4 Vikings Who Can Help End the Losing Streak
For the first time in arguably four years, the Minnesota Vikings have reached desperation time, needing to find a cure to a recent losing skid that has questioned fans’ faith. Thankfully, a handful of missing or unsung performers can help stop the malarkey.
Underwater with a 3-4 record, the Vikings will search for answers this week and hope to rebound at DET in Week 9. Here’s who can help end the rut.
Minnesota will take on the Detroit Lions next weekend, and while it may not win, the team must play competently and trend positively for the second half of the season.
Vikings Must Phone a Friend — or Four
There’s no time like the present for the following players.
T.J. Hockenson (TE)
Hockenson earns $16.5 million per season. Through eight weeks, the team has targeted him at a rate suggesting he earns about $5 million. Maybe less.
With J.J. McCarthy returning to his QB1 job — more on him later — Hockenson must be involved in the offense more frequently. Otherwise, there’s no use in employing him to the tune of the league’s fourth-highest-paid tight end.
Throw Hockenson the damn ball, and he will deliver — so long as the passes aren’t out of his reach in the endzone, with eager replay officials anxious to overturn touchdowns that were called on the field.
Hockenson also became the subject of internet trade rumors over the last couple of days. NFL writer Daniel Arwas wrote about the Los Angeles Rams as a trade destination:
Hockenson has not had a terrible year so far, generating 196 yards and 1 touchdown in six games, good for third-best pass-catcher by receiving yards in 2025. But his metrics are down from his elite 2023 season, and even from his injury-hit 2024 year, putting up fewer yards per game and yards per reception. What Would Minnesota Need To Move Off Hockenson? Hockenson has long been one of the better tight ends in football, almost always staying in that #5-#10 range, but his production has never managed to match the 8th overall pick Detroit spent on him back in 2019.
He still clearly has juice left in him, and perhaps in a different offensive system, he can be more than simply a good accompanying tight end. The Rams are not the clear and obvious destination for the Vikings, given the continued presence of Tyler Higbee and rookie second round pick, Terrance Ferguson. And head coach, Sean McVay is hardly an enthusiastic multiple tight end-set utilizer, having been forced into using it in abundance last weekend against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Andrew Van Ginkel (OLB)
Van Ginkel’s neck injury is mysterious. Very mysterious.
He has practiced in the last two weeks, but when the rubber hits the road for games, the Vikings swiftly rule him out. Of course, neck injuries are spooky and can linger, but because Minnesota didn’t place Van Ginkel on injured reserve, there’s hope that he could return any day to his spot in Brian Flores’ defense.
Van Ginkel is bonafide difference maker when he steps foot on the field, and when he’s ready to go, the Vikings’ defense may begin to creep back to its 2024 form — which was fantastic and the second-best in the business.
The Running Backs — All of Them
The Vikings’ offense has floundered over the last few games for several reasons. Foremost, the offensive line has not maintained a consistent group; one starter or two or three is always hurt. Then, for example, Minnesota got down 24-3 against the Chargers, and there just wasn’t enough time to establish the run.
What’s more, when the team tried to get the run game cooking in London, Jordan Mason fumbled, killing all momentum.
Through seven games, the Vikings run the ball the fifth-least in the NFL, and anytime a franchise does that, well, it usually ends a season with a losing record.
Kevin O’Connell must trust Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason to do their thing, and when called on, Jones and Mason must break off efficient runs. The most persistent sin about the Vikings over the last three and a half years has been their inability to consistently rush the football. They don’t have to transform into a run-first team, but they must run more than 38% of the time, their current pace.
J.J. McCarthy (QB)
A team shouldn’t expect a quarterback in his third career game to carry the franchise, but because of McCarthy’s now lengthy injury history, he unfortunately won’t get much grace from impatient Vikings fans. His time to shine is now. The team needs him. It needs his energy.
McCarthy’s teammate, Carson Wentz, mostly flopped when taking over the QB1 job, and the time for McCarthy’s return to the lineup next week is good and bad: the club needs a spark, so his insertion into the lineup has the capability to change everything. The bad? Minnesota just lost by three scores to the Los Angeles Chargers, and the whole team is playing poorly.
Because of a depressing 3-4 record, plus the fact that McCarthy is the franchise’s one main hope for the future, it’s all on the line for him to help save a season that was supposed to feature a playoff berth.
You must be logged in to post a comment.