The Vikings have been in some peculiar late game situations the past two seasons and it seems they have been learning how to win in those situations the past two weeks. Zimmer's style and constant preaching on being smart physical team has been paying dividends late in games.
Judd Zulgad of 1500 ESPN writes a piece on the Vikings proving their resiliency in recent weeks:
The Vikings' last-second loss at Buffalo on Oct. 19 was their third consecutive defeat and dropped them to 2-5 on the season under first-year coach Mike Zimmer.
*It was at that point that it became easy to wonder how bad it might get for this team. *
Not only had Zimmer taken over a franchise coming off a 5-10-1 finish in 2013, but the Vikings also had lost their star running back (Adrian Peterson), their starting quarterback (Matt Cassel) and their starting right guard (Brandon Fusco). It didn't help matters that left tackle Matt Kalil had gone from a Pro Bowl selection in his rookie season to a guy who consistently needed help to do his job.
But despite all the turmoil through the first nine weeks, the Vikings won their second game in a row Sunday, beating Washington, 29-26, at TCF Bank Stadium. That puts them at a very respectable 4-5 entering the bye week.
"I always love to prove people wrong and hopefully the team does, too," Zimmer said. "Everybody said we can't win games in the fourth quarter after we lost that Buffalo game, but we've won two games in the fourth quarter now at the end and that's a credit to our resiliency and the way that we work."
Zulgad continues on and touches on Bridgewater's constant improvement and the solid foundation this team is building under first year Head Coach Mike Zimmer. Definitely worth the time to read the entire story.
Quick Hitters
- Via Mark Craig: Anthony Barr's key plays help defense change the game.
- Kyle Rudolph targets Bears game for return from injury from Pioneer Press' Brian Murphy.
- Teddy Bridgewater warms up after slow start from Chris Tomasson.
