2021 NFL Power Rankings Week 13: Cowboys continue to slide, Packers bounce back

The Minnesota Vikings picked a bad time to forget how to protect the football. In a close game (then again, all their games seem to be close), they had two costly turnovers including a pick from Kirk Cousins. That was a bit of a shock as he entered the contest with just two interceptions in the previous 10 games.

Dalvin Cook also fumbled the ball away, and his ended up being much more costly as he was injured on the play and had to be carted off the field. Even with turnovers, Minnesota had a chance to tie it up late, trailing by eight.

However, they twice turned it over on downs. The first came at the San Francisco three, which ended a 12-play, 72-yard drive. They lucked out again as the Niners had their own 12-play drive that also covered 72-yards but Robbie Gould missed a 42-yard kick to give the Vikings one last shot. That chance ended quickly as they moved it just 30-yards on six plays and Cousins missed a fourth-and-eight pass to Justin Jefferson which sealed the win for the 49ers.

Minnesota is now 5-6 and it feels as though they’re in too deep of a hole to do anything this season. Which is frustrating for them since they have really been competitive every week.