The Minnesota Vikings haven’t made things easy over the first three weeks of the 2022 NFL regular season, but they have managed to come out on top more games than not now entering Week 4.
Minnesota bounced back following a Vikings loss on the road in Week 2 with a victory over a divisional opponent in Week 3 to move back above the .500 mark. Over the weekend, the Vikings came back to top the Detroit Lions 28-24 to improve to 2-1 while sitting in a tie atop the NFC North heading into Week 4.
A win is a win at the end of the day, but Minnesota made things much tougher than they needed to be while facing Detroit at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. And although the Vikings are riding high off of that victory, there are questions remaining with a matchup against the New Orleans Saints in Week 4 in London next up on the schedule.
After Minnesota Vikings Week 3 Win, Questions Still Remain
Performance in Week 3
Ultimately, the Vikings will look back on a Week 3 showdown against the Lions and view it as a win that added to the overall win total of the team by the end of the regular season. The win was just that, a win. But there is more to the story when looking at how Minnesota performed en route to its second victory of the year.
In the divisional showdown against Detroit, the Lions were relatively in control for most of the game, taking double-digit leads on two separate occasions at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Thanks to resiliency and late-game questionable decisions on the side of Detroit, however, Minnesota was able to pull out the comeback victory at home to remain undefeated at home entering Week 4.
Justin Jefferson now has 5 career games with 150 receiving yards.
The only player with more 150-yard receiving games at age 23 or younger in NFL history? Randy Moss (6). pic.twitter.com/BYYMcX2sDQ
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 11, 2022
The Vikings performance was less-than-impressive even though it resulted in a win, looking much more like the performance seen in the Week 2 loss rather than the convincing Week 1 victory against the Green Bay Packers. Minnesota’s offense struggled to find any rhythm against Detroit, while also allowing the Lions to drive down the field with ease on multiple occasions.
The Vikings ultimately moved above .500 while also moving to 2-0 against NFC North opponents — which is the most important thing — but the performance displayed in Week 3 definitely needs improving as the regular season continues to progress.
Injuries Starting to Pile Up
As every team deals with during the season, injuries have also started to pop up and appear for the Vikings ahead of a Week 4 showdown against the Saints in London. Performance of the team aside, those injuries are another area of concern for Minnesota while approaching the quarter mark of the regular season schedule. In the early few weeks of the year, injuries to key players such as running back Dalvin Cook, safety Harrison Smith, and cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. have recently appeared on the Vikings injury report.
Cook, who suffered a shoulder injury and was out for a bulk of the second half in the Week 3 win, is reportedly “day-to-day” according to Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell. That is a good sign for Cook who appeared to be more seriously injured in the recent victory. As for Smith (concussion) and Booth (quadriceps), they were among the inactive players for the Week 3 matchup against Detroit, but appear to also be on their way back soon. O’Connell said this week that Smith has cleared concussion protocols, while Booth could return to the practice field soon.
All major injuries appear to be minor, which is good news for Minnesota, but the injuries starting to pile up for the team is another concerning thing to take away from the third week of games over the weekend. Regardless of the injury status of players and the current performance of the team, the Vikings are going to have to try and continue their winning ways in a tough test against New Orleans in London in Week 4 this weekend.
