The classical definition for Slobberknocker is a literal hard hit. I'm going to play off that somewhat in a more figurative manner. While in contrast, and maybe more obviously, the Naw's are things that shouldn't have happened and/or need to change.
Happy Family
Kirk Cousins did what he was supposed to do last Sunday. Today he did what he needs to do to make this team a realistic championship contender. A pessimist would point out that the NFC East may be a collection of paper tigers but both Dallas & Philly have enough talent to compete for the playoffs. With the Vikings and specifically Cousins dominating as he/they did, it got the monkey off the back of never beating teams with winning records. And it was a dominant performance by the quarterback. His only blemish was one of those stupid interceptions that he had nothing to do with, it was on Diggs 100%, so I'm not holding it against Cousins even 1%.
Turtle Power
That one mistake was pretty much the only one for Stefon Diggs so it can be excused when the overall performance is considered. For the second straight week it turned out to be a get-right game and this time Diggs was as much the benefactor of that as anyone on the roster. I think the best part of it is that the yards and scores didn't come by forcing it to him unnecessarily. Cousins delivered the passes as well as he ever has since signing here and Diggs, for the most part, did the rest. That's a replicatable recipe that should be welcome by even the head coach!
Hot Backers
Anthony Barr & Eric Kendricks are playing so well right now! Be it on pressures or in pass coverage, I don't think that the UCLA tandem has been better while in our colors. If they can raise their games together like that, in all the big games that are on the horizon, then this already formidable defense will be iron curtain-like.
Clean Turf
Perhaps the best indicator that this was a quintessential Zimmer game was the sheer lack of infractions by the Vikings. I have little doubt that ticky-tack calls weren't made today. With only four called fouls, I also think it's reasonable to say that the total number of possible flags was in the single digits, which should not be overlooked!
Thieves
I don't know what it is about Philadelphia that allows the defensive linemen to make momentum-swinging plays but after Joseph rumbled for a touchdown last year and Griffen was able to basket catch an interception today, I'm totally okay with it! It even makes me want to play them more often, almost. Not really, but almost. Later in the game Alexander got an even better pick as he essentially supplanted the intended target as the receiver & didn't squander the chance! Takeaways have never been the main forte of the Vikings defense under this regime but then the aforementioned Kendricks forced a fumble & Barr reeled it in, to basically end the game.
That's a shorter recap of today's action than a 38-20 win may deserve. I think hit on all the main points and as always, it's not meant to be an all-encompassing write-up of the pros and cons from today's game. If you think more deserves to be said, make your case in the comments!
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