Kevin O'Connell's decisions cost Vikings dearly in loss to the Lions

All week, Vikings players called their visit to Detroit a "hat and shirt game," meaning that if they won, they'd get to wear championship gear.

Their 34-23 loss to the Lions did not earn new clothing for the players, or a diploma and mortarboard for their head coach.

Kevin O'Connell's first season with the Vikings has been a resounding success. His first try at winning a division title resembled a graduate tripping while climbing the stairs to the stage.

On a day when Justin Jefferson set a franchise record with 223 receiving yards and Kirk Cousins threw for 425, O'Connell made a pivotal play call that involved neither.

Late in the first half and trailing by seven points, the Vikings faced first-and-goal from the Lions 3. O'Connell called for running back Dalvin Cook to take a handoff and make a jump pass to tight end Johnny Mundt.

These plays often work. In this instance, Cook looked uncomfortable as he approached the line. Instead of tucking the ball under his arm as he would on a running play, he was holding it away from his body, waiting to throw.

He got hit. He fumbled. Detroit recovered. The Vikings played catch-up the rest of the game.

"We had some interior penetration on the play," O'Connell said. "Ultimately, trying to be aggressive in that moment. We had a play set up and just didn't execute and the ball went the other way. It was a critical, critical error."

Any play call that fails can be second-guessed. Generally, NFL coaches spend so much time assessing their opponent's weaknesses and situational probabilities that second-guesses can be uninformed.

Sometimes, though, NFL coaches spend so much time dreaming and scheming during the week that they lose sight of obvious truths. In this case, the obvious truth was that the Lions couldn't cover Jefferson, Cook had scored easily on a previous goal-line carry, Adam Thielen is a gifted red-zone receiver, and T.J. Hockenson and K.J. Osborn are worthy options.

Instead, O'Connell called for Cook, who had never attempted a pass in the NFL, to throw to a blocking tight end.

This was not the same as a run-first offense like Tennessee's handing the ball to Derrick Henry and knowing that the defense would overreact. Cook was not presenting a threat to the middle of the Lions defense. He would rush for 1.5 yards per carry.

"I'm always going to rely on our guys to make that play and execute in that moment," O'Connell said. "We practiced it quite a bit."

O'Connell might have cost his team points with two other decisions.

The Vikings moved into range for a 64-yard field-goal attempt at the end of the half, but decided to throw the ball instead of attempting a field goal.

This is more of a quibble than a second-guess, but the ease with which modern kickers make long field goals, especially in domed stadiums, might have given O'Connell reason to call on Greg Joseph rather than trying a desperation pass play.

In the third quarter, after Cousins hit Thielen for a touchdown to make it 21-13, O'Connell called for a two-point conversion.

This wasn't merely odd. This was strange. Then O'Connell called for a pass to Thielen along the line of scrimmage, and the conversion failed.

The Cook fumble, the two-point conversion decision and the choice not to try a long field goal could have cost the Vikings up to 11 points.

The Vikings also allowed a 42-yard run on a fake punt against a team known for special-teams surprises.

The decision that might bother O'Connell the most, were he to submit to questioning under oath, might be one he made in February, when he hired defensive coordinator Ed Donatell.

The Vikings defense is currently the worst in the NFL. They have set a franchise record by allowing 400 yards of total offense in five straight games. They have allowed 300 yards passing in all five.

"We've got to take a look at what we can do to help our guys be in position to make more plays," O'Connell said. "Be a little more aggressive, possibly. I think we've got to generate some more rush, however we do it, and then just try to limit the explosives."

O'Connell and Donatell should take the blame for this one.

The Star Tribune did not send the writer of this article to the game. This was written using a broadcast, video of postgame news conferences and other material.