Thursday wasn’t the first time that Kevin O’Connell praised the Minnesota Vikings’ defense after a win. Still, he probably hasn’t praised it enough, considering they’ve done their part in Minnesota’s 8-8 season.
“I’m just really proud of the collective team effort that it took. The No. 1 priority going into the game was to win the turnover margin,” he said after Minnesota’s 23-10 win over the Detroit Lions on Thursday. “And a pretty phenomenal historical kind of effort by our defense clearly led the way.”
Minnesota’s defense forced six turnovers in Thursday’s primetime Christmas Day game. It’s the most turnovers the defense has forced this season, and only the fourth time the Vikings forced multiple turnovers this season.
They had five in their 48-10 blowout of the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3, and three when they shut out the Washington Commanders 31-0 in Week 14. Meanwhile, the Vikings had two turnovers in their 26-0 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
However, the Vikings had a minus-three turnover margin in Seattle, which is why O’Connell always emphasizes “being about the ball.” They had a plus-six turnover margin against Detroit on Thursday, a plus-five margin against Cincinnati, and a plus-three margin in Washington.
Meanwhile, the Vikings had a negative turnover margin in winnable games this year, which would have made the win over Detroit on Christmas more meaningful.
- They were -3 in Week 2 against the Atlanta Falcons.
- Two weeks later, they were -2 in their loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Dublin.
- -2 in Week 7 against the Philadelphia Eagles.
- -3 in Week 10 against the Baltimore Ravens.
- And -2 in their Week 11 home loss to the Chicago Bears.
The Vikings only had to win two of those games to make Week 18’s matchup against the Green Bay Packers a primetime event. If they take care of the ball and generate more turnovers, they might be a 10-win team looking to sneak into the playoffs this year.
However, Minnesota’s defense has insisted all season that game flow is affecting its ability to generate turnovers. The Vikings built early leads against the Bengals, Commanders, and Lions. As a result, a defense that has created 21 turnovers this season could capitalize on urgent teams and look more like the unit that produced 33 last season.
“Sometimes, it’s just the flow of the game,” Blake Cashman explains after Minnesota’s Week 9 loss to the Ravens. “I don’t think Baltimore was really taking much risk.”
Minnesota’s season began to unspool after losing to the Ravens.
Carson Wentz had done enough to keep the Vikings afloat after McCarthy suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 2. Still, they entered the bye 3-2, even if they had lost twice in the easy part of their schedule. They just had to survive the difficult middle.
The Vikings lost to Philadelphia after the bye, and the Los Angeles Chargers routed them four days later. Still, J.J. McCarthy seemed to salvage the season in Detroit, where he operated the offense with aplomb – only to lose a winnable game to Baltimore next week.
Minnesota’s loss to Baltimore kicked off a four-game losing streak, tanking the season and hitting rock bottom in Seattle. Blame Kevin O’Connell for the Ravens game. He had McCarthy throw 42 times against Baltimore’s defense, including the infamous third-and-one throw to Justin Jefferson when Aaron Jones was running the ball well.
However, Minnesota’s quarterback play cost them in games they could have won this year.
McCarthy didn’t build off his Week 1 fourth-quarter comeback in Chicago. He threw two interceptions and lost a fumble while having trouble getting out of the huddle on time, ultimately costing the Vikings a game against the 6-9 Falcons.
Carson Wentz threw for 350 yards and two touchdowns in Dublin. However, he also had two picks and lost visual on the play clock, which, weirdly, was only in the opposite end zone, during a potential game-winning drive. Wentz played well enough for a backup. He just couldn’t finish off a game where he outplayed Aaron Rodgers.
A week after leading a comeback in London, Wentz threw for 313 yards against his former team on American soil. However, he threw two picks and no interceptions. His 64.9 passer rating was his lowest of this season, and likely the result of injuring his shoulder trying to pick up a first down in London.
McCarthy led what looked like his second game-winning drive against the Bears in Week 11, only to have botched kickoff coverage cost them the game. McCarthy finished 16 of 32 for 150 yards with a touchdown pass and two picks, good for a 47.7 passer rating.
Quarterback play has become the main theme of this season. The Vikings allowed Sam Darnold, 28, to walk in free agency, and he’s PFF’s ninth-best quarterback this year. Meanwhile, McCarthy has battled growing pains and injuries this season.
Once Wentz underwent shoulder surgery following Minnesota’s Week 8 loss to the Chargers, the bottom fell out. Max Brosmer, an undrafted free agent, helped the Vikings beat the New York Giants but looked overmatched against the Seahawks and Lions.
Carson Wentz is a safe backup option if he returns for an 11th season, but Minnesota may bring in Mac Jones or another quarterback to compete for the starting job next year. McCarthy may win the camp competition and become a serviceable starter, but it’s an open question whether he’ll ever become as good as Sam Darnold.
Meanwhile, the Vikings didn’t fully optimize their defense this year because the offense struggled, and Brian Flores is in the final year of his contract. Unfortunately, they never capitalized on their talented defense, which could have been something special again this season.
