The Minnesota Vikings completely botched the final 30 seconds of the first half of Sunday night’s game against the Dallas Cowboys.
The Vikings got the ball at their own 15-yard line with 37 seconds left in the first half and one timeout remaining. Scoring was unlikely, but with a timeout in their back pocket, they could have theoretically given themselves a shot at a field goal with some smart clock management.
That certainly did not happen. Quarterback Kirk Cousins scrambled for 13 yards on 2nd down. That moved the ball to the Minnesota 34-yard line, but the quarterback was unable to get out of bounds. Instead of using the last timeout, Cousins tried to run no-huddle, but took a long time to organize the play amid a great deal of confusion. He finally snapped it with five seconds left and threw an incomplete pass. That meant the Vikings had to simply kneel with one second left and a timeout in their back pocket, prompting boos from the home crowd.
Everyone on social media noticed, too, putting the blame on Cousins and coach Mike Zimmer.
Vikings Clock Management Coordinator pic.twitter.com/i55f0lAgYD
— 😁 (@MCDANlELS) November 1, 2021
No one knows how to waste a drive at the end of a half like the Vikings.
— Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) November 1, 2021
#Vikings clock management to end the first half is yet again awful.
Why not use your last timeout there?
— Jeff Wald (@JeffWaldFox9) November 1, 2021
Zimmer’s in year eight and his clock management is still very bad.
Beyond pathetic!!!!! #vikings
— Ali Siddiqui (@asiddiqui15) November 1, 2021
It’s not really clear who was at fault. Why did no one call the final timeout when it was obvious that there was too much confusion at the line of scrimmage for the Vikings to snap the ball with any meaningful time left? The team was unlikely to score either way, but it was a pretty horrendous way to end the half.
In the past, Zimmer has implied that Cousins has been frustrated with the lack of autonomy he has in the offense. Maybe this is why Zimmer is so reluctant to give it to him.
