Vikings don't blame refs for Thursday's loss, and other sports news
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold reacts after being sacked for a safety by Los Angeles Rams linebacker Byron Young (not shown) during the second half of an NFL football game, on Oct. 24 in Inglewood, Calif.
Mark J. Terrill | AP
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The Vikings are not blaming referees for their recent loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Fans were outraged when the refs did not call a facemask penalty, and the Rams secured their lead.
Los Angeles ended up winning 30 to 20. But quarterback Sam Darnold and coach Kevin O'Connell said the Vikings had other problems in that game.
Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk Vikings and other Minnesota sports news.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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Audio transcript
NINA MOINI: The Vikings are not blaming referees for their recent loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Fans, though, were outraged when the refs did not call a face mask penalty and then the Rams secured their lead. LA ended up winning 30 to 20, but quarterback Sam Darnold and Coach Kevin O'Connell said the Vikings had other problems in that game. So joining me now to catch up on all of this in the latest Minnesota sports news are Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson. Thanks for being here, guys.
ERIC NELSON: Hey, Nina.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: How are you today?
ERIC NELSON: Happy Monday.
NINA MOINI: Thank you. I'm doing well. I'm excited to talk about all of this with you. So let's start with the Vikings, then, Wally. So what happened with that face mask call situation Thursday?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, the fans aren't wrong. I mean, clearly the official missed the call. It was obvious. Replay showed it. I mean, I even saw a snapshot of an official who said that he didn't have a clear view, but he had a perfect view of what happened. I don't know why he swallowed the whistle in that case. That's a great point. But I will say this, and I think Coach O'Connell and Sam Darnold are right, it didn't cost the Vikings the game.
They didn't lose because of that, but it cost them an opportunity. They would have had an opportunity to perhaps come back and tie the game had that penalty been called. But let's not forget, they still would have had to go another 80 yards. And that would just be to tie the game potentially with a 2 point conversion. So it didn't happen. And yeah, it was a horrible call or a horrible missed call, if you will, by an official. But let's not kid ourselves, it's not why they lost the game. It just cost them an opportunity to perhaps come back and tie it.
And let's not forget, they didn't have much success stopping the Rams. So the Rams, had they gotten the ball back, they might have won the game anyway. So I guess I'm just going to side on the-- go on the side of being cautious about saying that the officials cost them the game. Bad call, but I'm not sure it cost them the game.
Now flip side of that, the Vikings play again this Sunday. They're at home Sunday night against the Colts. Colts are 4 and 4 on the season Colts lost yesterday to Houston. So they do get a prime time game again, this time on NBC. And the other teams in the division yesterday, the Packers and the Lions both won, and the Bears lost on a Hail Mary at the end of the game, which, by the way, the Hail Mary, that started-- that term started in Bloomington, Minnesota, back in 1975.
NINA MOINI: I didn't know that.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Yes, when the Dallas Cowboys beat the Vikings on what is now termed a Hail Mary, quarterback Roger Staubach threw up just a real high fly ball that Drew Pearson pushed Nate Wright, caught the ball, and went into the end zone for the win for Dallas. And if you talk to some of the former Viking players, they will tell you that that might have been one of their best teams that never made it to the Super Bowl. So there you go.
NINA MOINI: A little bit of sports history. I love it. So, OK, now when very hard-hitting NFL news. Finally something I feel like really directly appeals to me. The Athletic reports the League is a huge consumer of Uncrustables, which also have a Minnesota connection. Did you see that story, Eric? I had an Uncrustable today.
ERIC NELSON: Absolutely, Nina. I'm going to have to after we do these sports segments. And I first tasted one, I was at a Los Angeles Kings game in downtown LA a few years ago and they had it in the media room. I'd never seen it. I said, I'll try this. And I tasted it and I said, wow, that's pretty good. Came back to Minnesota, started buying Uncrustables. But The Athletic did an in-depth story on Uncrustables. So two guys, Len Kretchman and Dave Geske had this novel idea, let's make a sandwich without the crust.
Now, of course, Smucker's pumps the stuff out regularly to stores all across the nation. By the way, Kretchman was a wide receiver at North Dakota State and he's from Fergus Falls, Minnesota. So in the survey conducted by The Athletic, NFL teams devour at least 80,000 Uncrustables a year. The Denver Broncos are on top of the list. They consume an average of 700 a week. Seattle is second with 320, Jacksonville, 315. Now Minnesota's a bit down the list at 200. So maybe Coach Kevin O'Connell and the Vikings want to eat some more Uncrustables this week before they play the Indianapolis Colts in that Sunday night game that Wally mentioned.
NINA MOINI: Sounds like they might need the protein. I don't know why. Is it the-- so they're just like peanut butter and jelly for anyone who doesn't know, like little sandwiches without a crust. They're pretty tiny. Maybe that's why they're eating so many. But yeah.
ERIC NELSON: They're easy to eat and you can-- and there is a quick burst of protein. And I think they're tasty. And by the way, Nina, I like grape Uncrustables better than strawberry just so you know.
NINA MOINI: Controversial. Controversial opinions. All right. Well, let's move along to the Gophers, who had a big weekend, beating Maryland at homecoming, 48 to 23 on Saturday. Eric, how strong is Minnesota looking at this point in the season?
ERIC NELSON: Well, the Gophers are clearly trending up. They had their most explosive offensive effort of the season in that win over Maryland, 48 to 23. The quarterback, Max Brosmer threw a season high four touchdown passes, two to Daniel Jackson, two to Elijah Spencer, Darius Taylor, the outstanding running back, had 81 yards on the ground, including a 51 yard touchdown sprint. He had five catches for 34 yards. Justin Walley on the defensive side had a pick 6, taking an interception 29 yards for a score.
The Minnesota Gophers have now won three in a row, USC, UCLA, and Maryland. They're 5 and 3. But it's going to be a difficult assignment. Saturday at 11:00 AM in Champaign, Illinois. They take on the 24th ranked Illini who are 6 and 2, and they lost this past week to top ranked Oregon.
But here's the real kicker. Illinois head coach Bret Bielema is 10 and 0 all-time against the U of M. When he sees maroon and gold, he gets angry. And that goes back to his days as a player with Iowa. So he was 3 and 0 when he has coached Illinois against Minnesota so far, 7 and 0 when he used to coach at Wisconsin against the Gophers. Last season, Illinois squeaked past Minnesota 27-26 in Minneapolis. So the goal is simple, find a way to beat Bret Bielema. But it won't be easy. Illinois is a solid team.
NINA MOINI: OK, well, I want to make sure we get to at the high school level. There's just over a week left before the state football tournament. So who are the teams you're watching, Wally?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, there's a huge game this Friday in Class 6A. These are now the teams, the eight teams that win this week move on to the state quarterfinals, which begin next week, as you accurately pointed out. So on Friday, Maple Grove, number one in the state, they are a top seed. They're unbeaten. They will host perennial power Eden Prairie. That is on Friday night. And, of course, Eden Prairie made it to the state semifinals last year. They have won a boatload of state championships. They're down a little bit this year, but never count Eden Praire. Maple Grove knows that very well.
Another big game on Friday night, and this one has a connection to Eric. His son playing for Champlin Park.
NINA MOINI: Awesome.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Number one seed Lakeville North is hosting Champlin Park. That too is on Friday. And Lakeville North has also just lost one game this year. So the rebels are going to have their hands full. In class 5A, unbeaten Armstrong will take on once beaten Cooper in an inter-district 281 battle. Armstrong won that game between the two Robbinsdale schools earlier this year. They beat them in a regular season game back in September at Cooper. So some games to keep your eye on this Friday. And these are the games the winners this Friday all move to the state quarterfinals, which, as you pointed out, begin next week.
NINA MOINI: All right. I picture Eric just downing Uncrustables from the bleachers. We'll see.
ERIC NELSON: Yes. And my son, Preston, likes them too, so I'm hoping that gives Champlin Park a boost.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: There you go.
NINA MOINI: Well, I wish we had more time, but I want to thank you guys so much. I hope you have a great week.
ERIC NELSON: Thanks, Nina.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Thanks, Nina.
NINA MOINI: All right. Wally Langfellow, the founder of Minnesota Score Sports Magazine and co-host of the sports talk show 10,000 Takes. Eric Nelson is the other host of that show, and Minnesota Vikings NFL reporter for CBS's Eye On Football and SiriusXM. Thank you so much for tuning in to Minnesota Now this afternoon. I'm Nina Moini, in for Cathy Wurzer. We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need. And as always, if you miss something, you can head to mprnews.org, check it out, take a closer listen. Or you can search Minnesota Now wherever you get your podcasts and take a listen there. Have a great rest of your day.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
ERIC NELSON: Hey, Nina.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: How are you today?
ERIC NELSON: Happy Monday.
NINA MOINI: Thank you. I'm doing well. I'm excited to talk about all of this with you. So let's start with the Vikings, then, Wally. So what happened with that face mask call situation Thursday?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, the fans aren't wrong. I mean, clearly the official missed the call. It was obvious. Replay showed it. I mean, I even saw a snapshot of an official who said that he didn't have a clear view, but he had a perfect view of what happened. I don't know why he swallowed the whistle in that case. That's a great point. But I will say this, and I think Coach O'Connell and Sam Darnold are right, it didn't cost the Vikings the game.
They didn't lose because of that, but it cost them an opportunity. They would have had an opportunity to perhaps come back and tie the game had that penalty been called. But let's not forget, they still would have had to go another 80 yards. And that would just be to tie the game potentially with a 2 point conversion. So it didn't happen. And yeah, it was a horrible call or a horrible missed call, if you will, by an official. But let's not kid ourselves, it's not why they lost the game. It just cost them an opportunity to perhaps come back and tie it.
And let's not forget, they didn't have much success stopping the Rams. So the Rams, had they gotten the ball back, they might have won the game anyway. So I guess I'm just going to side on the-- go on the side of being cautious about saying that the officials cost them the game. Bad call, but I'm not sure it cost them the game.
Now flip side of that, the Vikings play again this Sunday. They're at home Sunday night against the Colts. Colts are 4 and 4 on the season Colts lost yesterday to Houston. So they do get a prime time game again, this time on NBC. And the other teams in the division yesterday, the Packers and the Lions both won, and the Bears lost on a Hail Mary at the end of the game, which, by the way, the Hail Mary, that started-- that term started in Bloomington, Minnesota, back in 1975.
NINA MOINI: I didn't know that.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Yes, when the Dallas Cowboys beat the Vikings on what is now termed a Hail Mary, quarterback Roger Staubach threw up just a real high fly ball that Drew Pearson pushed Nate Wright, caught the ball, and went into the end zone for the win for Dallas. And if you talk to some of the former Viking players, they will tell you that that might have been one of their best teams that never made it to the Super Bowl. So there you go.
NINA MOINI: A little bit of sports history. I love it. So, OK, now when very hard-hitting NFL news. Finally something I feel like really directly appeals to me. The Athletic reports the League is a huge consumer of Uncrustables, which also have a Minnesota connection. Did you see that story, Eric? I had an Uncrustable today.
ERIC NELSON: Absolutely, Nina. I'm going to have to after we do these sports segments. And I first tasted one, I was at a Los Angeles Kings game in downtown LA a few years ago and they had it in the media room. I'd never seen it. I said, I'll try this. And I tasted it and I said, wow, that's pretty good. Came back to Minnesota, started buying Uncrustables. But The Athletic did an in-depth story on Uncrustables. So two guys, Len Kretchman and Dave Geske had this novel idea, let's make a sandwich without the crust.
Now, of course, Smucker's pumps the stuff out regularly to stores all across the nation. By the way, Kretchman was a wide receiver at North Dakota State and he's from Fergus Falls, Minnesota. So in the survey conducted by The Athletic, NFL teams devour at least 80,000 Uncrustables a year. The Denver Broncos are on top of the list. They consume an average of 700 a week. Seattle is second with 320, Jacksonville, 315. Now Minnesota's a bit down the list at 200. So maybe Coach Kevin O'Connell and the Vikings want to eat some more Uncrustables this week before they play the Indianapolis Colts in that Sunday night game that Wally mentioned.
NINA MOINI: Sounds like they might need the protein. I don't know why. Is it the-- so they're just like peanut butter and jelly for anyone who doesn't know, like little sandwiches without a crust. They're pretty tiny. Maybe that's why they're eating so many. But yeah.
ERIC NELSON: They're easy to eat and you can-- and there is a quick burst of protein. And I think they're tasty. And by the way, Nina, I like grape Uncrustables better than strawberry just so you know.
NINA MOINI: Controversial. Controversial opinions. All right. Well, let's move along to the Gophers, who had a big weekend, beating Maryland at homecoming, 48 to 23 on Saturday. Eric, how strong is Minnesota looking at this point in the season?
ERIC NELSON: Well, the Gophers are clearly trending up. They had their most explosive offensive effort of the season in that win over Maryland, 48 to 23. The quarterback, Max Brosmer threw a season high four touchdown passes, two to Daniel Jackson, two to Elijah Spencer, Darius Taylor, the outstanding running back, had 81 yards on the ground, including a 51 yard touchdown sprint. He had five catches for 34 yards. Justin Walley on the defensive side had a pick 6, taking an interception 29 yards for a score.
The Minnesota Gophers have now won three in a row, USC, UCLA, and Maryland. They're 5 and 3. But it's going to be a difficult assignment. Saturday at 11:00 AM in Champaign, Illinois. They take on the 24th ranked Illini who are 6 and 2, and they lost this past week to top ranked Oregon.
But here's the real kicker. Illinois head coach Bret Bielema is 10 and 0 all-time against the U of M. When he sees maroon and gold, he gets angry. And that goes back to his days as a player with Iowa. So he was 3 and 0 when he has coached Illinois against Minnesota so far, 7 and 0 when he used to coach at Wisconsin against the Gophers. Last season, Illinois squeaked past Minnesota 27-26 in Minneapolis. So the goal is simple, find a way to beat Bret Bielema. But it won't be easy. Illinois is a solid team.
NINA MOINI: OK, well, I want to make sure we get to at the high school level. There's just over a week left before the state football tournament. So who are the teams you're watching, Wally?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, there's a huge game this Friday in Class 6A. These are now the teams, the eight teams that win this week move on to the state quarterfinals, which begin next week, as you accurately pointed out. So on Friday, Maple Grove, number one in the state, they are a top seed. They're unbeaten. They will host perennial power Eden Prairie. That is on Friday night. And, of course, Eden Prairie made it to the state semifinals last year. They have won a boatload of state championships. They're down a little bit this year, but never count Eden Praire. Maple Grove knows that very well.
Another big game on Friday night, and this one has a connection to Eric. His son playing for Champlin Park.
NINA MOINI: Awesome.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Number one seed Lakeville North is hosting Champlin Park. That too is on Friday. And Lakeville North has also just lost one game this year. So the rebels are going to have their hands full. In class 5A, unbeaten Armstrong will take on once beaten Cooper in an inter-district 281 battle. Armstrong won that game between the two Robbinsdale schools earlier this year. They beat them in a regular season game back in September at Cooper. So some games to keep your eye on this Friday. And these are the games the winners this Friday all move to the state quarterfinals, which, as you pointed out, begin next week.
NINA MOINI: All right. I picture Eric just downing Uncrustables from the bleachers. We'll see.
ERIC NELSON: Yes. And my son, Preston, likes them too, so I'm hoping that gives Champlin Park a boost.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: There you go.
NINA MOINI: Well, I wish we had more time, but I want to thank you guys so much. I hope you have a great week.
ERIC NELSON: Thanks, Nina.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Thanks, Nina.
NINA MOINI: All right. Wally Langfellow, the founder of Minnesota Score Sports Magazine and co-host of the sports talk show 10,000 Takes. Eric Nelson is the other host of that show, and Minnesota Vikings NFL reporter for CBS's Eye On Football and SiriusXM. Thank you so much for tuning in to Minnesota Now this afternoon. I'm Nina Moini, in for Cathy Wurzer. We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need. And as always, if you miss something, you can head to mprnews.org, check it out, take a closer listen. Or you can search Minnesota Now wherever you get your podcasts and take a listen there. Have a great rest of your day.
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