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Sunday’s loss at Tennessee, a 30-17 decision to the undefeated Titans, was a prime example. The Vikings had four turnovers that their opportunistic opponent turned into 21 points.
There were also plenty of mental mistakes, including wasted timeouts, dropped passes and costly penalties. For a team that brought in a bunch of expensive free agents and appeared to be on the cusp of the NFC’s upper crust, a 1-3 start has put Minnesota in a bad place despite three-fourths of the schedule remaining and a mere one-game deficit in the division standings.
According to sports researcher Stats, Inc., only 10.5 percent of NFL teams since 1970 (28 out of 266) have made the playoffs after beginning the season 1-3. San Diego did it last year.
The Vikings also visit New Orleans next Monday night with this reality: Just 5.2 percent of teams that started 1-4 (nine out of 173) have qualified for the playoffs. Green Bay was the most recent after the 2004 season.
“Our guys are smart enough to look at some of the circumstances and realize at times we’re our own worst enemy,” coach Brad Childress said Monday afternoon. “We need to pick ourselves up, and the answers are in that locker room.”
Tennessee’s three touchdowns each came after turnovers deep in Minnesota territory — fumbles by Naufahu Tahi and Adrian Peterson and an interception thrown by Gus Frerotte. The Titans took the ball at the 33, 11, and 6 yard lines after those plays.
The other giveaway was a botched exchange between Frerotte and center Matt Birk at the Tennessee 39. The Titans punted after that, but it was a possession the Vikings could certainly have scored on. And they needed the points, trailing the entire game and down 23-10 late in the third quarter at that point.
“Those things just can’t happen,” Frerotte said after Sunday’s game. “If we want to be the team we think we are — that we know we are — then we have to come out and have better poise and play a lot better during the game.”
The Vikings, in general, moved the ball well at times and kept Tennessee from chewing up too much yardage on the other side. They outgained the Titans 333-275, and Frerotte finished 25-for-43 for 266 yards.
But none of that matters when the mistakes pile up, just as the heightened preseason expectations based on top talent at several positions mean nothing when the losses add up faster than the wins.
“It’s frustrating, because we’re a better team than our record shows. But the record is the record,” said safety Darren Sharper, the only starter who wandered into the locker room while it was open to reporters on Monday. “If you win the games you’re supposed to win, your record will be indicative of that. But you know we haven’t won the games we’re supposed to win, even with the offseason acquisitions. We’re playing decent football. We’re just killing ourselves at the wrong times in games. The game is a game of inches, and we’re not finding a way to get those certain inches to help us win.”
On the day the St. Louis Rams fired coach Scott Linehan, who was also hired in 2006, Childress expressed sympathy for a colleague before insisting he’s not feeling stronger external pressure to win this year with another poor start and all the money owner Zygi Wilf spent in the offseason.
“I know the things we have to do to get better, and I see eager guys looking back for direction,” Childress said. “That’s my job ... to lead those guys, and I don’t see a lot of far-off eyes. Guys are hurt. I mean, they’re genuinely hurt when you lose when you take that inventory in the locker room.”
