The Vikings are on a slippery track with a series of late-game slides

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Vikings have stumbled down the stretch of this most unpredictable — even by NFL standards — season.

Their recent defeats have mirrored the bigger picture, with multiple failures in favorable situations to close the deal.

After all those clutch late-game plays last season, some narrow losses seemed inevitable for these Vikings. That hasn't made it any easier for them to stomach, or to excuse.

“We feel like every time we lose it’s self-inflicted,” wide receiver Justin Jefferson said after the 27-24 overtime decision in Cincinnati. “It’s not something we’re getting physically out-beat on, so we just need to fix the few things we need to fix on offense, defense and special teams.”

Most clubs in the league could earnestly and accurately draw the same conclusion in defeat, considering how close the standings have been in the salary cap era. Sure enough, despite losing three of their past four games, the Vikings (7-7) remain in control of the second wild-card spot in the NFC.

They can realistically defend their division title, too, by winning each of their last three games — two against NFC North leader Detroit — and the Lions losing Dec. 30 at Dallas. They could have made this process much less stressful, though.

The Vikings were ahead after the two-minute warning Nov. 19 at Denver, Nov. 27 against Chicago and Saturday at Cincinnati and lost all three times by a total of six points.

“Putting ourselves in position to win the football game, but just unable to finish,” coach Kevin O'Connell said Monday, still sounding downcast two days after the loss to the Bengals.

The season-long trend of turnovers is the simplest explanation, whether squandering scoring chances early or ruining rallies late. Despite two costly interceptions in Cincinnati, Nick Mullens will start again at quarterback this week against the Lions.

He's the most experienced in Minnesota's offense and the most polished option on the roster with Kirk Cousins on the mend. He went 26 for 33 for 303 yards and two touchdowns against the Bengals, turnovers notwithstanding. The fact that O'Connell made the announcement Monday speaks to the true one-week-at-a-time mode the Vikings have been since the October injuries to Jefferson and Cousins.

“With another good week of preparation and building upon the positive things he did last Saturday, my expectation is Nick is going to go out and play really well for us this weekend,” O'Connell said.

WHAT'S WORKING

Ty Chandler had a career-high 132 rushing yards and a touchdown on 23 carries, plus four receptions for 25 yards in Cincinnati. The presence of Joshua Dobbs at quarterback in the previous four games helped create more room to run, and Dobbs brought his own ability to move the ball with his feet. Keeping the ground game going with Mullens behind center was a promising sign.

Chandler moved into the lead role with Alexander Mattison sidelined by a sprained ankle, a job he might not give back once Mattison is cleared to play.

“Ty is absolutely a guy that is going to continue to see a feature role in our offense. What that looks like moving forward as far as who gets the first touch of the game and all those things, we’ll continue to work through,” O'Connell said.

WHAT NEEDS HELP

The defense has been awfully difficult to criticize for the past three months. Three fourth-quarter touchdowns allowed to the Bengals — after 11 straight quarters without letting the opponent reach the end zone — raised a concern. All three scores came on drives that netted at least 74 yards.

STOCK UP

Jordan Addison bounced back from a rocky stretch with six receptions for 111 yards and two touchdowns on six targets in Cincinnati.

STOCK DOWN

Left tackle Christian Darrisaw, who has blossomed into one of the league's best players at his position, had two false start penalties and a crucial sack surrendered in the second half. The first flag came on second-and-1 from the Cincinnati 18, and the Vikings settled for a field goal two plays later. With 39 seconds and three timeouts left after the Bengals tied the game late in regulation, Darrisaw allowed Trey Hendrickson to bull-rush by him to take down Mullens and effectively force overtime.

INJURY REPORT

Right tackle Brian O'Neill was also held out against the Bengals because of a sprained ankle. Backup wide receiver Jalen Nailor was also inactive with a concussion. Defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard left the game with an ankle injury. O'Connell left the door open for them to return against the Lions. He sounded more cautious than optimistic about Mattison and O'Neill.

Linebacker Jordan Hicks, whose severely bruised shin sent him to the hospital last month, will return to practice Wednesday and have up to three weeks of ramp-up time before returning to the active roster.

KEY NUMBER — 2,225. That's the number of days between 300-yard passing performances for a Vikings quarterback not named Cousins. Case Keenum was the last one to hit the mark before Mullens, at Washington on Nov. 12, 2017 with Cousins on the other team.

UP NEXT

The Vikings put themselves on solid tiebreaker footing with a 6-3 record in NFC play and wins over wild-card competitors New Orleans (7-7), Atlanta (6-8) and Green Bay (6-8). They can likely afford one more loss and still make the playoffs without help elsewhere.