Mike Zimmer defends Vikings' play-calling in loss to Cowboys

On Monday afternoon Vikings coach Mike Zimmer pushed back against the notion offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak wasn't aggressive enough with downfield shots in a 20-16 loss to the Cowboys on Sunday night, saying, "it's just sometimes they're not working."

Zimmer pointed to pressure on quarterback Kirk Cousins as a big reason why. So he was asked whether they ran the ball enough with 39 dropbacks to 21 handoffs in a close game. Running back Dalvin Cook had 18 carries for 78 yards.

"We kind of got away [from the run] on a couple of series," Zimmer said. "We were trying to be aggressive in some of the parts there. I think we threw the ball [seven] straight times in the second half and went three-and-out three times. We have to be able to run the football. We've got to get the ball to Dalvin, and we've got to try to get the ball to Jefferson and Thielen."

Another trend the Vikings need to reverse is starting slow in the second half. The offense hasn't had a drive longer than four plays to open the third quarter since Week 3 against Seattle. It's part of why Minnesota ranks 28th in second-half scoring through seven games. And it's a message players have heard from coaches for the past four weeks.

"We've been harping on coming out of the second half and starting fast," Cook said. "That's something we're still working on."

'That's my fault'

Zimmer said burning 19 seconds and a timeout during a botched two-minute drill before halftime of Sunday night's loss was on him. He didn't call a timeout while the clock ticked from 24 seconds down to five seconds remaining in the second quarter. Cousins said Zimmer "handles the timeouts," as he also didn't call one while trying to set up rookie receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette for a play.

"That's my fault," Zimmer said. "That was a miscommunication. He has the ability [to call timeout], but that was a miscommunication. I won't get into it, but that was a miscommunication. We were trying to get on the ball and the receiver lined up wrong and took too much time."

Zimmer also took the blame for trying to call back-to-back timeouts that led to defensive delay of game penalty late in the fourth quarter. That turned a third-and-16 into a third-and-11 that the Cowboys converted. They scored the winning touchdown on the next play.

"I screwed up," he said Sunday night. "I forgot that I called one. I knew the play that they were running, it was really the same play they hit down the middle against us for a long touchdown. And somebody said, 'Call timeout,' and I did. The official wasn't supposed to grant it. It's not his fault."