What Were They Thinking: Vikings kick the game away; Mike Pettine never learns

What Were They Thinking is a weekly post where you get to relive the foolish decisions from the week in the NFL. Enjoy the insanity. 

Vikings waste opportunity for an onside kick

The Minnesota Vikings were holding their own against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, until head coach Mike Zimmer got involved. 

After Teddy Bridgewater hit receiver Charles Johnson for a two-point conversion to make it 24-21 Packers with a little more than three minutes to play, the Vikings had a golden opportunity for an onside kick. 

The Packers were called for roughing the passer on the conversion, giving Minnesota the opportunity to kick off from midfield. That's the perfect position for an onside kick because, if you recover, you're almost already in field-goal range. If you don't recover the kick, Green Bay still starts on its own side of the field. 

Instead, Blair Walsh inexplicably booted one through the end zone for a touchback. At the very least, why not pooch kick it and see if you can pin the Packers deep?

Either way, Minnesota had everything to gain by trying something adventurous on the kickoff. With only two timeouts left, the Vikings didn't need to worry about giving the Packers good field position if they failed to recover. Green Bay wasn't worried about scoring points, but rather picking up a couple of first downs and running out the clock. 

Lo and behold, that's just what the Packers did and the Vikings never saw the ball again. A recovered onside kick could have put them in position for a huge upset. They should have at least given it a shot. At 4-6, what did they have to lose?

Browns make the same mistake twice in a row

The Cleveland Browns pulled off an impressive road win Sunday over the Atlanta Falcons, in spite of a huge blunder late in the first half. 

With three seconds to go, Billy Cundiff lined up for a 60-yard field goal and promptly left it short, where it fell into the waiting arms of Devin Hester. Unless you've been living under a rock, you know Hester is arguably the greatest return man of all time and can be very dangerous returning missed field goals. 

However, the Browns were temporarily bailed out by Falcons head coach Mike Smith, who called timeout to ice Cundiff. Instead of realizing Cundiff didn't have the leg for a kick of that length, and coming back with a Hail Mary, Cleveland coach Mike Pettine opted for another field-goal try. 

Wouldn't you know it? Cundiff's kick was again short and this happened. 

If not for the hustle of offensive lineman Joel Bitonio, the Browns would have conceded a touchdown before halftime. Pettine has to realize field-goal units are especially vulnerable to return touchdowns, since hardly anyone on the filed is used to covering kicks. 

Detroit gets conservative

The New England Patriots were averaging 45 points in their previous three contests heading into Sunday's game versus Detroit, but apparently the Lions missed the memo. 

As opposed to staying aggressive in order to put up points themselves, the Lions and head coach Jim Caldwell foolishly leaned on their punter early in the second quarter. With Detroit down 14-6, they faced a fourth-and-3 at the New England 39-yard line. It was too far for a field goal, but a great spot to go for it. 

Instead, boom went the punt and the Patriots quickly marched the ball downfield for a touchdown. The Lions only managed another three points the rest of the game. 

It was no time to get conservative against an opponent that is putting up points at a furious pace. Of course, if the fourth-and-3 was deep in Lions territory, then yes, you certainly punt that early in the game. But at the New England 39, it's well worth the risk. 

No one expected Caldwell to outcoach Bill Belichick in this one, but he didn't have to make it so easy on him. When you are facing arguably the best coach ever, it's probably best to go out swinging rather than leave the bat on your shoulder. 

Raiders earn first win despite themselves

It's actions like this that lay the foundation for this post every Monday. So thank you, Raiders.

As the Raiders were closing in on their first win of the season, a sack of Alex Smith prompted an ill-timed celebration from Sio Moore and Khalil Mack. 

If not for Justin Tuck, who wisely called a timeout, the Raiders would have been flagged for offside on a fourth-and-13 and given Smith a much better opportunity to pick up a first down. The Raiders dodged a bullet and, against all odds, are now 1-10. 

It's easy to point a finger at Moore and Mack and tell them to act like they've been there before, but, the truth is, they really haven't.