The Minnesota Vikings had their season come to an abrupt end Monday night as they lost to the Los Angeles Rams, 27-9, in their wild-card game that was played in Arizona due to the fires in L.A.
The Vikings finished the regular season 14-3 but lost to the Detroit Lions in Week 18, which cost them the No. 1 seed and forced them to go on the road in the opening round. Sam Darnold had another bad game at the worst possible time, and Minnesota never really had a chance against Matthew Stafford and Co.
One surprising thing happened midway through the fourth quarter when the Vikings, down by 18 points, seemed to take their time while on offense rather than rush to put points on the board in what should have been a frantic time for them with their season on the line.
Joe Buck and Troy Aikman noticed how the Vikings seemed to give up despite there being over six minutes.
"Just seeing now if they're going to kinda speed things up, which they're not. ... Minnesota has kinda conceded this one," Aikman said. "They're in no rush to get the ball snapped."
Buck added: "The Vikings, I assume, are aware they're down 18 points."
"I was kinda thinking the same thing," Aikman replied.
Here are those moments:
"Just seeing now if they're going to kinda speed things up, which they're not... Minnesota has kinda conceded this one. They're in no rush to get the ball snapped." - Troy Aikman on the Vikings' lack of urgency with over 6 minutes remaining 🏈🎙️ #NFL #MNF https://t.co/qPC57bmFxh pic.twitter.com/ahdYhutOKp
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 14, 2025
The Vikings probably would have still lost the game if they sped things up, but it was a tough look for a team that just a few weeks ago seemed poised for a deep postseason run.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Joe Buck, Troy Aikman Not-So-Subtly Ripped Vikings for Appearing to Give Up vs. Rams.
