How to Watch, Stream & Listen to Vikings at Lions in Week 14

Donatell on the defense closing out the Jets:

Minnesota improved to 9-0 on the season in one-score games, setting an NFL record for most wins in such games without a loss.

The Vikings did so by holding the Jets out of the end zone, despite New York running four plays inside the Minnesota 5-yard line after the 2-minute warning plus another red zone possession in the final minute that ended with Camryn Bynum’s interception.

“Probably the most important thing team-wise is finishing, and as a coach, the most important thing in the day we live in with all these one-score games is, ‘How do you finish?’ That’s what we’re really good at. We’re really good at crunch time and being sharp on assignments,” Donatell said. “Last game, we’re getting ready to go out, and sometimes Harrison Smith will say, ‘What are you thinking?’ Just to get call progression and so forth. We talked a little bit, and he said, ‘We’ve been here before,’ and smiled. That’s a great sense as a coach because you know that he’s confident and it breeds confidence to you.

“We had two drives at the end of that game, and I have to be honest with you, I’d rather have a two-score lead and have our offense out there grinding the ball, watching those guys at the end of the ball game, but the next most rewarding thing in coaching and competing is when it’s on the line and it’s on you,” Donatell added. “It’s the greatest high you can get as a competitor, and we’ve got the guys that are up to that. That’s what’s really cool for me. There was a lot of strategy going in and out, back and forth, coverage, run. Our defensive front, you can’t say enough about those guys, the grit and toughness, and we had a long day, but they reached down inside and got that pushback that enabled us to get it to some pass downs at the end. The rush we got at the end and the coverage, you’ve got Cam Bynum, who took his preparation and visualized making that play. You’ve heard that story. That’s really rewarding. It’s just a calmness in execution at the end that makes you feel really good as a coach.”