How Did the Vikings Get Here?

Vikings How Did the Vikings Get Here? Photo Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images By Joshua Badroos - November 10, 2026 The Minnesota Vikings fell to 6-2 after losing to the Buffalo Bills 23-6 on Monday night. After a truly inspiring first half from the Vikings defense, which left Buffalo with no answers outside a two-minute drill at the end of the half, the post-game talking point remains the same. The offense left a pit of rage and despair among those at U.S. Bank Stadium. Because they started the season 6-0, there were always elements of the team that could go unspoken. Last week at Ford Field, the first loss of the season revealed nothing new. Still, it amplified concerns that have loomed ominously over this Vikings team since well before the 2026 season. It’s fascinating how fast the energy and morale around a fanbase and locker room can flip in the NFL. The Vikings are now on the brink of trying to save the season while sitting at 6-2, surrounded by the league’s best division. This type of situation is standard for the Purple and Gold, but that doesn’t make it any less absurd. After Kirk Cousins and the Vikings split, it’s been an utter mess trying to figure out what the quarterback position should mean for this team. I think people forget that Sam Darnold ’s 2024 season was a product of circumstance, not planning. They didn’t intend to start him long-term. They just wanted a veteran to bridge to J.J. McCarthy , whom they took 10th overall in 2024. J.J. McCarthy gets injured , and Darnold runs the operation elegantly during the regular season, then plummets back to earth in the division-clinching and wild-card games to end the year. Darnold and Cousins share attributes that Kevin O’Connell loves. They will turn their back to the defense, take their steps, and rifle the ball. Sam Darnold was dealing on the Vikings' final three possessions after going down by 13 points. Pocket movement, accuracy, decisiveness, total command of the plan. 12 completions, 156 yards, 2 TDs. He delivered in the clutch for the second straight week. pic.twitter.com/0sxcFOg6aL — Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) December 2, 2024 It’s a very black-and-white operation. Enter McCarthy’s 2025 woes as the starter and Kyler Murray ’s slow start on the field so far this year, and you have to wonder: Is O’Connell trying to fit square pegs in a round hole? People used to call O’Connell the “ quarterback whisperer, ” but where does that come from? He came into a situation where he had to unlock Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson , who were successful in the Mike Zimmer era, then struck gold with a naturally gifted Sam Darnold . After that, we have only seen O’Connell’s quarterbacks struggle intensely, so much so that the team traded the 23-year-old McCarthy to move past this “experiment.” Monday night was on Carson Wentz ; no one is arguing that. He had an 8.9 passer rating and looked terrified even before kickoff. But O’Connell’s role in trying to morph every quarterback under center into his ideal offensive operator is becoming outdated, and defenses can easily counter it. O’Connell wants to stretch the field horizontally while playing on time. He does this by layering route patterns into thirds, while pairing the first read with a pre-snap movement. We’re in an era in the NFL where squeezing space on defense is getting easier and easier because of the speed expected on that side of the ball. Loved this play design from Kevin O'Connell and the Vikings on the Aaron Jones touchdown Full video below👇 pic.twitter.com/XN0V7XLY1N — Lenny (@LennyBiggems93) September 9, 2025 Defenses can do this by dropping eight into coverage and creating static zones that force the quarterback in a West Coast offense to hold the ball a beat longer than they should. Once that beat passes, the rep is dead. "There were some positives, but there are still some plays we're leaving out there that will help with the overall rhythm of the game. We've gotta continue to find the best way to get him comfortable." pic.twitter.com/QJTTwFuwBc — Hayden Winks (@HaydenWinks) November 3, 2026 Opposing defenses don’t even have to blitz aggressively against the Vikings to force the play call off its mark; they have to create enough gray area to throw off the timing the offense expects. It’s almost like O’Connell is underestimating how quickly his scheme has been compromised. We see this on tape, where sometimes it looks like the play is there to be made. Kyler had the right idea here freeze the zone corner by looking at Aaron Jones in the flat and then hit Justin Jefferson over top but instead of throwing it, he does the hokey pokey and runs into a sack to take the Vikings out of FG range pic.twitter.com/nZMr5lDeLR — Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) October 13, 2026 But just because someone is open doesn’t mean the rep was poised for success. There is a structure in which O’Connell expects his quarterback to go about that rep, and if the tiniest detail is off from pre-snap to the end of the play, it’s all for nothing. That’s not a sustainable way to move the ball, and it explains why we’ve seen such puzzling quarterback play from a stable of guys under center over the past two seasons. I think the panic on Monday night came from the optics of Carson Wentz being the type of quarterback O’Connell should have success with in a big spot, and the operation still looked the way it did. Still, outside of the Lions game, Kyler Murray was on track to be fine. At the very least, he’s still a guy who can create something out of nothing once O’Connell’s initial rep vision is dead. We’ve seen him control the clock, make plays in closing scenarios, and get positive movement off schedule. One could argue that, in the current state of Kevin O’Connell’s offense, this is maybe the only way to play quarterback for the Vikings. To add insult to injury, the opaque nature of Murray’s hamstring injury has no clear timeline, and it seems like the team and fans alike are out of the loop. For a team that prided itself on time of possession until now, the Vikings offense was on the field for the least amount of time in franchise history. That’s just insulting to a historic, inspiring, and dominant Brian Flores-led defensive operation. Whether the Vikings are buyers or not at the trade deadline, one thing is clear: serious teams don’t waste an excellent phase of their football team when the championship window should be wide open. The record is 6-2, and it doesn’t get any easier. The Vikings will now have to realize they need to start their offense from scratch. Joshua Badroos Writer born and raised in St. Paul. Proud lifetime Minnesota Vikings die hard. All Articles