CINCINNATI — The criticism spread like wildfire on social media shortly after the Vikings suffered a 27-24 loss to the Bengals on Saturday afternoon at Paycor Stadium.

Only needing a few inches to convert for a first down, the Vikings dialed up the Tush Push in the biggest moment of the game.

It’s a short yardage play that has caught on across the NFL in part because of how successfully the Philadelphia Eagles have run it with quarterback Jalen Hurts. The logistics feature Hurts taking a snap under center, then falling forward while a few teammates push him from behind. It’s virtually unstoppable if run with the right personnel.

Which plays into the Vikings running the Tush Push against the Bengals. On back-to-back plays in overtime, the Vikings had quarterback Nick Mullens take a snap under center, with receiver Brandon Powell motioning across the formation at the last moment to push him from behind.

The main issue is the fact that Powell and his 5-foot-8, 180-pound frame aren’t exactly designed to move a pile. Why not have fullback C.J. Ham and his 5-foot-11, 250-pound frame do the pushing? Maybe even tight end Josh Oliver his 6-foot-5, 260-pound frame?

Asked about having Powell as the designated pusher, head coach Kevin O’Connell said that the Vikings were trying to keep the Bengals from getting their goal line defense on the field. In other words, O’Connell was worried that if the Vikings subbed more of their bigger guys into the game, the Bengals would follow suit, giving themselves a better chance to get a stop.

“I trust our guys in that moment,” O’Connell said. “I thought we could execute with some interior push right there.”

As for potentially handing the ball to running back Ty Chandler instead in that situation, O’Connell said he thought it made more sense to keep the ball near the line of scrimmage. Essentially, it seemed counterintuitive to hand the ball off in the backfield when they only needed to gain a few inches.

“They were able to stop us,” O’Connell said. “We have to be able to get little bit more than that in that moment.”

Hunter keeps rolling

Though the Vikings collapsed on defense down the stretch against the Bengals, star pass rusher Danielle Hunter still poured in a solid performance. He finished with a pair of sacks, pushing his total to 15 1/2 sacks this seaosn as he continues to dominate.

Not that Hunter cares too much about his individual stats.

“I’m a guy that’s about going out there and doing what I need to do for my teammates,” Hunter said. “It’s not about me. It’s about the team. I’m doing what I can for them.”

Jefferson performs well

After playing a full game for the first time in a couple of months, star receiver Justin Jefferson made it clear how happy he was to contribute.

“It felt great to be out there with my teammates making plays,” Jefferson said. “It’s definitely been a long time coming.”

It was an efficient game for Jefferson as he finished with seven catches for 84 yards while opening up the rest of the field for his teammates.

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