The Minnesota Vikings might be 4-1 so far on the season, but they haven’t made it easy on themselves.
Over the last three weeks, the Vikings have won by a combined 10 points leaving the opponent a chance to win or tie the game on the final possession. Nevertheless, they found a way to win all three which is the most important thing.
Not being able to step on the gas and put teams away has experts split on the Vikings long-term, leaving some cause for concern as they go into Miami this Sunday.
They don't have the best track record against backup quarterbacks
If you are a Vikings fan, you know the track record they have playing against backup quarterbacks. They have lost to Cooper Rush and Andy Dalton with the Dallas Cowboys in the last two years and who can forget facing off against Nick Foles in the 2017 NFC Championship Game. On Sunday, the Vikings will be facing off against another backup quarterback in Skylar Thompson. A seventh-round pick this past April, Thompson played most of the game and saw plenty of struggles. With a full week of practice, the Dolphins could easily get the most out of Thompson.
The Vikings struggle in the red zone
The Vikings’ defense has not allowed that many points per game at just 20.4, but they have been bad when teams get into the red zone. They sit at 29th in the NFL in red zone touchdown percentage allowed at 76.9% having allowed 10 touchdowns in 13 trips. This is a very alarming number for a 4-1 Vikings team and if it sustains, the Vikings might not be able to continue that level of success.
The Vikings struggle in the third quarter
I mentioned above that the Vikings have struggled to put their foot on the accelerator and take advantage of leads against their opponents. The numbers bear that out. The Vikings are 30th in the NFL in 3rd quarter point differential at -27 while they are 4th in the NFL in the fourth quarter at +23. They won’t need to be so good in the fourth quarter if they can step it up in the third and start putting teams away.
