The Minnesota Vikings suffered their first defeat of the season on Sunday, falling to their division rivals, the Detroit Lions. In the latest SKOL from the Sofa, content writer Jonathan Pye looks back at the loss and examines the cracks the Vikings’ unbeaten start was papering over.
This week 8 clash was when the kryptonite finally hit. The Minnesota Vikings put on a cowardly performance on offense and their defense, who spent so much time on the field, particularly in the first half, couldn’t save the day.
The 19–15 scoreline looks closer than the game actually was in reality, albeit it was a game the Vikings still should have and could have won. By the end of the game, the 31st-ranked defense in Detroit were down five starters and yet the Vikings and Kevin O’Connell’s unit still couldn’t unleash the dagger and kill the game off.
Putrid offense continues to stall
The Minnesota Vikings offense is boom or bust. The offense had 266 yards of total offense on the day, but 158 of those yards came on the two touchdown drives. The Vikings failed to capitalise on one of the worst defenses in the league that was giving up almost 30 points a game before they faced the Packers last week.
Justin Jefferson was finally showing signs of frustration after the failed third-down conversion on the final drive. Not even his heroics on the 1-yard touchdown catch could save the day today. Jefferson continues to be poorly targeted and only being given slim opportunities to remind everyone why he’s the best receiver in the league, and why he has the most receiving yards since he was drafted in 2020.
Today’s game was another where the playcalling was ineffective. At times the run was abandoned, most notably after the James Pierre interception, which was a potential springboard for the Vikings to go into half time 14–3 up; instead it was followed up with back-to-back sacks on Kyler Murray.
Then there was the case of the last drive when the Lions were down five starters and the Vikings decided to run the ball on 2nd-and-6. Kyler Murray had an off day and there’s an argument that Carson Wentz should have been brought in. Not including the brutal sacks, the interception was an awful overthrow and it can be argued that even J. J. McCarthy last year was bringing more to the position.
Kevin O’Connell’s worst decision of the day came when he decided to punt with three minutes remaining and give the ball back to the Lions hot-hand offense that had over 200 rushing yards in the second half. A weak and embarrassing call.
Vikings defense ran out of gas
By the midway point of the third quarter, the Vikings defense was out of energy. They were getting no rest from their offense. The one thing that the offense had done well this season was dominate the time of possession and limit the amount of snaps that the defense were on the field for. Unfortunately today the Lions dominated time of possession by more than 10 minutes.
Today was also a reminder that Jahmyr Gibbs is arguably the best running back in the game and sometimes good players are going to make good plays. Pressure is key, as it is against all offenses. Jared Goff under no pressure is a surgeon; he was sacked three times in the first half compared to none in the second half.
Drew Petzig brought the full dimensions of the playbook out including on a third and long play where he had Jameson Williams and Amon-Ra St Brown lined up 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage. This was not an alarming performance from the defense, if you would have told O’Connell at the start of the day that you’d hold the Lions to under 20 points, he would have settled for that.
What next?
The Vikings continue to face a demanding schedule with games against the BIlls, Packers and 49ers in the next three weeks. Heads must roll after yet another shambolic performance by the offense. Wes Phillips should be fired, O’Connell stripped of play calling duties. Coach O’Connell is an amazing manager of people but his offensive play calling leaves a lot to be desired.
The defense is holding up every week but the offense isn’t holding up their side of the bargain. Answers in the trade market need to be sought, whether that’s trading for Landon Dickerson and benching Will Fries, or even giving Las Vegas a call to bring back Kirk Cousins.
It’s clear that Kyler Murray isn’t the answer at quarterback, but neither is O’Connell doing him any favours with the play calling. This was a game that the Vikings needed to win and the floor of the team so low at the moment, it’s not inconceivable that after coming back from Mexico we may be staring down a 6–4 record.
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