The Vikings’ Offense has dealt with Inconsistency Caused by Turnovers and Injuries
Bye weeks are a perfect opportunity to throw out some grades on how certain position groups are performing. When looking at the Vikings’ offense, it’s a bit tricky to evaluate certain spots given the injuries they’ve faced. On one hand, their ability to continue scoring points at times without Kirk Cousins can be viewed as a win. On the other hand, the NFL doesn’t grade wins and losses on a curve, so why should we?
Even before the Cousins injury, the offense was failing to click at the level they showed last season. In 2022, they were good enough to drag the team to 13 wins, despite having one of the worst defenses in the league. That’s certainly not been the case for the majority of the year. A lot of that can be attributed to their propensity to turn the ball over, especially early in the season. They had a ridiculous run of bad fumbles and bad fumble luck that resulted in a 1-4 start. Then right as the Vikings offense started moving in the right direction, the injury bug struck them hard. Doing our best to account for the injuries, let’s take a look at how the season has played out thus far for each position group.
Quarterbacks: C+
This was the hardest position to grade given the season-ending Achilles tear for Kirk Cousins. Prior to the injury, Cousins was playing some of the best football of his life. That factored into the passing grade and would have been close to A territory had Cousins stayed healthy and continued his level of play. After the Cousins injury, the Vikings turned to veteran journeyman Josh Dobbs after acquiring him from Arizona.
The Josh Dobbs experience has been quite something. Since taking over as the starter, Dobbs has been equal parts magician and the worst version of Ryan Fitzpatrick. The turnovers have just been too plentiful with Dobbs at the helm. He’s coming off a ghastly four-interception game, and it’s rumored that a quarterback change may be coming. It’s unlikely to happen, but the Vikings offense is going to be hoping for more consistent quarterback play down the stretch, regardless of who is at the helm.
Tail Backs: D
The Vikings moved off long-time stalwart Dalvin Cook in the offseason to the chagrin of many around the league. Minnesota essentially decided that going cheaper with Alexander Mattison would be better than overpaying an aging Cook. They were at least half right in that assessment. Cook is having a disastrous season with the Jets and is making the Vikings front office look great for moving on. The way the Mattison decision is looking, however, offsets some of that gleam.
The Vikings simply haven’t been able to run the ball very well this season. Mattison has been a largely inefficient fumbling machine. His propensity to cough the ball up can be blamed for at least a few of the Vikings’ early season losses. It got to the point where the Vikings took a flier on a trade for Cam Akers. Had Akers not promptly torn his Achilles it could have resulted in a better grade for this unit. He was running well before going down. Now it’s completely up to Mattison to turn things around or risk losing even more carries to back up Ty Chandler down the stretch. Regardless, this simply hasn’t been a good unit for the Vikings offense this year.
Receivers and Tight Ends: B
Any team that features the best receiver in football is going to consider that unit a strength. The problem for the Vikings is that Justin Jefferson has now missed more games than he’s appeared in. It’s a shame too, because Jefferson was on a historic pace to start the season. Blowing past 2000 yards didn’t appear to be out of the question. The good news for Minnesota is that the receiver group goes quite a bit deeper than Jefferson.
Jordan Addison has had some growing pains, but he’s largely been the receiver the Vikings were hoping for when they drafted him in the first round. He’s shown great body control and polished route running for a player so young. He’s going to be an excellent running mate for Jefferson moving forward. Tight end T.J. Hockenson has also come on strong in recent weeks after a sluggish start. He’s been a great safety blanket for Dobbs. Add in veteran receiver K.J. Osborn’s steady play and the unit has managed to survive without Jefferson. With Jefferson due back next week, the group seems poised to take another big step up for the Vikings offense down the stretch.
Offensive Line: A-
The Vikings are another great example that how investing heavily in the offensive line can lead to production. Every starter on the offensive line was drafted in the first two rounds. As a result, the Vikings’ offense features Pro Bowl-level bookend tackles in Brian O’Neill and Christian Darrisaw. They also have a steady former first-round center in Garrett Bradbury. Throw in veteran Dalton Risner and the improved play of right guard Ed Ingram and it’s a solid all-around unit.
The biggest issue the offensive line has faced at points this year is health, which is common across the league. Luckily though, all five starters are going into the bye relatively healthy. Without Cousins and quality play from their backs, the Vikings’ offense is going to be very dependent on their line. They’ll need this group to stay healthy and continue to produce the way they have been to make a playoff push.
Main Photo: [Jamie Sabau] – USA Today Sports
