3 Minnesota Vikings to blame for Week 14 loss to Lions

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - DECEMBER 11: Head coach Kevin O'Connell of the Minnesota Vikings looks on during the third quarter against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on December 11, 2022 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - DECEMBER 11: Head coach Kevin O'Connell of the Minnesota Vikings looks on during the third quarter against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on December 11, 2022 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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Kevin O'Connell, Minnesota Vikings
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – SEPTEMBER 25: Head coach Kevin O’Connell of the Minnesota Vikings walks the sideline in the second quarter of the game against the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium on September 25, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) /

3 Vikings to blame for Week 14 loss to Lions: Kevin O’Connell, Head Coach

When a team loses, the first person that gets the blame is the head coach. In this case, head coach Kevin O’Connell is the first to blame in Minnesota’s huge loss.

As mentioned earlier, the Vikings have won 10 games this season, but most of them weren’t convincing. They had to scratch and claw their way to some of these victories. That is concerning, especially when holding one of the top playoff seeds in the entire conference.

On Sunday, O’Connell was completely out-coached by Dan Campbell. The Lions coach called some aggressive plays, and they paid off, because the Vikings coach had no answer for them.

With this game in the books, the Vikings point differential has gotten uglier. Through 14 weeks, Minnesota has a net point differential of -1, per NFL.com. To put that in perspective, the 5-8 Jacksonville Jaguars are ranked ahead of them with a differential of 0. That’s not good. Meanwhile, look at the top three in that category:

  • Philadelphia Eagles: 138
  • Buffalo Bills: 132
  • Dallas Cowboys: 131

Luckily for O’Connell, they do have some easy games remaining on the schedule, as they face the Indianapolis Colts, New York Giants, Green Bay Packers, and Chicago Bears in the final four weeks. But to instill confidence in the fanbase, these teams should won handedly.

Next. Updated NFC Playoff Picture, NFC Wild Card standings after Vikings lose. dark