pressures we're gonna bring, but we 0:13:02.760 --> 0:13:04.120 have to do a better job when it comes to 0:13:04.200 --> 0:13:06.240 the rush lanes. If you're just gonna rush four guys, 0:13:06.640 --> 0:13:09.880 those four guys have to count because seven guys in coverage, 0:13:10.440 --> 0:13:13.080 the odds are you're you're gonna cover up those guys. 0:13:13.120 --> 0:13:15.280 You're gonna cover up those receivers. So you're gonna have 0:13:15.559 --> 0:13:17.720 quarterbacks that are going to run. So those four guys 0:13:17.800 --> 0:13:19.720 up front gotta do a better job. Got to do 0:13:19.720 --> 0:13:21.959 a better job. But more importantly, this Vikings team is 0:13:22.000 --> 0:13:25.360 four and one heading into the Miami Dolphins game next week. 0:13:25.559 --> 0:13:27.840 Hopefully we get another win. But more importantly, Ben, I'm 0:13:27.880 --> 0:13:29.800 just going to enjoy this win, yeah, with the hair 0:13:29.920 --> 0:13:31.920 that I have in my head. So I'm not stressed 0:13:31.960 --> 0:13:33.880 as much anymore. It's not going great either. I think 0:13:33.960 --> 0:13:36.599 it's looking pretty good. The hairline is pushing back a 0:13:36.600 --> 0:13:38.360 little bit. But we're gonna push forward to the Miami 0:13:38.440 --> 0:13:41.360 Dolphins next week for Ben Lieber. My name is Gabe Henderson. 0:13:41.400 --> 0:13:44.319 Thank you again for tuning into another edition of Between 0:13:44.360 --> 0:13:48.560 the Lines fueled by Gatorade Skull Sku. Thank you, Gabe. 0:13:48.880 --> 0:13:51.800 You know, the team's four and one. Clearly, there are 0:13:51.840 --> 0:13:54.040 a lot of things that need to get better, including 0:13:54.080 --> 0:13:56.640 finding JJ like every single time he's wide open for 0:13:56.640 --> 0:14:00.880 a touchdown. But how long can can people or us 0:14:00.960 --> 0:14:04.160 or anybody continue to say, Yeah, but you're not going 0:14:04.160 --> 0:14:07.400 to continue to win if these four things continue to happen. 0:14:07.880 --> 0:14:11.439 They just keep finding a way to close on these victories. Yeah, 0:14:11.600 --> 0:14:14.120 they really do. And you know, on a day and 0:14:14.360 --> 0:14:16.360 you well, you come off a game in London where 0:14:16.400 --> 0:14:19.960 special teams really carried the day. Um, you know, I 0:14:20.040 --> 0:14:22.920 think outside of that recovered on site's kicked, they struggled 0:14:22.920 --> 0:14:26.200 a little bit, right, A block field goals, a long 0:14:26.240 --> 0:14:28.360 missed field goal, I mean, any you know, scoring on 0:14:28.440 --> 0:14:30.400 either one of those drives would have changed the complex 0:14:30.560 --> 0:14:34.440 complexion of this game toward the end so some opportunities 0:14:34.440 --> 0:14:36.800 there that were missed. It's just a matter of like 0:14:37.080 --> 0:14:38.880 putting it all together. Paul and I think if this 0:14:38.920 --> 0:14:42.160 team comes out and keeps, you know, hanging in there 0:14:42.600 --> 0:14:46.200 and battling and put put an entire game together and 0:14:46.280 --> 0:14:50.040 all three phases, um pretty solid football team. And by 0:14:50.040 --> 0:14:52.160 the way, the next time we play both the Packers 0:14:52.160 --> 0:14:54.520 and the Bears, it's gonna be January and it's gonna 0:14:54.520 --> 0:14:56.520 be outside, so it's gonna be a different type of 0:14:56.520 --> 0:14:59.680 ball game. That's why it's so important to go three 0:14:59.720 --> 0:15:02.200 and o the division early. You have a game up, 0:15:02.280 --> 0:15:05.680 you know you're five into this. It's it's exactly where 0:15:06.040 --> 0:15:09.800 you'd hope to be, and that's exactly where we are. 0:15:09.840 --> 0:15:11.640 We ran into a bus on Philly, let's face it. 0:15:11.680 --> 0:15:14.040 Outside of that, this team has found a way to 0:15:14.040 --> 0:15:17.520 win every football game. And hat tip to Kevin O'Connell's 0:15:17.520 --> 0:15:20.360 staff and the players. Hey, Pete and I are not 0:15:20.400 --> 0:15:23.080 going to be mad at you if you're saying, hey, 0:15:23.160 --> 0:15:27.920 if you keep throwing interceptions to Kendall Vildoor his first 0:15:27.960 --> 0:15:30.680 interception of his career and through thirty eight games, you're 0:15:30.680 --> 0:15:33.200 not going to continue winning. Your kicker is one of 0:15:33.320 --> 0:15:36.080 five from fifty plus. Keep doing that, you ain't going 0:15:36.120 --> 0:15:39.960 to continue to win. Justin fields two hundred eight passing yards, 0:15:40.040 --> 0:15:41.880 keep doing that, and you ain't going to continue to win. 0:15:42.320 --> 0:15:46.120 Say anything you want. All they do is continue to win. 0:15:46.880 --> 0:15:49.920 Let's hear from Kevin O'Connell. Here's this postgame press conference. 0:15:50.320 --> 0:15:54.200 Very hard thought, tough football game. I thought, you know, 0:15:54.240 --> 0:15:58.000 across the board, our team continues to shoot show you know, 0:15:58.280 --> 0:16:01.640 levels of grit and resiliency that should bode well for us. 0:16:02.000 --> 0:16:06.320 Don't necessarily think we found that fourth quarter of consistent 0:16:06.320 --> 0:16:08.800 ball that we're looking for. But you know, as we've learned, 0:16:09.120 --> 0:16:12.760 it's not easy to do in the NFL against teams 0:16:12.800 --> 0:16:17.840 with different scheme variations and the competitiveness. You know, that's okay, 0:16:17.840 --> 0:16:20.040 but we're still going to continue to work tiressly to 0:16:20.160 --> 0:16:23.840 have that. Excuse me, but once again, very very proud 0:16:23.840 --> 0:16:26.280 of the way Kirk battle to the end, leading us 0:16:26.320 --> 0:16:28.680 back once again to get the lead back in the 0:16:28.680 --> 0:16:31.160 fourth quarter of a game, as well as our defense 0:16:31.240 --> 0:16:34.320 not only getting the strip sacked there, but also then 0:16:34.600 --> 0:16:37.600 you know, able to take the football away to allow 0:16:37.680 --> 0:16:39.200 us to take a knee for a victory in front 0:16:39.240 --> 0:16:41.680 of our great fans. I thought they were phenomenal again today. 0:16:42.480 --> 0:16:45.520 Three divisional home games down in front of them, being 0:16:45.560 --> 0:16:48.440 a huge part of willing us to these victories late. 0:16:48.920 --> 0:16:51.080 You feel the belief out of them. I just want 0:16:51.120 --> 0:16:55.040 to give you guys a quick update on a couple injuries. 0:16:55.080 --> 0:16:59.200 Ty Chandler suffered a broken thumb and he'll be out. 0:16:59.200 --> 0:17:01.320 We'll let you guys know timeline wise, but we'll get 0:17:01.360 --> 0:17:05.080 that fixed up. And then a Caleb Evans is in 0:17:05.119 --> 0:17:10.000 the concussion protocol, so we'll absolutely follow everything from a 0:17:10.080 --> 0:17:13.600 protocol standpoint what absolutely is in the best interest of 0:17:13.600 --> 0:17:16.840 the player and get him back when when he is 0:17:16.920 --> 0:17:19.879 medically cleared. And then just to give one more update 0:17:19.880 --> 0:17:24.679 on Lewis. He did arrive back to the Twin Cities 0:17:24.760 --> 0:17:27.280 last night. He's doing well. He's in great spirits. He 0:17:27.320 --> 0:17:28.760 told me he's gonna be watching the ball game. I'm 0:17:28.760 --> 0:17:30.040 gonna give him a call as soon as we get 0:17:30.080 --> 0:17:33.040 out of here, and then hopefully we get him back 0:17:33.040 --> 0:17:36.320 into our facility at some point soon to get him 0:17:36.320 --> 0:17:39.199 around our guys. But with that, I'll open it up 0:17:39.200 --> 0:17:43.080 to you guys. In first place in the division at 0:17:43.080 --> 0:17:46.159 this point after five years, it doesn't mean anything right now. No, 0:17:46.320 --> 0:17:50.240 it really doesn't. UM. I just think it just means that, 0:17:50.440 --> 0:17:52.440 you know, we're four and one after five games, and 0:17:52.760 --> 0:17:55.480 we've learned a lot about our team through five games. 0:17:55.520 --> 0:17:58.560 But I think what we've learned should really help us 0:17:58.560 --> 0:18:01.480 do two things in my mind, have confidence moving forward 0:18:01.520 --> 0:18:03.879 that we can win football games that are hard fought 0:18:03.920 --> 0:18:07.120 and competitive in this league, but ultimately that we can 0:18:07.640 --> 0:18:12.240 can still continue to chase UM consistency across the board, 0:18:12.800 --> 0:18:15.600 playing you know, our philosophical way that we think we 0:18:15.640 --> 0:18:18.080 can win a lot of football games with UM. I 0:18:18.119 --> 0:18:20.680 can obviously do better for our team, you know, making 0:18:20.720 --> 0:18:22.600 sure that you know I can help with some of 0:18:22.600 --> 0:18:25.359 those rolls throughout the game. But but inevitably they are 0:18:25.359 --> 0:18:27.760 going to happen in this league. That's part of NFL football, 0:18:28.640 --> 0:18:30.760 and we'll continue to chase that and push our players. 0:18:30.760 --> 0:18:32.400 But the best part about it is they're the ones 0:18:32.480 --> 0:18:35.800 talking about it, not so much us needing to, you know, 0:18:35.960 --> 0:18:37.600 be banging them over the heads where it They are 0:18:37.640 --> 0:18:40.720 telling me, our leadership is telling me what we're striving for, 0:18:40.960 --> 0:18:42.680 So I feel good about it. At some point, it's 0:18:42.680 --> 0:18:45.800 out there for us to win. The coin tents you 0:18:45.920 --> 0:18:48.320 take the ball for the first time and we wait 0:18:48.359 --> 0:18:50.680 into that. Yeah, I just thought, you know, we knew 0:18:50.680 --> 0:18:52.320 we wanted to play you know, a lot of the 0:18:52.320 --> 0:18:55.159 things we talked about, uh, you know on Wednesday and 0:18:55.200 --> 0:18:56.840 Friday with you guys. I mean, I just wanted to 0:18:56.880 --> 0:18:59.840 be aggressive. But there's no rule that says that you 0:18:59.840 --> 0:19:02.000 can and try to set the tone to play complimentary 0:19:02.000 --> 0:19:04.720