All or Nothing
Pass or Fail
Right or Wrong
Good or Bad
Pass or Punt
Get it?
Good.
The season's over, and there's a lot to say. More will come in due time, but for now, here's the final game post.
Justin Jefferson closed out the season with exactly the sort of performance that a rookie of the year, pro bowler & record setter should. 9 receptions for 133 with a long of 38. Even without long he still averaged more than a first down per catch. The only way he could have been better today would have been eclipsing both the team and league records in one play for a touchdown.
And the guy who was throwing the ball may have been his best self today. 70% completions for 405 & three scores along with a sneak for another one. It's far from enough to move me off the position that the Tesla could use an even better operator but reinforces the notion that they don't have to go first round at the position. Because of his contract they may be wise to wait until the 2022 to add his understudy. That's depressing since the state's best prospect is available this year but reality bites sometimes, in case anyone forgot already. As far as today goes, Kirk shredded a suspect defense in rare fashion and that shouldn't get lost in the details.
Without their other star on offense Alexander Mattison represented the Braidy Bunch well today! Along with the 95 yards and a score that he managed on the ground, he was 3/3 on the passes in his direction, with one of them also finishing in the end zone. His second season fell short of what he put together before but he closed on such a high note that running back can be completely taken off the draft board, if it was on there before anyway. Even a seventh round pick would be unnecessarily used.
The lone bright spot for the defense was Harrison Smith. It's slim pickings at this point in the season but even if the defense were at full strength his performance would warrant positive recognition. His interception proved to be the difference in the game. While a loss would have been a win, I'm choosing to not be so petty as to hold it against him that he set the team up to go ahead by a full score in the second half.
Speaking of that, pulling out the win was the last thing they needed to do today. Now, instead of operating with the strength that a top 10 pick can provide, they'll have to wait & wonder what several more teams will do in front of them. I don't want to get too far into the weeds about the draft right now but in the big picture they lost today and there isn't a worse part of it.
We also, very likely, saw the last of Dan Bailey in our colors today. He rebounded moderately well from the Tampa disaster but at the very least will be in a competition next Summer. Even that seems like an improbability but this team under Zimmer has been a persistent dumpster fire at Kicker so who knows how they will proceed.
Dumpster first could also be said to describe both the defensive line today and Anthony Harris for a much larger portion of the season. Hercules Mata'afa got one sack and it was a decent read but aside from that, pressure on Stafford was non-existent. They also allowed Peterson & Swift to gash them. Even Stafford picked up some yards on the ground - embarrassing!
As for the safety who bet on himself this season and lost, he repeatedly took more bad angles on tackles. It's possible that he could follow in Rhodes' footsteps and rebound somewhere else next season. But for now, if there is one silver-lining to this season for the defense, it's how fortunate Minnesota is to not have him under a long contract.