Every Number Matters For 5-1 Vikings, But Ground And Air Attacks Must Improve

There’s a new math that has taken over the NFL. It used to be easy to look at each team’s NFL schedule and measure the seasons by quarters. There were 16 games in the season, and four games per quarter.

Adding a 17^th game changed all that, and that meant there was no smelling of the roses after four games. Instead, Minnesota played six games before their bye week, and that was as good a time as any to measure the start to the season. The Vikings did not dominate games aside from their Week 1 victory over the Green Bay Packers. There was at least some good fortune in recording four consecutive one-score victories over the Lions, Saints, Bears and Dolphins after taking a one-sided beating from the unbeaten Eagles.

The next portion of the season can also be looked at as a six-game measuring stick. After hosting the Cardinals in Week 8, the Viking play back-to-back road games against the Commanders and Bills, and come home to play the Cowboys, Patriots and Jets.

Rookie head coach Kevin O’Connell’s team has been solid on the turnover/takeaway table, done an excellent job at the end of the first half and the start of the second, and been solid in the kicking game. The Vikings need to continue to control the middle portion of the game – meaning the last two possessions of the first half and the first two of the second half.

This was the area that undid Mike Zimmer’s team the last two years. It was a shock if the Vikings didn’t give up a touchdown in the final minutes of the first half. The Vikings simply had no idea of how to control the game and manage the clock.

There is a certain sophistication that O’Connell and his staff have that the Zimmer lacked. But even if the Vikings continue to do well in the areas mentioned above, it probably won’t be enough. Their overall offensive game is lacking, and that should be the team’s most impressive area.

Going into the season, the Vikings had as much talent in the running game as any team in the league. Dalvin Cook was a top-3 back, and Alexander Mattison was the best No. 2 running back in the league. Heading into Week 8, the numbers say the Vikings are well below average in this area.

Minnesota ranks 25^th in rushing yards per game at 97.8, and that’s an issue. While the numbers of leading rushing teams like the Chicago Bears and New York Giants are skewed by impressive running quarterbacks, the Vikings should be getting more from Cook and Mattison.

Cook has rushed for 450 yards and 4 touchdowns, and that’s 12^th in the league, 290 yards behind the league-leading Nick Chubb of the Browns. Cook has a decent average of 4.8 yards per carry, but that’s well behind Chubb at 5.9 ypc, Saquon Barkley of the Giants at 5.1 and Josh Jacobs of the Raiders at 5.7.

Cook does not appear to have lost a half-step and his instincts remain finely honed, so there is no reason he can’t be as productive as the league’s leading backs. Cook has 94 carries, nearly 50 fewer than Barkley, so the issue may be with O’Connell. If Cook were given more of an opportunity to run the ball, it would also be beneficial to quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Cousin’s numbers are also mediocre, especially when compared to previous years as well as the top quarterbacks in the league in 2022.

Cousins has thrown for 1,502 yard, and 15 quarterbacks have thrown for more yards. He ranks tied for 10^th in TD passes with 9 and 19^th in passer rating at 88.7.

That last number is the most curious, because Cousins’ ratings the past three seasons were 107.4, 105.0 and 103.1.

Wide receiver Adam Thielen recognizes that the Minnesota offense has not performed up to expectations. “”We still have so much room for improvement, so that’s the good thing,” Thielen said. “We’re early in learning this system. I know we have not played our best football. I think that ability to find ways to win without playing your best football is important.”

With a significantly more challenging schedule coming up, it’s not enough to rely on the performance before halftime, the kicking game and gaining an edge on turnovers. The Vikings need their biggest names and best players to be their most productive assets in this next schedule segment or their 5-1 start may quickly become a memory.