The Vikings Are Building Into A Better Identity
Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images
You’re not going to get a lot of times where you win a game pretty comfortably after three turnovers from your quarterback. But, on Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings did just that. Technically, the 21-13 win was a one-score game, but the gap between the two teams was much wider than the score indicates, especially with the performance of the Vikings’ defense.
It was the kind of gritty game that, after two disappointing losses, the Vikings absolutely needed to get themselves back on track. It was the type of win that more accurately represents the sort of swagger this team will need to succeed long term. The early season blowouts were great, but unrealistic to continue. Minnesota needs to exude confidence and an ability to respond and survive when things are going sideways. They finally showed that on Sunday night.
Coach Kevin O’Connell has a shrewd understanding understanding of the importance of pairing that resilience with a acknowledgement of necessary growth.
“What am I trying to build with our coaching staff, with our players, building it together to make sure this year’s version of our team can reach what our potential is going to be, all while overcoming some temporary, short-term results, adversity, or the ebbs and flows of injuries throughout an NFL season,” he said. “We want to be able to withstand both and continue to improve.”
Nobody can reasonably expect the Vikings to hold opposing teams without an offensive touchdown consistently. The defense put on a special performance that simply can’t be captured by the “13” on Indy’s side of the ledger.
It’s easy to disregard a home win over a (currently) sub-.500 team as just a run-of-the-mill contest. Lost in that analysis is the fact that Minnesota just needed this type of game. After all, it was nearly a month prior — Oct. 6 in London — that the Vikings had last won. Sure, it was just two games, but when you’ve gone almost a month without getting a W, a ho-hum game takes on added importance. Especially for a defense that needed to show it still had the swagger from early this season.
Besides, if 2022 showed us anything, it’s that a win against the Colts doesn’t always come easily. The Vikings didn’t require the same kind of miracle 33-point comeback this time, but Minnesota still faced a 7-0 deficit at the half, despite the defense technically pitching a shutout. To be that confident, despite some issues, and storm back pretty comfortably is promising.
Here’s a stat that stands out more than just the basic defensive metrics:
Indianapolis had just an average of -.35 EPA per play, a metric that measures the value of each play in football by estimating how much it increases the offense’s chance of scoring. On passing plays, the Colts were held to -0.21 EPA per snap, which according to PFF is the second-lowest mark from any team this season.
It’s also cool to see that the Vikings are making plays with several different players. A big surprise from Sunday was the production from Dallas Turner. He played 26 snaps, his second-most of any game this season, and had a handful of pressures on Joe Flacco while also dropping into coverage and defending receivers relatively well.
Something to worry about, admittedly, is the special teams. Long-snapper Andrew DePaola is hurt, and kicker Will Reichard was horrible on Sunday – though his two missed kicks were clearly the result of injury – leaving the team with a MASH unit in the kicking game.
But if you want a boost of confidence, the Vikings have dealt well with injuries all season long. It was just at the beginning of the season that Sam Darnold had to come in as the year-long starter. Also, the Vikings had been without T.J. Hockenson at tight end – and backup Josh Oliver continued to be solid on Sunday with the star back in the lineup. Even losing Christian Darrisaw couldn’t thwart Minnesota, as new acquisition Cam Robinson ensured the offensive line didn’t skip a beat.
The defense has been something fans can rely on if the Vikings want to get anywhere, and they proved their worth on Sunday. There was a bit of a dip against the Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, and LA Rams, but they appear back on track.
So, if Darnold can get even better – or perhaps simply doesn’t play quite as poorly as he did in the first half – Minnesota proved they’re still a team to be reckoned with. They proved that they are settling into a more realistic and perhaps better identity.
“The experience that I’ve had throughout the league of playing bad games, playing good games, like it’s just you continue to learn from experiences. The two interceptions and the fumble, those are experiences that I’ll learn from,” Darnold said to the Associated Press. “You don’t want it to happen, but it’s part of the game. You’ve just got to continue to go out there and play football.”
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