The Minnesota Vikings visited the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 9. Despite being favored to win, Minnesota fell short against the Patrick Mahomes-less Chiefs.
Throughout the entire game, Minnesota's offense was never able to get into their usual gameplan of running the ball with Dalvin Cook. That can be credited to Kansas City's assertiveness to not allow the talented running back to single-handedly beat them.
When the Vikings' offense is at its best, Cook is pounding the ball with success and the passing game goes off of that. But on Sunday, the Chiefs forced Kirk Cousins to beat them through the air.
In the end, that decision aided in Kansas City being able to walk away with a 26-23 win with Matt Moore as their quarterback. So what did we learn about Minnesota in their loss to the Chiefs?
3. Winning on the road is a struggle
Following their loss to the Chiefs in Week 9, the Vikings are now 6-3 and are in second place in the NFC North. In the event that Minnesota is unable to win the division, they will set their sights on securing a Wild Card spot.
By getting a Wild Card spot, that means that Minnesota would have to play their first playoff game at the scariest place they could play; on the road. The loss against Kansas City on the road on Sunday marks the Vikings' third loss as the away team this season.
Altogether, the Vikings are 2-3 on the road, with both wins coming over the New York Giants and Detroit Lions. If Minnesota wants to be a legitimate contender, they're going to need to be able to win games away from U.S. Bank Stadium.
2. The secondary is becoming problematic
When speaking about a Mike Zimmer defense for the Vikings, the first thing you think about is the secondary with Harrison Smith and Xavier Rhodes. Smith is still doing the best he can leading the defense while Rhodes has had a significant dropoff in 2019.
Rhodes used to be a cornerback quarterbacks avoided due to his ability to shut down the opposing team's best wide receiver. However, those days are long gone. The former All-Pro cornerback is now targeted by opposing offenses.
Along with Rhodes, Trae Waynes hasn't played much better. On Sunday, Waynes allowed a 40-yard touchdown to Tyreek Hill to allow the Chiefs to get an early lead.
1. Kirk Cousins still can't win against talented teams
Over the past few seasons, Kirk Cousins has fallen short against winning teams. That trend continued in Week 9 against the 5-3 Chiefs.
Before the game began, the belief was that Minnesota would win due to Mahomes not being under center for Kansas City. Instead, Cousins was outplayed by Mahomes' backup, Matt Moore, and lost yet another game he should've won.
In his entire career, Cousins only has five wins against teams above .500. Cousins needs to win games against talented teams. If not, Minnesota will miss the playoffs for the second consecutive season.
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