What a difference a week can make. Last Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings were riding high, beating the brakes off of the Cincinnati Bengals thanks to a ferocious defensive effort and the steadiness of Carson Wentz — a performance competent enough that many fans were wondering whether he should've been starting over J.J. McCarthy all along.
It's safe to say nobody is wondering that anymore. Wentz and the Vikings were downright dreadful for most of Sunday morning's loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Ireland, trailing 24-6 in the fourth quarter before an improbable comeback nearly allowed them to steal the game at the gun. Instead, Wentz's fourth-down prayer fell unanswered, and now Minnesota heads back to the States facing plenty of questions about whether they can truly contend in the rugged NFC North — and whether they've made some moves over the last couple of offseasons that they'd like back
1. Riding with Carson Wentz
In hindsight, it looks like last week's performance against the Cincinnati Bengals was simply the product of the best game script imaginable. The degree of difficulty ratcheted up considerably in Dublin, with a patchwork offensive line losing several bodies over the course of the game and Minnesota's defense unable to pick up the slack the way they did last Sunday. And when he was asked to put a bit more on his plate, Wentz looked ... well, exactly like the quarterback who flamed out of his last couple shots at being a starting quarterback in the NFL.
Granted, the offensive line situation would've made it difficult for just about anybody to succeed. But it also didn't help matters that Wentz was consistently indecisive, holding the ball for eons in the pocket and frequently spraying the ball when he did have enough time to throw. The numbers look respectable enough — 30-for-46, 350 yards, two touchdowns and two picks — but make no mistake: This was an ugly performance, one in large part propped up by an inexplicable busted coverage that resulted in a huge play to Jordan Addison late in the fourth quarter.
Other than that, Wentz was a mess in the same ways he's been a mess for years, and it makes you wonder why he was Minnesota's J.J. McCarthy insurance of choice. Heck, why not give rookie (and former Golden Gophers star) Max Brosmer a shot, considering how high the coaching staff reportedly is on him? Really, could it be much worse?
2. Drafting Dallas Turner
This one hurts, as Turner was a star at Alabama and the process behind taking him in the first round seemed sound enough. But at this point, it seems fair to start sounding the alarm about his future as an impact player in the NFL: Given another chance to start with Andrew Van Ginkel missing Sunday's game due to a neck injury, Turner was once again largely absent, not making much of any difference in the pass rush while frequently being caught out of position as the Vikings struggled to stop a previously moribund Steelers rushing attack.
Turner notched just one solo tackle with three assists on the day, and if he can't reliably set the edge or get after the passer, what's the path for him toward becoming the star the Vikings expected? And when you consider that current Rams star Jared Verse was selected just two picks later in the 2024 draft, this one could hurt for a while.
3. Neglecting run defense
Speaking of that leaky run defense: It was alarming how easily the Vikings got pushed around by the Steelers up front for four quarters, and how hard a time Minnesota's second-level defenders had trying to bring down Kenneth Gainwell — a guy who isn't exactly known as Derrick Henry in the backfield.
Gainwell ripped off 99 yards on 19 carries, and a not-insignificant portion of that yardage came when Pittsburgh was trying to salt away the game late. Minnesota knew a run was coming and still had a hard time stopping it, raising real questions about the spine of this defense beyond Javon Hargrave.
And really, even Hargrave is more a disruptor than a block-eater, which is part of the problem. Minnesota has invested in havoc above all else during Brian Flores' tenure as defensive coordinator, sacrificing size for speed while betting that you won't be able to block what you can't stay in front of. For the most part, that's led to a lot of success in recent years. But it got exposed badly on Sunday morning, and there's very little depth or hope for internal improvement on this depth chart right now.
4. Kevin O'Connell's game management
O'Connell's bonafides as an offensive scheme lord and as the leader of a locker room full of grown men are beyond dispute at this point. But it's fair to note that he didn't do a great job adjusting to what he was seeing from his offense on Sunday, repeatedly asking Wentz to drop back when he was obvoiusly having a hard time seeing the field and getting rid of the ball on time.
Justin Jefferson had 10 catches for 126 yards on Sunday, and if anything, Minnesota didn't build enough of the offense out of spamming him the ball. The running game clearly wasn't working, and yet O'Connell bafflingly called Jordan Mason's number with the ball at the Pittsburgh two and needing a quick TD before the two-minute warning. Mason promptly and predictably got stuffed, and those 20-30 seconds sure would've come in handy on Minnesota's final drive looking to tie the game.