Getty Head coach Kevin O'Connell of the Minnesota Vikings.
After throwing two interceptions in the first half, Nick Mullens received a blunt message from Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell during their Week 15 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals.
“Do not play hero ball,” sideline reporter Steve Wyche said, relaying O’Connell’s message to Mullens during the NFL Network broadcast on Saturday, December 16.
Mullens heeded O’Connell’s advice and cleaned up his play coming out of the intermission, throwing a pair of touchdown passes to Jordan Addison that kept the Vikings in the game and forced overtime.
But when Minnesota needed a hero in the extra session, O’Connell was uninspired by his backup quarterback, relying on the rest of the offense to gain one more yard facing third down in Bengals territory. O’Connell called back-to-back quarterback sneaks that were stuffed, forcing a turnover on downs in an eventual 27-24 loss.
A crushing loss for the Vikings, who led 17-3 when the 4th quarter began.
The consecutive tush push failures in OT will haunt them. First team since the start of 2022 to fail at it multiple times in a game, per @ESPNStatsInfo.
Bengals 27, Vikings 24. FINAL
Mullens finished the game with 303 yards passing and a 99.9 passer rating after completing 26 of 33 pass attempts. Second-year running back Ty Chandler took the pressure off Mullens in his first career start. Chandler took 23 carries for a career-high 132 yards rushing.
Addison caught all 6 targets he saw for 111 yards, while Justin Jefferson had 7 catches on 10 targets for 84 yards.
Vikings Squander Chance to Solidify Playoff Spot
GettyVikings quarterback Nick Mullens
After squandering a pair of potential scoring drives by throwing both of his interceptions in the red zone, Mullens appeared to be in the hot seat after earning his first start of the season a week ago.
Mullens relieved Josh Dobbs in the fourth quarter of last week’s 3-0 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, leading Minnesota to the game’s only scoring drive that won him the start in Cincinnati.
Mullens came close to securing back-to-back wins for the Vikings coming out of the bye week, which would have boosted Minnesota’s chances of making the playoffs to 83%, per The Upshot’s playoff simulator.
Instead, the Vikings’ chances are at 60% entering a pivotal final three games within the NFC North division.
Minnesota had control of its destiny to repeat as division champions by winning out. Now, the Vikings leave it to fate. They face the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers at home the next two weeks before a rematch in Detroit to close the regular season.
Danielle Hunter Breaks Career Sack Record With Bizarre Play
GettyVikings edge rusher Danielle Hunter
Enjoying a career year under defensive coordinator Brian Flores, Danielle Hunter tallied two sacks to surpass Jared Allen for the sixth-most sacks by a Vikings player all time.
He also earned $1 million by sacking a tight end.
Seriously.
On the Bengals’ opening drive, Coach Zac Taylor dialed up a trick play that put the ball in tight end Tanner Hudson‘s hands as a passer. Hunter forced Hudson out of bounds, earning his 14th sack of the season that hits the final $1 million incentive of his restructured contract, according to the Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling.
The Vikings reworked Hunter’s contract to a single-year deal worth up to $20 million if he hit certain sack thresholds this season. Surpassing 11, 12.5 and 14 sacks with three games left in the season, Hunter is in position for a lucrative extension in the offseason.
He currently leads the NFL with 15.5 sacks as of Saturday afternoon.
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Vikings Coach Sends Nick Mullens Stern Warning During Bengals Loss