3 Vikings who need to be benched or fired before Week 3

Head coach Kevin O'Connell

Looking at the production out of Minnesota thus far and the schemes they're running, it's really hard to wrap one's head around what's going on. Recall that the run game and blocking have been extremely bad. To re-emphasize a stat we already detailed: The Vikings have fewer than 70 rushing yards total through their first two games.

This team is clearly not a threat to run. Opposing defenses surely know that. Yet, Kirk Cousins has run play action more than any other quarterback in the league.

We have to extend some grace to the offensive play-calling, because clearly the personell isn't good. But that much play action from a team that is obviously ill equipped in the run game feels like a poor use of the playbook.

Despite the title of the article, I'm not quite advocating for firing Kevin O'Connell at this stage of the season, however, I will go ahead and suggest he get "benched."

While firing him would be a massive early overreaction for a team that has scored in the top 10 so far this season, maybe it's time for him to pass play-calling duties off to Wes Phillips, the offensive coordinator.

The Vikings clearly have plenty to figure out offensively, and O'Connell has his back against the wall to prove he can prepare this team better for Week 3 and onward. Lucky for him, he has a shiny new toy in Cam Akers to prove what this team can do after leading them to a top-10 in yards and points last season.