Bouncing back, possessing a short-term memory, correcting mistakes, they’re all tied together.
Unfortunately, none of it is applicable, not at a course-resetting level, after the clock strikes midnight.
It’s one of the roughest parts about Minnesota’s championship-sinking loss to Los Angeles and generally one of the hardest-to-swallow truths of great teams unmistakably playing beneath their standards; there’s so many what-ifs – what if the Vikings nail this throw or break that tackle or convert on X down.
The what-ifs extended to every facet of the 27-9 Wild Card defeat. On defense and special teams, there were plays that could have swayed huge momentum that specifically featured Cashman and Grugier-Hill.
Begrudgingly, we’re going to revisit those.
On the first Rams play of the second quarter, Jonathan Greenard curled Matthew Stafford to the ground and dislodged the ball. In a jiffy, Cashman continued the play made by his former Texans teammate, scooping the football, sprinting with it scot-free and scoring it. Bada bing, bada boom — a 26-yard TD!
The play would’ve positioned the Vikings to tie the game at 10-all pending a PAT. Maybe more importantly, it would’ve quieted Los Angeles’ loud, early energy, and restored Vikings vigor and vitality.
Alas, Cashman’s touchdown – and Greenard’s strip-sack – was overturned to an incompletion. Although the Rams eventually punted, it was a favored break and a sizable win for them, preventing a tie at 10-all.
Also, it likely made Grugier-Hill’s whiff on a too-close-to-understand-how-he-missed-it punt block try at the end of the Rams next series tougher to accept. Seriously, the ball escaped his triangled hands by a molecule. Later on, Grugier-Hill was vexed about not tackling the Los Angeles punter. What if? What if?
It’s a cruel kind of fate for two haunting what-ifs to occur in a span of six minutes.
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