Upon Further Review: Vikings avoid ‘kiss of death’ 0-4 start

Maybe there is hope after all.

With their backs against the wall and a possible 0-4 start to the season looming, running back Dalvin Cook and the Minnesota Vikings woke up and played their best game of 2020, topping the winless Houston Texans 31-23 on Sunday.

Minnesota righted its ship that looked destined for destruction.

The defense forced a three-and-out on the Texans’ first two possessions — something the Vikings had done just once heading into Week 4. Unlike last week against Tennessee, Minnesota came up with a clutch stop in the final minute of the game, holding the Texans out of the end zone on four straight plays within the 4-yard line. Even with the questionable ejection of safety Harrison Smith, the defense held an opponent to under 28 points for the first time all season.

After getting out to a fast start, the Vikings kept things rolling by outscoring Houston 17-16 in the second and third quarters. Over the first three weeks, opponents had routed Minnesota 63-20 in the two middle quarters.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins didn’t throw an interception for the first time this year, and Minnesota won the turnover battle (1-0).

Most importantly, the Vikings avoided the NFL’s kiss of death — an 0-4 start.  The 1992 San Diego Chargers are the only team in league history to begin their season with four straight defeats and still sneak into the playoffs.

For another week, at least, hope remains in Minnesota.

Here’s a recap of Sunday’s game (STORY | PHOTOS):

PLAYER OF THE GAME

As he’s been all season long, Cook was busy on Sunday. The 25-year-old tied a career-high with 27 rushing attempts and turned them into 130 yards and two touchdowns. His best run came late in the second half. On second-and-3 from Houston’s 7-yard line, Cook bulldozed through the grasps of three Houston defenders at the line of scrimmage, bounced it outside and stiff-armed cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III into the end zone to extend the Vikings’ lead to 17-3. Cook has now scored at least once in all four contests this season and has posted back-to-back 100-yard games for the second time in his career.

Running so angry ???

?: @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/ph2z0UExgg

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) October 4, 2020

DON’T FORGET ABOUT ME

It’s time to give Eric Kendricks some credit. The sixth-year linebacker led Minnesota in tackles again on Sunday with 12 — his fourth straight game with double-digit tackles. With Houston approaching the red zone in the second quarter, Kendricks batted down a Deshaun Watson pass on third-and-9 intended for Brandin Cooks that would have moved the chains. Houston settled for a field goal to make it 10-3. It’s the little plays that make Kendricks one of the NFL’s top linebackers.

THAT MOMENT

Mike Boone kept the momentum on the side of the purple. Late in the first quarter, he rushed down the field on a punt and smacked Houston return man DeAndre Carter. The ball squirted loose. Rookie receiver Dan Chisena, the former Penn State track star who completed an improbable journey to the NFL, fell on the football for his first career fumble recovery. Minnesota’s offense took over from there and turned it into a 31-yard field goal by Dan Bailey for an early 10-0 lead.

More like Mike BOOM pic.twitter.com/UXgtew9HLC

— Sean Borman (@SeanBormanNFL) October 4, 2020

THIS NUMBER

100 – For the fourth time in franchise history, the Vikings had two wideouts with 100+ receiving yards (Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson) and a running back with 100+ rushing yards (Cook). The last trio to do so was Cris Carter, Randy Moss and Robert Smith in Minnesota’s 31-17 victory over Carolina on Nov. 19, 2000. Carter had eight catches for 138 yards and a score, Moss grabbed five passes for 106 yards and a touchdown and Smith registered 103 rushing yards and a score. Carter, Moss and Smith are responsible for the other two such games in franchise history — Nov. 12, 2000, and Nov. 29, 1999.

THEY SAID IT

“As soon as he walked off the field, we told him we were bringing this back for him and when we went in the locker room at halftime, I told him personally ‘we bringing this back for you.’” – running back Dalvin Cook on the ejection of Harrison Smith

“I love Harrison like he’s my son, first of all. My issue is always the QB can throw the ball in the middle field and there’s no repercussion whatsoever. Harrison is not a dirty player and he’s never been a dirty player. He tried to get his shoulder in there.” – head coach Mike Zimmer on Smith’s ejection

“It definitely feels good to win a football game, to help the confidence of our team, to get us back in rhythm of knowing we can go out there and win the football game if we play as a whole in each phase of the game.” — Cook

WHAT’S NEXT

The good feelings in the Vikings locker room won’t last long, as Minnesota will hop on a plane for what feels like an annual primetime matchup with the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night. The Vikings have lost their last six meetings with Seattle and have never beaten quarterback Russell Wilson. Although the Seahawks are undefeated (4-0), this isn’t the same “Legion of Boom” defense from the early 2010s. Through four contests, Seattle has allowed the most passing yards (1,604) in the league. Cleveland is second-worst with 1,242 – a difference of 362 yards. If Cousins and the Vikings are going to rewrite the script of their history with Seattle — and the outlook of the 2020 season — they’ll have to beat Wilson and the Seahawks in a shootout.