The pace of NFL Sunday slows down during the late window. Usually, three or four matches start between 4 p.m. and 4:25 p.m. EST. One of them is a featured showdown, like Kansas City Chiefs against. Buffalo Billswith all the brilliant throws and screams about a wide receiver being rightly reported for lining up half of his foot across the line of scrimmage,
A much less convincing clash took place between the Minnesota Vikings And Las Vegas Raiders. Both teams made NFL history in Week 14 and it wasn’t properly recognized. The Vikings and Raiders played the lowest-scoring NFL game in 16 years.
It took a little over 58 minutes of play for the points to finally be put on the board. The Vikings kicked what proved to be the game-winning field goal after a 13-play, 56-yard drive. No NFL game has gone scoreless this long since Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Miami Dolphins3-0, in 2007.
The YouTube highlights title of this game is “Monday Night Mud Bowl.” Both teams went through what is currently known as Acrisure Stadium for almost an entire match without scoring. The 0-0 tie was broken with 20 seconds left when Jeff Reed kicked a 24-yard field goal. Prior to this game, the NFL’s last scoreless game was the last game that ended in a 0-0 tie. It was a 1943 match between the New York Giants and the Detroit Lions.
On Sunday, in an air-conditioned Las Vegas building with a perfectly manicured natural grass surface, the Vikings and Raiders threw the ball a total of 17 times. Neither team was able to accumulate even 150 passing yards. The Raiders also managed to turn the ball over three times. As ineffective as the Vikings’ offense was all day, at least they held onto the ball and didn’t commit any turnovers.
Even though he didn’t give the ball away, Joshua Dobbs also didn’t put the ball in the hands of his teammates enough. Minnesota was dealt a major blow when Justin Jefferson was knocked out of the game in the first half with a chest injury. However, midway through the fourth quarter, Dobbs had completed only 10 of 23 passes for 63 yards and rushed for only 21. A change had to be made, so Nick Mullens was inserted into the game. He led the placement campaign.
Watching the game on RedZone was almost impossible as both teams only reached that area of the pitch once each. Neither offense was in a goal-to-play situation at any point in Week 14. They even combined for fewer than 25 first downs overall.
This match was truly a masterpiece of ugly football. Each element worked together to create a product so undesirable that the game became entertaining. Once a match gets to the point where people are watching to see if it can reach an all-time low, it reaches a special place. The dark part of us that likes to watch people who live in squalor and don’t throw anything away, and the Real Housewives series in which the main contestants cut each other off, but still often hang out in fancy places.
Vikings vs. Raiders was ugly, disjointed, lacking explosion on offense and sloppy. Despite all this mess, the Vikings continued to crawl through a sewer and ultimately ended the day with an ugly victory.
A game that will be largely forgotten until the next draw in the fourth quarter.
