The floodgates have opened, and now the Minnesota Vikings need a savior. Or at least a lifejacket.
After just two games, the team ranks in the bottom five of most major offensive categories, and outside of that one miraculous quarter against the Chicago Bears, it has been cruel and unusual punishment to watch. Luckily for head coach Kevin O’Connell, his knight in shining armor is already on the roster — as long as he’s willing to unleash him.
The Vikings have created two problems for themselves early on that need to be resolved, starting this week against the Cincinnati Bengals.
First is their reluctance to run the ball, including on third downs, where a J.J. McCarthy 50-yard prayer is seemingly the preferred playcall. Minnesota’s backfield only had 14 attempts in the loss to the Atlanta Falcons, despite the game remaining close for three quarters.
Second is their unfruitful commitment to keeping a backfield split between Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones Sr. While Mason has been leaving a trail of discarded tacklers behind him all summer, the Vikings still haven’t given him control of the backfield. But with the news that starting running back Jones will likely miss the Week 3 matchup with the Bengals, Mason will finally receive a larger workload for Minnesota. Regardless of the injury to Jones, it’s time that the Vikings run the offense through Mason.
Despite KOC’s bold proclamation that the Vikings will run the ball more in 2025, they only rank 25th in attempts and 21st in rush yards so far. The team’s inability to move the ball through the air, plus a high turnover rate, has made O’Connell’s allergy to running the ball even more confusing. Minnesota has only nine rushing first downs this year, or 26th in the NFL, and the reliance on essentially a rookie quarterback to make incredible deep throws throughout the game has run its course. While fans all want to see McCarthy take flight, they also want to see a productive offense.
Enter Mason, who the Vikings brought in during free agency to spell Jones in the backfield. Mason has been a starting-level running back, stuck behind Christian McCaffrey, one of the best backs in football. However, Mason’s status as a career backup may change forever this weekend with a strong performance. While benching fan favorite and team captain Jones would be a hard decision to make, there’s really no reason that the Vikings should keep him in even a 50/50 split.
Jones is averaging a putrid 3.5 yards per rush and already has a potential multi-game injury. The 30-year-old back hasn’t looked himself over the first two weeks, with just one rushing first down and no carries over 10 yards. While the porous offensive line has its fair share of the blame, Mason has been able to run the ball much more effectively than Jones. His 4.1 yards per rush is nothing to write home about. Still, his five rushing first downs and 50% rush success rate despite the issues up front show a tiger in waiting.
Mason has averaged 5.2 yards per carry in his career and has already proven in his limited time up north that it’s not a fluke. The newly acquired back is the fifth-ranked rusher this season according to Pro Football Focus, and while he hasn’t posted any gaudy numbers yet, he hasn’t really been given the chance. Now, with Jones’ injury, Mason will have full control of a backfield he probably should have had since training camp. That’s nothing against Jones. He was a critical player on last year’s 14-win team and should continue to be a valuable asset on third down. Still, at this point, Mason is clearly the solution.
Whether the Vikings lean on Mason as they should is another question entirely. Carson Wentz will get the nod for the next several games, providing another golden reason for Mason to see 20-plus touches as the signal caller works up to speed.
On the other hand, it’s also hard to purposefully limit opportunities for the best receiver in football. Finding the right balance between letting Mason grind away yards and still feeding Justin Jefferson will be the key to turning the offense around. It’s no coincidence that the Vikings were able to pull out the win against the Bears, with Mason also toting the rock 15 times.
The Vikings need a spark on offense, and they don’t need to look very far to find one. Mason provides the best way forward for a floundering offense that has yet to find any sort of rhythm when he wasn’t on the field. There’s no need to panic after two games. Still, Minnesota’s offense is ailing, and a heavy dose of Jordan Mason is the prescription.
