Minnesota Vikings cornerback Kris Boyd is one of the team’s biggest personalities as an entertaining presence in the locker room.
However, on Thursday night, Boyd’s boastfulness proved costly.
After snaring Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver James Washington behind the line of scrimmage on second-and-10, Boyd pumped his arms, looking down at Washington, which warranted a taunting penalty by the officials.
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Yes, this is football; but there are rules, and officials have consistently penalized similar behavior.
The penalty breathed new life into the scoreless Steelers, who, instead of facing third-and-12, were awarded a fresh set of downs and went on to score their first touchdown of the game.
We all know what happened from there.
Pittsburgh came storming back, and had the defense not made a final stop of fourth down to seal a 36-28 victory, the Vikings could have been virtually eliminated from playoff contention after giving up a loss to the formerly winless Detroit Lions four days earlier.
But despite facing scrutiny from his teammates and coaches, Boyd couldn’t help but post a photo of the instance on social media.
Boyd Boasts After Troubling Performance
After Boyd was flagged for taunting, team captain Anthony Barr shoved him for the extracurriculars.
Safety Xavier Woods essentially kicked Boyd off the field to allow second-year corner Cameron Dantzler to play instead. Boyd then got an earful from head coach Mike Zimmer and co-defensive coordinator Andre Patterson.
He still decided to post a photo the aftermath of the play with the caption “Forever get my lick back!” on his Instagram, where his fellow NFLers lauded him.
Former Vikings defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo commented that “it should have been flagged,” which Boyd responded with “they p***y a** did!! It’s football.”
To Boyd’s credit, had he not been called for taunting, he likely wouldn’t have faced scrutiny from his teammates and coaching staff.
But Boyd’s performance, just 12 defensive snaps, left much to be desired. He was the only cornerback to allow every pass thrown his way to be caught — three catches for 64 yards.
Ben Roethlisberger hit sudden resurgence and picked apart Boyd, placing throws where Boyd, despite playing tight coverage, was beaten by the Steelers receivers.
Boyd currently owns the worst quarterback rating allowed by any Vikings cornerback of 139.8 and this isn’t the first time he’s shown lapses in judgment.
Last year against the Dallas Cowboys, the Vikings, attempting a fake-punt play, had a wide-open Boyd lined up at gunner. Instead of lining up properly, Boyd, waving his arm to signal he would be open, jitterbugged around and never set his feet in time for the snap, drawing an illegal shift penalty and a personal callout by Zimmer.
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Cornerbacks Continue to Struggle
While Boyd has served as the sacrificial lamb, the cornerbacks group has been the most troublesome unit of the Vikings defense.
The starting trio ranks outside the top 70 cornerbacks graded by Pro Football Focus (PFF). Patrick Peterson is the highest-graded starting cornerback at No. 71, followed by Bashaud Breeland, 117th of 120, and Mackensie Alexander, ranked 119th of 120.
Reserve corners have shown mixed results. Boyd owns the group’s worst defensive grade by PFF of 37.4, and Dantzler is the highest at 69.8, an average score by PFF’s metrics.
Dantzler has also allowed the lowest quarterback rating (77.2) of any cornerback on the team. Every other cornerback has allowed a quarterback rating above 100.
The group hasn’t benefited from the same stymying pass rush it had to start the season with Danielle Hunter and Everson Griffen missing. However, even then, the unit struggled.
Here’s a full breakdown of the cornerbacks group’s performance through 13 games this season:
| Player | Targets | Receptions | Yardage | TDs Allowed | PFF Grade | QBR |
| Patrick Peterson | 43 | 27 (62.8%) | 358 | 3 | 61.4 | 112.4 |
| Bashaud Breeland* | 85 | 59 (69.4%) | 795 | 6 | 47.2 | 112.6 |
| Mackensie Alexander* | 60 | 41 (68.3%) | 473 | 3 | 43.7 | 108.5 |
| Cameron Dantzler | 40 | 22 (55.0%) | 221 | 2 | 69.8 | 77.2 |
| Kris Boyd | 19 | 14 (73.7%) | 188 | 2 | 37.4 | 139.8 |
Vikings CB Boasts on Social Media After Team-Worst Performance vs. Steelers