The turnover bug that bit the hard at the beginning of the season apparently wasnt fully exterminated.The Vikings sure felt the sting in on Sunday night.Due in large part to three giveaways the Broncos converted into field goals, the Vikings saw their five-game winning streak end in excruciating fashion with a 21-20 lo s."Weve learned this le son before," said coach Kevin OConnell, sounding as annoyed as hes been all year. "Playing good football teams, you cant give them three extra opportunities."ADVERTISEMENT The Vikings (6-5) had more turnovers than their opponents in each of their first five games, losing four. During the streak, they had a total margin of plus-six."Clearly, its a winning and losing stat in this league," OConnell said. "No matter what you do Willy Hernangomez Jersey every other play in the game, youre just setting yourself behind and have to overcome even if you do have the lead."On the third play of the game, OConnell tried to surprise the Broncos by lining up tight end on third-and-1 at the Minnesota 34 for the snap and an unorthodox handoff to the quarterback. veered left and lost the ball at the first-down marker on a jarring helmet-first hit by safety that went unpenalized. recovered.Late in the third quarter, who otherwise played one of his best games of the season ran up the middle and had the ball knocked out at the Denver 35 and gobbled up by the home team.The Broncos recorded a takeaway on the next po se sion deep in Minnesota territory, when McMillan picked off a hurried pa s by an under-pre sure Dobbs and returned it to the 9.Ru sell Wilson's Broncos hold off the Minnesota Vikings The defense delivered for the Vikings all night, forcing the Broncos Anthony Davis Jersey to kick five field goals and not yielding a touchdown until superb catch for the lead with 1:03 left. But there werent any turnovers on that side of the ball to counteract the offenses flubs.On third-and-5 from the 34 with 11 seconds left before halftime, made a leaping grab of throw into the end zone but failed to secure the ball as he hit the ground for an incompletion instead of an interception. Will Lutz then made a 52-yard field goal to trim Minnesotas lead to 10-9.Then with the Broncos driving for the go-ahead touchdown, caught a short pa s and headed toward the sideline. punched the ball out as he tackled Perine but was unable to Solomon Hill Jersey fall on it before it rolled out of bounds at the 22 with 1:21 left. The Broncos scored three plays later."We played well the whole game. Not well enough. We didnt create any turnovers," safety said. "As a defense, we take pride in taking the ball. If we dont take the ball away, it makes it harder on the rest of the team."Jared Goff, Lions pull off EPIC comeback vs. Justin Fields, Bears - Dave Helman | WHATS WORKINGThe Vikings rushed 36 times for 175 yards, both season highs, against the team ranked last in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game and per attempt. The true test of improvement on the ground will come in the next game against Chicago, which is giving up a league-best average of 3.39 yards per rush.WHAT NEEDS HELPThe Vikings are third-to-last in the league in goal-to-go situations, with touchdowns on just 55% of those po se sions. Dobbs has added a valuable dimension with his running ability, but the Vikings have been stuffed for a lo s on 35% of their rushing attempts inside the 10-yard line this season, according to Sportradar. Thats the worst rate in the NFL.STOCK UP had a career-high 73 yards on 10 carries, including a 31-yard scamper on a fake punt. He also had four catches for 37 yards, both career highs."Ty in general is explosive. You can feel it when hes out there," OConnell said.STOCK DOWN returned from Frank Jackson Jersey a one-game absence because of a concu sion but had only one reception for 7 yards on two targets despite playing more than 95% of the snaps on offense.INJURY REPORTCornerback (calf) was inactive on Sunday night, replaced by rookie, who lost his individual matchup with Sutton in some critical situations. OConnell said Evans likely will be questionable to play against the Bears, along with wide receiver (hamstring). Jefferson has mi sed six straight games. Defensive lineman suffered a season-ending pectoral muscle tear that requires surgery.KEY NUMBER24 The number of fumbles recovered in games by Minnesotas opponents this season. Not only have the Vikings lost 14 of their 21 own fumbles, they have recovered only five of 15 fumbles by the other team.UP NEXTThe Vikings are three lo ses behind NFC North leader Detroit (8-2), damaging their already difficult road to repeating as division champions. They might not be able to afford any more lo ses, even though they play the Lions twice in the last three weeks.With a 6-2 record in conference play, however, the Vikings remain in control of the third wild-card spot. They have one fewer lo s than the next four teams in the NFC standings with a favorable outlook for potential tiebreakers. The Vikings host the Bears Lonzo Ball Jersey (3-8) on Monday night before entering their bye week.Reporting by The A sociated Pre s. FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience Joshua Dobbs Minnesota Vikings National Football League
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