After 10 days overseas, Kevin O’Connell stood at the podium at TCO Performance Center. Presumably grabbing a “Minnesota Wrestling” hooded sweatshirt because it was the first thing he saw in his closet, O’Connell had his usual press conference and likely retreated for some much-needed peace and quiet.
The Minnesota Vikings enter the bye week at 3-2 and are still in the thick of the NFC playoff picture. But with the way it played out, nobody would blame O’Connell if he sat in the chair of his office and said, “Well, that escalated quickly.”
Times like these call for the champagne of beers for champagne problems. And after the first five weeks, O’Connell definitely deserves to crack a cold one.
Minnesota came into the season as one of the league’s most popular teams, but it had nothing to do with jersey sales or the excitement around the team. After turning down Aaron Rodgers’ reported overtures, the Vikings became a topic of discussion among people who were shocked they were turning to a first-year starter, and it led to four “island” matchups in the first five games.
Some of it is the way the NFL is going. A comeback win on Monday Night Football was one thing. Diving into a nationally televised home opener on Sunday Night Football was another. The Vikings got one breath in when they clobbered the Cincinnati Bengals in Kirk Cousins‘s premiere window (Sunday at noon), but immediately went back overseas for a 10-day excursion that included games in Dublin and London.
Along the way, they faced a slew of injuries. Blake Cashman was the first to go down with a hamstring injury in the season opener. Andrew Van Ginkel eventually tapped out due to a neck injury he battled during training camp. Aaron Jones, Brian O’Neill, and Donovan Jackson all went on the shelf. Meanwhile, others, like Christian Darrisaw and Harrison Smith, took longer to return.
Still, McCarthy’s sprained ankle was the most disruptive injury. After spending all offseason preparing his young quarterback for life as a starter, McCarthy struggled through three quarters in Chicago before getting treated like a crash test dummy in a Week 2 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
When McCarthy went down, Minnesota turned to Carson Wentz, who had claimed the job the month before when Brett Rypien and Sam Howell failed to earn the backup role during the preseason. With Michael Jurgens and Ryan Kelly bowing out with injuries, the Vikings were playing a third-stringer at guard and center, which forced O’Connell to use dirty words like “quick game” and “bootlegs” into his game plan.
Then there was that European trip. The Vikings giddily volunteered to play back-to-back games overseas but may have quickly realized it was a challenging trip.
The play clock in Croke Park that faced the same direction that Minnesota tried to mount a comeback against the Pittsburgh Steelers wasn’t on. Will Reichard‘s field goal attempt hit a camera wire at Tottenham Stadium, but the officials didn’t deem it a re-kick during the game.
Then there was the behind-the-scenes aspect that The Athletic’s Alec Lewis detailed. Being away from family is the norm for a football team during the season, but it typically lasts only a few days. The Vikings were also on social lockdown for most of the journey, with trips to London taking 90 minutes via car or requiring multiple train line changes. It’s probably why Jordan Addison wandered off and missed a team walkthrough during the week, resulting in a first-quarter suspension that disrupted O’Connell’s first 15 plays.
Likely feeling like an overwhelmed school chaperone by the end of the trip, O’Connell and his team were ready to escape a place that deemed baked beans and blood pudding as standard breakfast fare. But even if O’Connell’s first Miller High Life went down way too quickly, there’s one thing he’ll eventually realize.
It was only five games.
The Vikings had just about everything go wrong before the bye week. Still, they managed to escape with a winning record. Just like they have throughout most of O’Connell’s tenure, they fought through adversity to give themselves the best chance to win games, except against the Falcons, and will still find themselves in the fight on the other side.
McCarthy could be ready to return after the bye week and have almost all of his protection and weapons at his disposal. That could allow O’Connell to run the offense he wants, hunting big plays downfield and using a physical running attack to control the time of possession.
Cashman’s return on defense could help a unit that has been gashed on the ground. While Van Ginkel’s return is uncertain, Dallas Turner has stepped up in his second year to add another formidable pass rush to a group that was loaded with them.
Darrisaw and Smith should be able to get a week of conditioning during the bye, which could mean O’Connell will have the roster he initially envisioned at the beginning of the year.
When they come back, they’ll face a gauntlet that doesn’t look as scary as it did the last time they were in the States. A.J. Brown is threatening to self-destruct the Philadelphia Eagles. The Los Angeles Chargers lost their top two running backs. The Detroit Lions are without all of their corners, and the Baltimore Ravens are possibly without Lamar Jackson — and the league’s worst defense north of Dallas.
It’s also a stretch that has some normalcy, with nine of their next 11 games in the noon timeslot, barring the NFL flexing a game to primetime. Even then, it will be a much different process than the one the Vikings have endured over these five weeks.
Things could always get worse (this is the Vikings, after all). But there’s also the chance that O’Connell went through the toughest part of the season with a winning record. That’s enough for O’Connell to enjoy a beverage or two upon his return and maybe fit another one for what’s about to come.
