Alan Williams backs Vikes' defensive play calls in loss

Minnesota Vikings defensive players Brian Robison and Kevin Williamsopenly questioned the play-calling at the end of Sunday's loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

While coach Leslie Frazier prefers the team keeps those thoughts in-house, defensive coordinator Alan Williams has no problems with his players questioning his calls, and he defended his decision to rush just three players.

"That whole series, we don't want to give up big chunks like that," Williams said, per the St. Paul Pioneer Press. "The defense is not designed to give up big chunks. We still have some execution to do to get better. The guys are playing incredibly hard. We just have to continue to execute better."

Williams explained that he didn't bring the rush on the key series because he was concerned about the Cowboys' screen game. He also wanted to provide more help for the Vikings' banged-up secondary.

While the reasons might be valid, the results were unsatisfactory.

It wasn't a one-time collapse for Williams' group, either. The 1-7 Vikings have given up three game-winning touchdowns in the final minute this season (Chicago Bears in Week 2, the Cleveland Browns in Week 3 and now the Cowboys).

Coaches can give reasons for their decisions, then blame the execution when those decisions don't pay off, but three times is a trend. It falls on Williams to make the corrections.

The "Around The League Podcast" recapped every Week 9 game. Click here to listen and subscribe.