AP

While the Vikings have appeared rudderless at quarterback all year, the guys on the other side of the ball who give the team a chance are now wondering about their leadership.

According to Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, a number of players were dismayed at the lack of pressure they put on Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo down the stretch as they lost late.

“There’s some things that are going on internally that are not allowing us to close out games,” defensive end Brian Robison said.

After hassling Romo throughout the game, he picked the Vikings apart in the final three minutes. During that span, coordinator Alan Williams had defensive linemen were dropping into coverage rather than rushing, and that seemed to confuse the guys who had been doing good work earlier.

“I think we could have been in better situations at the end of the game,” defensive tackle Kevin Williams added.

There were also comments about offensive play-calling, but given the mess at quarterback at the moment, it’s harder to specify individual problems there. But the Vikings have enough players in the front seven to give themselves a chance each week, and that’s what happened for most of Sunday.

There are players who grumble and moan and it’s easy to brush their complaints aside as part of the game. But neither Williams nor Robison is known as a crank, and their complaints point to legitimate issues.