The Minnesota Vikings season ends on a low note with a 30-20 loss to NFC North division rival Detroit Lions.
The game went about as you could have predicted. The Lions offense was able to have their way against a Vikings defense that couldn’t tackle and continuously busted coverages and made mistakes throughout the game.
On offense, the Vikings were able to move the football consistently through the air and even outgained the Lions by 67 yards. Quarterback Nick Mullens kept the Vikings in the game with 396 passing yards but two late interceptions kept the Vikings from finishing the comeback.
In our final rendition of studs and duds for the 2023 season, these stood out like a sore thumb.
Stud: WR Justin Jefferson
We are running out of superlatives for the Vikings star wide receiver. To put it simply, he’s the best in the game with a non-zero chance to end his career as the best wide receiver to have ever played the game. Jefferson finished the game with 12 receptions for 192 yards and a touchdown while also becoming the third ever wide receiver to gain 1,000 receiving yards when playing in 10 or fewer games. Jefferson has one more season remaining on his contract and the Vikings will be trying to extend him this offseason.
Dud: CB Akayleb Evans
After a really good first 10 games or so, Evans didn’t finish very strong. That came to fruition once again on Sunday. He was a part of an apparent coverage bust on the Amon-Ra St. Brown 70 yard touchdown and his effort wasn’t there. He was pulled in the first half and seemed to play minimal snaps after the first quarter. With cornerback being a position that requires confidence, it feels like Evans lost his at some point and didn’t get it back
Stud and Dud: QB Nick Mullens
Calling Mullens both a stud and dud epitomizes the experience you have watching him play football. His gunslinger mentality does a good job keeping the offense competitive and it’s a fun brand of football for the fans. Unfortunately, he has the bozo gene that has him putting the ball in harm’s way. That ends up being the difference in this game and also was in his previous two starts.
Stud: OLB Danielle Hunter
It’s been evident since the Vikings signed him to the amended contract back in July that they needed to ink Hunter to a contract extension. After Sunday’s game, it’s beyond crystal clear.
Hunter notched a career-high with 16.5 sacks along with a career and team record 22.0 tackles for loss. Now, this kind of season is going to spike his potential contract. Without the ability to place either the franchise or transition tag on Hunter, it would behoove the Vikings to get a contract dun quickly.
Dud: RT David Quessenbery
After playing well in his earlier performances, Quessenberry got schooled on multiple occasions on Sunday. Aidan Hutchinson beat him multiple times and he allowed an unblocked rusher to get to Mullens with ease. It stinks to have your backup play poorly, but it’s bound to happen. Brian O’Neill should be back 100% for week one next season.
Stud: TE Johnny Mundt
When T.J. Hockenson went down, it seemed obvious that Mundt was going to take over his duties in the offense with Josh Oliver remaining in his role. Mundt has firmly been the TE3 all season but he stepped up on Sunday afternoon. While he only had five catches for 58 yards, Mundt caught a third and 30 pass from Nick Mullens that extended a drive early in the game. Those are the types of plays you don’t get often enough from your backup players and Mundt stepped up.
Dud: DC Brian Flores
It’s worth noting that Flores was playing without two of his top three cornerbacks and edge rushers but it still felt like there weren’t enough adjustments to his unit as they allowed 30 points or more for the third consecutive game and 121 over the last four. Next season, this defense is going to have a different look to it in many ways, especially in terms of personnel.
