The Minnesota Vikings were given an entire week to study and prepare for a Dallas Cowboys offense led by someone other than Dak Prescott. But, they apparently did no such thing, according to one player.
Following the Vikings' 20-16 primetime loss to the Cowboys on Sunday night at U.S. Bank Stadium, safety Xavier Woods told reporters that the team didn't prepare for Prescott's backup quarterback, Cooper Rush, who threw for 325 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start. Prescott (calf) was ruled inactive less than two hours before gametime.
"What does [Vikings head coach] Mike Zimmer do well now in the year 2021?" Zach Gelb said during Monday's edition of The Zach Gelb Show. "It feels like he's already reached his ceiling as a head coach, reached the better days of being a head coach. And it's time to let him go. I'm not kidding when I say I would've fired him last night after the game...
"I'd fire him. You can't lose that game. You just can't, and he did. And his job is on the hot seat... How you can't outscore Rush is flat-out embarrassing, and it's a putrid performance by the Vikings. Mike Zimmer is done, should be fired today. They'll probably give him the end of the season, but there's no way you can justify bringing him back."
With less than three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, trailing by three, Rush helped orchestrate an eight-play, 75-yard scoring drive, which ended on a five-yard touchdown pass to Amari Cooper in the corner of the end zone. Overall, Rush completed 24 of 40 passes, and became the second Cowboys quarterback to throw for 300-plus yards in his first NFL start.
As for the Vikings, they currently lead the league in games (6) and losses (4) decided by one possession. To make matters worse, their offense produced just 278 total yards of offense against a Cowboys defense that was allowing the second-highest yards-per-play average in the NFL.
Minnesota (3-4) will visit the Baltimore Ravens (5-2) in a Week 9 matchup on Sunday, Nov. 7. According to FiveThirtyEight's projections, the Vikings have a 26-percent chance to reach the playoffs, and just a 4-percent chance to win the NFC North.
Gelb's complete thoughts on Zimmer and the Vikings can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow The Zach Gelb Show on Twitter @ZachGelb and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.