By the Numbers—The Vikings are 1-4 and in Trouble
Vikings Territory Breakdown
There are some disturbing numbers with the Minnesota Vikings this year: 7 giveaways in the first Q this season—every game they start in the hole; third down and eighteen yards and they are unable to stop it; 1-4 on the season and 0–3 at U.S. Bank Stadium; just three points scored in the first quarter this season; 11 wins in scores games last season turning into 1-6 in them since; and finally a 27-20 loss to the reigning World Champions in a beatable game. None of those numbers add up to a successful season for the Purple in 2023, and the prospects don’t look that good.
The Vikings are officially in trouble because after a season of close games, good luck and fortunate bounces of the football going their way, the opposite it is happening and the Vikings aren’t good enough to overcome those bounces.
The biggest bounces going the wrong way are the turnovers—which, at this point, have more to do with undisciplined play on the part of the team than bad luck. On the first play from scrimmage, Josh Oliver took a Kirk Cousins pass on a slant for a big gain and then coughed up the ball to the Chiefs. You might be able to get away with that against the hapless (and winless) Carolina Panthers, but spotting the Super Bowl champs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes a seven-point lead before all the fans were in their seats (knowing the Chiefs would get the ball coming out of the second half), you are going to lose the game–and the Vikings did.
There is no sugar-coating this. The Vikings may seem close to winning games, but they now appear far from anything that resembles a competitive team. You are what your record says you are, so if they were a playoff team last year, they are a top-five drafting team this year. The time is nigh; it has to be fixed now or this season will be a washout. And we (Joe Oberle from vikingsterritory.com and purplePTSD.com and Mark Craig from the Star Tribune and startibrune.com) are here to discuss it all on the Vikings Territory Breakdown podcast.
