Vikings Hit Rock Bottom

I have some good news and some bad news to share. Let me start with the bad: the Vikings offense has played 7 out of 8 quarters of terrible football so far this season. The offensive line is in shambles and J.J. McCarthy’s accuracy has not been up to NFL standards. The defense gave up way too many rushing yards to Atlanta, on a night where the offense was almost completely stagnant, which led to a very unbalanced game for Minnesota. There were many missed opportunities in Sunday night’s game as well, particularly on offense. One was a pass on third and one that J.J. sailed over the head of Jalen Nailor. Another was a 20-yard run by Jordan Mason that was called back by a holding penalty on left tackle Walter Rouse.

McCarthy was inconsistent with his accuracy during a game where his line wasn’t giving him the protection he needed. Kevin O’Connell has his work cut out for him and I think this loss falls predominantly on his shoulders. We have seen no type of rhythm from this offense, except for one quarter against what appears to be, especially after the 52-21 drubbing against Detroit, a below average to bad Bears team. As a staunch believer in this Minnesota team, I was thoroughly disappointed with the performance against the Atlanta Falcons, who appear to be a strong squad in their own right. The start of 2025 is quite the contrary to how the 2024 campaign started. However, there is a silver lining: we hit rock bottom.

The good news is that, although the Vikings were terrible on Sunday night, it can’t get any worse. (After I wrote my first draft of this piece, we got news that McCarthy is possibly out 2-4 weeks). I am not making excuses by any means. Injuries happen and teams have to find ways to win regardless of who they have on the field. It is not an easy task, but it is something that is expected of professional football teams. There is, what I believe to be, an obvious reason for the lackluster week 2 performance. At the end of the game, the offensive line consisted of Walter Rouse, Donovan Jackson, Michael Jurgens, Will Fries, and Brian O’Neill. That is ONE starter carried over from the 2024 season.

In a previous article, I mentioned that offensive lines take some time to jell but thought that curve would be flattened by the fact that Ryan Kelly and Will Fries had played together for many seasons previously. However, my analysis was flat out wrong, and this offensive line still needs to find its identity as a unit, which is a difficult thing to do when you have two backups and a rookie in for most of the game. The unit’s poor play has to improve, obviously. Christian Darrisaw is a top-5 left tackle in the NFL and the Vikings are desperately missing his awareness, athleticism, and savvy. At one point, I believe it was Mike Tirico that said something along the lines of “it’s like the line doesn’t understand the offense at all.”

I thought the defense played admirably. Giving up over two hundred rushing yards is definitely not ideal. What is ideal, however, is giving up zero touchdowns for the first 56 minutes of the game. This is what a Brian Flores defense looks like when they are solely responsible for keeping Minnesota in the game. The Falcons had five opportunities in the Red Zone and only scored a touchdown on one drive, when the Vikings’ defense was finally gassed and let them walk in to get the ball back. This was, mind you, without difference makers at each level of the defense.

Dallas Turner had a sack but got juked out by Bijan Robinson on a play where he was trying to hold the edge. He did not make the most of his opportunity to start with Van Ginkel out. Gink was a Pro Bowler last season, so him being out was tough for the defense to overcome. We saw last year as well, when Cashman was injured, struggles from the Vikings rushing defense. Hat’s off to Eric Wilson for forcing a fumble from Drake London, but Cashman’s presence was definitely missed. I really hope that our future hall-of-fame safety can make it back for week 3. Number 22, I wish you well and can’t wait to see you back in action!

2024 was a Cinderella season for the Minnesota Vikings. We witnessed an underrated team rip off 14 wins with a journeyman quarterback. There were a couple of injuries throughout the season, which were mostly overcome throughout the year (with the exception of Darrisaw being on the shelf). This year, we won’t be so lucky, and it is already apparent. One thing I will say about J.J.‘s performance. I think his mind was elsewhere on Sunday night. Any father will tell you that when your first born comes into this world, you want to be with them. Having a baby is also a huge life adjustment, especially for a 22-year-old who also has to play NFL football. I know McCarthy isn’t using that as an excuse, but it I think it’s understandable that he maybe wasn’t as sharp as he would have liked to be on Sunday night.

We can only go up from here. (Again, I wrote the bulk of this piece before I went to my 9-5 on Monday morning, so I guess it’s doubly true.) I believe this team will be performing drastically better as the season continues. There are many focuses that will bring success to this team. First, KO and Wes Phillips need to figure out the run game. Jordan Mason needs more opportunities, and I believe he should be the tone setter. Let Mason soften up the defensive line for Aaron Jones. Unfortunately for week three, it looks like Aaron Jones might be on the shelf. If that is the case, we should see a heavy dose of Jordan Mason. Carson Wentz is a battle-tested veteran, and if blocking improves, he could find success against Cincinatti.

This is nothing new to Minnesota. A hallmark of Kevin O’Connell’s tenure as the Minnesota Vikings head coach is finding success with multiple quarterbacks. Since taking the job in 2022, Minnesota has rolled out Kirk Cousins, Jaren Hall, Joshua Dobbs, Nick Mullens, Sam Darnold, J.J. McCarthy, and soon Carson Wentz as the starting quarterback, in the past three years. After the painful loss to Atlanta, it seems McCarthy’s sprained ankle may be a blessing in disguise. Volatility at a position that benefits significantly from stability would be a hinderance to most teams in the NFL and it has been a problem with this team as well. Maybe some veteran play is exactly what this offense needs to get going. I am a huge advocate of J.J. McCarthy, but he might not be ready. He might still need time to develop. I was looking forward to how he would respond to a lackluster week two performance, but we may have to wait for that.

Lastly, I will leave you with a hypothetical thought exercise. Let’s think back to the 2017 season. Teddy Bridgewater has a career threatening leg injury just before the season begins. Minnesota trades a first and fourth round pick to Philadelphia for Sam Bradford, who subsequently starts two games before getting injured. Enter Case Keenum, who leads the Vikings to the playoffs, through the Minneapolis Miracle, and into a waiting Eagles team that demolished us in the Championship Game. On the other side, Carson Wentz is having an MVP caliber season, which is cut short by a devastating knee injury. Enter Nick Foles, journeyman quarterback who finishes the season and leads the Eagles to their first ever Super Bowl. Now, in 2025, Carson Wentz has the chance to do the craziest thing. The parallels to 2017 are evident. I’ll just leave it at that.

Until Next Time.

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