Vikings Have Whac-a-Mole of Demons
The Minnesota Vikings have not won consecutive games to date in 2025. The main culprit? A platter of consistent sins that re-arrive once another problem feels remedied.
The Minnesota Vikings’ array of current problems keeps popping up, feeling like a Whac-a-Mole through nine games of the 2025 regular season.
It’s like a game of Whac-a-Mole for the purple team, and the club must figure it out soon or risk losing the season to futility.
The Vikings Version of Whac-a-Mole Is in Motion
This is not a good thing.
The Penatlies Are Back
The Vikings accounted for 13 penalties against the Ravens, totaling 102 yards, including 8 false starts in a friendly home environment.
Penalties have been problematic for the purple team since the start of the season, stabilizing once in a while, but not for long. Minnesota “only” had 56 penalty yards in Week 9 at the Detroit Lions. The 13-count indicates the scourge has not been fixed.
Kevin O’Connell’s team ranks fourth-worst in the NFL in penalties, and it leads the way in false starts with 19. When utilizing an inexperienced rookie quarterback, the margin for error to win is already tight. Firing up 13 penalties is a death sentence.
Terrible 3rd Down Conversion % on Offense
Minnesota ranks second to last in the NFL in offensive 3rd Down conversion percentage (31.8%), trailing only the horrid Tennessee Titans. Most of the NFL squads near the bottom of the rankings in the metric are the league’s very worst teams.
On Sunday, the Vikings faced 14 3rd Downs — and converted three. They somehow undercut their 31st-ranked 3rd Down offense by 10%.
Abandoning the Run
Minnesota scored a rushing touchdown on the opening drive, and then said sayonara to all things rushing. On a day when the running backs and J.J. McCarthy rushed for 6.7 yards per attempt, O’Connell decided to throw the pigskin 42 times. He rushed 17 times.
A 42-pass to 17-rush split when the ground game is working to the tune of 6.7 yards per carry is just unfathomable.
Our Janik Eckardt on rushing offense abandonment: “Kevin O’Connell just can’t get out of his own way. The passing offense has been inconsistent all season, which isn’t surprising given that an aging, banged-up Carson Wentz or an inexperienced J.J. McCarthy has led the unit. Once again, McCarthy made some nice throws, but also left some meat on the bone.”
“On the ground, the Vikings rushed the ball 13 times (with running backs) and they gained 72 yards, resulting in an excellent average of 5.5 yards per carry. And that’s the problem, they were efficient but rushed only 13 times. Instead of taking some pressure off McCarthy, he’s just letting him sling the ball north of 40 times. Stacking up first-downs should be the goal, not stacking up passing yards, and the running game was the more efficient and consistent unit on Sunday. Yet, O’Connell didn’t stick with it.”
Injury to Jonathan Greenard
Another Whac-a-Mole example, the Vikings had recently turned the corner on major injuries, with players like Christian Darrisaw, Brian O’Neill, Andrew Van Ginkel, Blake Cashman, J.J. McCarthy, and Aaron Jones returning to the lineup without intensely suspenseful weekly practice designations.
Things were looking up.
Then, against the Ravens, Greenard attempted a tackle on quarterback Lamar Jackson and ended up writhing in pain afterward. He left the game, and within minutes, Minnesota ruled him out. He did not return.
Now, the Vikings and their fans await his prognosis for the shoulder injury. Missing multiple games or the rest of the season could be a fatal blow.
Star Tribune‘s Andrew Krammer on the loss of Greenard: “Nobody on the Vikings’ defensive front had played more than edge rusher Jonathan Greenard’s 435 snaps — or roughly 87% of the season — entering Sunday’s 27-19 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. So replacing Greenard, who exited the game in the third quarter with a left shoulder injury and did not return, was no easy task against Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Derrick Henry.”
“Greenard landed on his shoulder while chasing Jackson to the sideline. Linebacker Eric Wilson and edge rusher Dallas Turner replaced Greenard on the side opposite of edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel, who had four tackles, two pass deflections and a hit on Jackson. Greenard declined to comment after the game. O’Connell also didn’t provide details about Greenard’s injury, saying it would be further assessed Monday.”
Throwing the Ball in No-Brainer Rushing Situations
In 2nd and short, 3rd and short, and 4th and short situations, O’Connell has a thing for passing the ball. It’s fine when it works — but it just doesn’t work for the 2025 Vikings. With a basically-rookie passer, Minnesota must run the ball on 2nd, 3rd, and 4th and short.
McCarthy is “not there yet” to be the guy who fools the whole world with a deep shot on 3rd and 1. O’Connell tried that against the Ravens, and it resulted in an interception.
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