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The Minnesota Vikings 29-27 loss to the Detroit Lions last Sunday has been deemed one of the most debilitating failures of the franchise this millennium.
Take it from a former Vikings coach, Mike Tice, who never lost to the Lions despite struggling in three years as a head coach for the team.
Like many followers of the Vikings, Tice took to Twitter to vent his frustrations.
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‘Even My Sorry A** Never Lost to Detroit’
In a now-deleted tweet, Tice lambasted Minnesota for giving up a win to the previously 0-11-1 Lions, saying the following:
“Really. F****** Detroit. Even my sorry ass NEVER lost to Detroit.”
F-ING DETROIT: At least Mike Tice teams didn’t lose to the GD Detroit Lions…
Tice was 32-33 as head coach of the Vikings from 2002-2005. He was 8-0 against the Lions.
Fans took Tice’s tweet as a direct slight toward coach Mike Zimmer, whose seat is getting hotter and hotter as Minnesota’s chances at the playoffs continue to slide. A fan comment under the deleted tweet asked if the loss was on Zimmer, to which Tice clarified that he is not placing any blame on the current Vikings coach.
Here’s the exchange between the fan, highlighting a poor decision to play prevent defense on the Lions’ game-clinching drive, and Tice:
Fan: Mike, this was 100% on Zimmer right? Like zero excuses? “Precent” defense for a full 2 minute drill.
Tice: That is NOT what I am saying. I am saying: the Vikings need to beat Detroit if they have real playoff ambitions.
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History Repeating Itself?
Oddly enough, what prompted the hire of Tice was the firing of coach Dennis Green, who, after a loss to a winless Lions team in 2001, was fired later that season.
In Week 14 of the 2001 season, the Vikings, trailing 20-7 at halftime, took a four-point lead late but gave up a touchdown in the fourth quarter and lost 27-24.
Sound familiar?
Last Sunday, the Vikings trailed 20-6 at halftime and took a four-point lead late in the game, only to give up a touchdown in the fourth quarter, falling to the Lions 29-27.
What followed could determine whether the two losses, 20 years apart, are a coincidence or if history is repeating itself.
Minnesota fired Dennis Green before the final game of the regular season. He was 97-62 (.610) with eight playoff appearances and four playoff wins in 10 seasons, per Inside the Vikings‘ Will Ragatz. It was his first losing season as an NFL head coach.
Zimmer is currently 69-54-1 (.560) with three playoff appearances and two playoff wins in seven, going on eight seasons.
Over the past two seasons, numerous reports have indicated that the Wilf family is expecting a playoff appearance at a bare minimum to “fend off major changes,” per CBS Sports senior writer Jason La Canfora.
SKOR North’s Judd Zulgad reported that “there’s starting to be what I would describe as low-level rumblings about due diligence from New Jersey being done on potential replacements at both GM and coach.”
Minnesota currently has a 28% chance of making the playoffs entering a primetime Thursday Night Football matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers. A loss on Thursday could be the last straw, with a loss knocking the Vikings’ playoff chances down to 13%, per FiveThirtyEight.
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Former Vikings Coach Blasts Team: ‘Really. F****** Detroit’