Usually, the first week of a brand new NFL season is not a time for gloom and doom. But, usually, you don’t see a team put on the sort of performance that the Minnesota Vikings did in their 27-24 overtime loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1 of the 2021 NFL season.
The fact that the Vikings had any sort of opportunity at all at the end of the day borders on the miraculous. According to a stat from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, on Sunday in Cincinnati the Vikings faced nine third-down situations of 10 yards or more, and six such situations where they needed at least 15 yards to convert.