Another win under our belts, the Minnesota Vikings go into their bye week comfortably leading the NFC North at 5–0. In the last SKOL from the Sofa before the break, content editor Tom Parry-Jones takes a look back at what got us our latest W.
In one of the most bizarre starts to a season in living memory, the Minnesota Vikings are 5–0 despite taking until this week for the offense to really get into gear. A pair of offensive touchdowns, a composed performance from Kyler Murray and another 100-yard game for Aaron Jones went hand-in-hand with another dominant display from the defense to give the Vikings their first double-digit win on the road since November 2024.
The Norsemen go into their bye now with two weeks to prepare for a home game against the Colts. That’ll give injured players a chance to recuperate for a long post-bye stretch, as well as giving Kevin O’Connell more time to figure out how best to use Kyler Murray’s skill set.
What’s the big picture after beating the Saints?
First of all, we’re unbeaten so far this season. We’re top of the division, top of the conference, and with the Chiefs on a bye this week, top of the NFL. We can’t forget we’re only a quarter of the way through the season and playoff seeds aren’t decided midway through October, but it’s a good place to be knowing that there are still major shortcomings yet to be fixed.
But first the positives: Aaron Jones notched his second 100-yard game of the season, tying a career-high number of carries with 25. It’s really great to see him shouldering the burden in the running game while Jordan Mason is out, and more importantly coming through it largely unscathed. Mason is expected to return against the Colts after the bye, which will give the Vikings an opportunity to rest Jones and also ease Mason back into the RB rotation.
Are you receiving me?
Justin Jefferson put up good numbers in the receiving game, and his touchdown catch in triple-coverage proved yet again exactly why he’s the best receiver in the NFL. With Jordan Addison out, though, the Vikings needed some other guys to step up and not allow the Saints defense to focus entirely on Jettas.
In all, the Vikings had 10 different players complete catches on the day, most notably TE Gavin Bartholomew, who was thrust into the limelight after T. J. Hockenson left the game with a concussion on the second play from scrimmage and went on to finish second in receiving yards.
Tai Felton had a big catch early on, but the receiving corps really showed its depth when Kyler Murray hit Jeshaun Jones for 32 yards on the first play after the Saints tied it up at the end of the third quarter. It was a real statement of intent from O’Connell and Murray to go deep after giving up a momentum-shifting score. It also showed KOC’s trust in Jones, who he activated ahead of veteran Odell Beckham Jr on the day.
Putting it on the line
At the risk of this turning into a gush-fest, the offensive line also shone on Sunday. In addition to providing the platform for Aaron Jones’ rushing performance, they protected Kyler Murray well, only allowing two sacks, both in the first half. Not bad considering the entire left side was populated by backups and RT Brian O’Neill was nursing a knee injury.
On the rare occasions that the protections did break down, Murray was often able to escape the pocket and scramble for positive yardage. He did that twice on third down in the third quarter. He’s starting to look comfortable with the ball in his hands, and that’s largely down to the guys in front of him giving him a good platform to work from.
Wait, aren’t you going to talk about the defense?
Yes, I suppose I ought to, but where exactly does one start? Byron Murphy was the statistical leader with two interceptions, and Gink picked up his fourth sack of the season, but this was about as much of a team effort as you’re ever likely to see.
Tyler Shough completed 64% of his passes but the Saints only managed 87 net yards through the air, compared to an average of 278.5 yards per game going into Sunday. The Vikings also stuffed their run game with 55 total yards, and they only managed 2-of-10 on third down.
The thing about this Vikings defense is that you don’t know where the next threat is going to come from, but you know it’s always there, especially when Brian Flores throws blitzes on 90% of defensive snaps.
Ouch, my fumblitis!
Okay, now for the negatives. All told, the Vikings dominated this game with 2.5x the Saints’ total offensive yards and double their time of possession. If anything, a 10-point margin of victory flattered the Saints, whose only scores came after Viking fumbles.
The first was a punch-out on Aaron Jones in the Saints red zone just as the Vikings looked like capitalising on an 11-play drive with their first offensive touchdown in over 100 minutes of football. Instead, the Saints drove 15 plays back the other way to complete a 14-point swing; it was their only drive of more than seven plays all game, and saw them convert on fourth down twice. I dread to think what kind of tongue-lashing Brian Flores gave his defense after that.
The other fumble saw the Saints bypass the Minnesota defense entirely, taking it back 87 yards to tie the game at 13–13, but as mentioned earlier, the Vikings responded perfectly, going deep to Jeshaun Jones on the first play of the ensuing drive, before a big gain by Aaron Jones to get into the red zone. Four plays later, the running back barrelled into in the end zone to cap a fine performance.
What’s next?
There were genuinely very few negatives to take from this game, although I’m sure KOC will have the offense running a few ball-handling drills to try to wipe out those fumbles.
They’ve got two weeks now to get ready for the Colts on October 25th, not to mention a 12-game stretch leading up to the end of the regular season. A mini-bye after Thursday Night Football against the Patriots on December 10th will be their only respite.
This break will see Jordan Mason return from injured reserve after a month out following thumb surgery, and Christian Darrisaw should hopefully recover from his concussion in time to face the Colts.
There’s a key divisional game at the Lions a week later that could prove to be our toughest test so far, but that’s a problem for November. Until then, we’re 5–0 and we have plenty of reasons to be cheerful. See you in two weeks, Vikings fans!
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