The stakes could not be higher for Minnesota as they look ahead to a Week 5 matchup against Kansas City. Having started 1-3, the Vikings essentially need to win to keep serious hopes of contending in the NFC North alive. Facing the defending Superbowl champions, regardless of the potential presence of Taylor Swift, is never a place a team wants to be with its back against the wall. That’s where Minnesota finds themselves though after a lackluster start to the season. The Vikings’ offensive struggles, in particular, have been under heavy scrutiny over the first few weeks.
Minnesota’s offense was supposed to be the unit that kept this team in games. They have stars all over the field and have invested heavily in the offensive line. Add in a solid veteran quarterback and an offensive head coach and points should be coming in abundance. That simply hasn’t been the case for the Vikings offense this season. If they want any hope of salvaging their season against the Chiefs, there are a few key items they need to improve on and quickly.
1 – Stop Turning the Ball Over
Minnesota’s turnover issues have been well-documented since to start of the season. They’ve lost the turnover battle in each of the first four weeks, never turning the ball over less than twice. Some of it is fumble luck, which is always one of those things that fluctuate. The Vikings managed to lose their first six fumbles of the season while not recovering any of their opponents’ fumbles in that span. To put that in perspective it’s normally a 50/50 split for which team recovers a loose ball.
In addition to the pure volume of turnovers through four games, they’ve also been extremely impactful. That tends to be the case when a team loses its first three games by a total of thirteen points. The first two weeks saw three drives end in scoring position via fumble. A first down interception thrown from the Charger goal line ended a promising comeback in Week 3. The two interceptions thrown against the Panthers in Week 4 led to, at minimum, a sixteen-point swing.
In all, the Vikings have a staggering 11-3 turnover differential. And shockingly Minnesota only has a -5 point differential on the season against a generally high level of competition, Carolina excluded. That indicates that the Vikings might be a much better football team than people realize. With that said the Chiefs are simply too well-coached and quarterbacked to get away with continued sloppy play. If the Vikings lose the turnover battle again, they’ll surely find themselves on the losing side for the fourth time in five weeks.
2 – Get Targets not Named Justin Jefferson Going
Justin Jefferson has at times been the entire offense this season. With the surrounding talent at receiver and tight end, that wasn’t supposed to be the case. The Vikings brought back K.J. Osborn who showed real flashes as the heir to Adam Thielen the past few seasons. He’s been disappointing to this point, having dropped several passes and running poor routes. The Vikings drafted first-rounder Jordan Addison to provide another spark in the passing game and potentially challenge Osborn for targets. To this point, Osborn has not responded well to that challenge.
Addison himself has shown flashes as a route runner and playmaker, having caught two long touchdowns in his first two games. For him, it’s the consistency that’s been lacking to this point. He had a total of one target for no catches against Carolina, and the offense struggled as a result. The Vikings would love to see him get more involved and stay more involved moving forward.
T.J. Hockenson is another guy who needs to pick things up for the Vikings offense. He was a hold-in for most of camp, which led to a large extension and possibly a little rust. He just hasn’t looked like his reliable self to this point in the season. In particular, he’s having issues hand-catching passes this year. He’s letting balls travel too far and it’s led to some crucial incompletions. Hockenson needs to turn back into the security blanket he was post-trade in 2022 for this offense.
3 – Increase Kirk Cousin’s Comfort Level in the Vikings Offense
The prevailing thought going into 2023 was that Kirk Cousins should improve in his second season under Kevin O’Connell. It’s the first time since his Washington days that he has had the same player caller for consecutive years. That makes his consistent production throughout his career at least a little more impressive. To date, his play to start the season has been anything but.
Some of Cousins’ struggles this season can be attributed to poor pass protection. The offensive line has dealt with a plethora of injuries early on. They’ve gotten only a handful of snaps from center Garrett Bradbury. Star tackle Christian Darrisaw has also been in and out of the lineup with an ankle injury. Package that with poor play from right guard Ed Ingram and Cousins’ immobility and it’s a recipe for quarterback hits. The offensive line may be completely intact against Kansas City though, so there is hope for improvement on that front.
On top of facing a constant pass rush, Cousins also just hasn’t looked comfortable in this Vikings offense. Too many times he’s not trusting his reads and it’s leading to him holding on to the ball too long. Holding on to the ball has always been an issue for Cousins throughout his career, but usually because he’s hunting for a big play. This year it’s looked more like a disconnect with how O’Connell is calling the game. Sometimes it’s not lined up efficiently or just generally looking like he doesn’t know where to go with the ball. As a result, Cousins and the offense have rarely been able to get into a rhythm this year. The head coach and quarterback will need to be on the same page Sunday to halt the Vikings’ offensive struggles against Kansas City.
Main Photo: [Brad Rempel] – USA Today Sports
