The Main Problem with Vikings 0-3 Start
Dustin Baker
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The Minnesota Vikings arrived in the NFL’s basement after Week 3 per win-loss standing and actually have a pathway to a high-round draft pick if the doldrums continue.
That’s the long-term optimism in a grim short-term swing of losses.
The Main Problem with Vikings 0-3 Start
And while Minnesota has encountered problems with fumbles, defensive consistency, and rushing the football, one main problem looms and prevents fans and NFL experts from taking the team seriously — they’re not winning home games.
Had the Vikings lost at home to the Philadelphia Eagles and dropped road contests at Tampa Bay and Los Angeles, the sentiment may have offered a “well, we’ll get the next few games at home and get back on track” mantra.
Of course, that hypothetical schedule is the complete opposite in real life, and Minnesota lost on the road at the Eagles and home to the Buccaneers and Chargers.
Good football teams win games at home. Even mediocre teams win at home and then struggle on the road.
Hell, the Vikings used to win at home, but not anymore, evidently. In fact, the Vikings last five home games have involved some degree of whimper. The team obviously lost out of the gate this season to the Buccaneers and Chargers, and they were slightly favored to win both matchups. Before that, Minnesota lost at home in the playoffs, a now infamous punctuation mark to an otherwise memorable and promising season.
And before that, in 2022, the Vikings needed the longest field goal in team history to knock off the New York Giants and then the largest comeback in NFL history to topple the Colts.
Something is funky about the Vikings homefield advantage. It isn’t as daunting as 2016-2019. Before the Colts and Giants contests last season, Minnesota mostly hummed at home, albeit via wins in close games. Now, however, Minnesota needs miracles to win at U.S. Bank Stadium and is losing when the miracles don’t arrive.
From the moment U.S. Bank Stadium opened in 2016 until the playoff loss to the Giants eight months ago, the Vikings dominated at home compared to the rest of the NFL. Think of it this way: From 2016-2022, even including the 2020 season when fans weren’t allowed because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Vikings owned the league’s fourth-best homefield advantage with a 39-18 (.684) record.
That vanished. It disappeared against the Giants in the wildcard playoff game and hasn’t returned through two games of 2023.
Minnesota hasn’t dominated an opponent in the glass palace since Week 1 of 2022, conveniently against the Green Bay Packers. They’ve lost three straight in their building and needed otherworldly transactions to win the two games before that.
What happened?
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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