The Minnesota Vikings were one of the best teams in the NFC last season. However, their quarterback from a season ago, Sam Darnold, is now with the Seattle Seahawks, who are having a strong season, and the Vikings are having a tough time, with Sunday’s loss to Darnold and his new team dropping the Vikings to 4- on the year.
The Vikings didn’t score a single point in the game, losing 26-0, and head coach Kevin O’Connell didn’t mince words after the team was shut out for the first time since 2007.
“We just did not have the type of an offensive performance that is ever going to be acceptable with the Minnesota Vikings organization,” O’Connell said in his press conference, according to Pro Football Talk.
“That obviously starts with me. It’s not about any one particular player or position. It’s a collective group thing right now where we are just not good enough to overcome some of the things that we’re doing, overcoming some injuries up front and overcoming some of the things that are happening.”
O’Connell touched on the offense’s inability to have sustained success in the contest.
“We just never could really make that one or two or three in a row kind of play,” he said. “When we did move it, we weren’t able to sustain it long enough to get in the end zone.”
The head coach feels that the frustrating season has led to his players pressing at times.
“Guys want to make those plays, guys want to make the throws,” O’Connell said. “I know how hard our guys have prepared, are trying. We just can’t quite seem to catch the rhythm of positive plays with all 11 guys executing right now. That’s guys maybe trying to do too much.
“Maybe we’ve got to try to limit what we’re asking of the group as a whole, especially with some different guys stepping into the lineup, just to try to get some more consistency at the very least to try to give ourselves a better chance.”
It’ll be interesting to see what changes are on the horizon for the Vikings organization if things can’t get turned around.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.