Chiefs 26, Vikings 23: Insta-reaction from Sunday’s last-second win over the Vikings!
The Chiefs just earned one of their most meaningful and potentially important wins of the season, and if that sounds like hyperbole, well, if we’re totally honest you might be right. This is the instant reaction, after all.
But consider:
The Chiefs’ 26-23 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday avoided a fourth consecutive home loss, stopped a skid of three losses in four games and was muscled up by the defense. And with Patrick Mahomes expected to play next weekend at the Titans, it opens a runway for the Chiefs to earn a first-round playoff bye.
It’s a lot to process.
When factoring the opposition — *cough* Joe Flacco *cough* — this might’ve been the defense’s most impressive outing. Dalvin Cook entered as the NFL’s only running back averaging 100 yards rushing. He finished with 71. The Vikings entered with a top five defense in yards per game and DVOA.
They scored 23 points, but one of their touchdowns was set up by a fumble by Mecole Hardman on a kickoff return. More importantly, with the score tied and the Vikings taking over with 2:30 left, the Chiefs forced a three-and-out.
The punt was shanked, which set up Harrison Butker’s game-winning field goal from 44 yards out.
The Chiefs improved to 6-3. Assuming Mahomes is back next week, the Chiefs will likely be favored in every game left on their regular-season schedule except the one at New England. A 5-2 finish could be enough for the No. 2 seed. A 6-1 finish almost certainly would.
But here’s the bigger takeaway: The second half of the season has begun with the Chiefs appearing to have found a respectable defense.
They have never needed to be terrific on that side of the ball. Only adequate. Good would be dangerous.
Against a formidable opponent, with their own offense needing extra support, the Chiefs’ defense helped win a critical game.
For those of a certain age, maybe this is like when Happy Gilmore learned to putt.
For the rest of you, just think of the possibilities of Mahomes and a healthy Chiefs offense being backed by a good NFL defense.
That’s something we haven’t seen yet.
This story was originally published November 3, 2019 at 3:21 PM with the headline "Chiefs 26, Vikings 23: Insta-reaction from Sunday’s last-second win over the Vikings!."