Was the Minnesota Vikings’ victory at Carolina on Sunday a season-turning win or simply a respite in a year of disappointment? That’s a question Kevin O’Connell’s team likely didn’t have much interest in asking after ending a three-game skid, but the answer will come over the next four weeks.
Starting with Sunday’s game, the Vikings will face the Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers before October is out. The Vikings (1-3) will get the Chiefs (3-1) and 49ers (4-0) at U.S. Bank Stadium and the Bears (0-4) and Packers (2-2) on the road.
Buy Vikings TicketsIt’s not an exaggeration to say these four games will decide whether the Vikings, the defending NFC North champions, are a playoff contender that got off to a slow start or a flop that simply got a break by facing the winless Panthers and overmatched rookie quarterback Bryce Young.
“I think getting a win on the road in the NFL, anytime you do it, regardless of the circumstances, you feel like it can be a springboard for you,” O’Connell said. “But that means nothing if we don’t go out and have a great week of prep and feel like we’ve earned the right to hopefully get an opportunity to stack a couple of good performances together.”
If the Vikings go 3-1 over the next four, they will be sitting at .500 as November begins. But even a 2-2 record will leave the Vikings at 3-5 and facing a massive uphill climb over their final nine games.
The Vikings have created their own problems with a start that has included an NFL-high 11 turnovers in the first four games. Seven of them have come on fumbles and quarterback Kirk Cousins threw two interceptions against the Panthers, giving him four on the season. The Vikings’ minus-8 turnover differential is tied with the New York Giants for second-worst in the NFL, ahead of the Las Vegas Raiders by one. All three teams are 1-3.
O’Connell has talked extensively about his team’s issues with ball security, but his message has yet to have the desired impact. That must change against the Chiefs or the Vikings will find themselves embarrassed in front of a national audience that will see the late afternoon start on CBS.
While defensive coordinator Brian Flores was able to dial up looks that confused Young, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will have no problem picking apart the same things that flustered Young. Flores called for the Vikings to blitz Justin Herbert on an eye-popping 42 of 49 dropbacks in Week 3, but the quarterback threw bubble screens, quick outs and slants as he established career single-game highs in passing yards (405), completions (40) and completion percentage (85.1).
So what will Flores do against Mahomes and how does he plan to slow Pro Bowl tight end Travis Kelce? It won’t matter unless the offense can play a clean game. The same will be true against a 49ers team that plays a punishing style and is one of the NFC’s best teams.
One break for the Vikings in their slow start has been the fact they have yet to play a divisional game. That puts them in decent shape within the NFC North, assuming they can turn things around. The Bears are a dumpster fire, as evidenced by their minus-62 scoring differential. The Vikings are only one game better than Chicago but are only a minus-5.
Minnesota has won five of its past six against the Bears, including three in a row at Soldier Field. But the Vikings haven’t had the same recent success at Lambeau Field, being outscored 78-27 in losing the past two games.
Assuming the Vikings have little chance of winning the next four, the best-case scenario, if they can go 3-1, would be to lose to the AFC Chiefs and then reel off wins over the Bears, 49ers and Packers of the NFC.
That would be a tall task, especially beating the 49ers in a Monday night game, but the Vikings dug themselves this early-season hole and now it’s up to them to get out of it over the next four games. Failure to do so, likely will end any playoff hopes before the leaves fall from the trees.
