Sharp Clock Management Has 5-1 Vikings Riding High In NFC North

The Minnesota Vikings probably could not have drawn up a better map of how the 2022 season would start.

If we wanted to nitpick, the 5-1 start could be 6-0, but the Vikings were not the better team during the Week 2 Monday night game against the Philadelphia Eagles. However, rookie head coach Kevin O’Connell has shown in the early part of the season that he has a very good idea of what his team needs to do to win games.

The five wins includes a superior performance against the Green Bay Packers in the opening week of the season, and four other wins in which the Vikings did just enough to win. This includes their Week 6 triumph in South Florida over the Miami Dolphins.

The Dolphins started their third-string quarterback and then went to their No. 2 signal caller as the game progressed. It may be difficult to find a team that has suffered as many significant injuries as the Dolphins. However, this was by no means an easy game.

The injured ’Fins were an angry bunch after losing two games in a row and they had an array of weapons on both offense and defense. The Vikings offense looked inept on the first four possessions of the game, going three-and-out as if required by law. It was rather embarrassing.

But there was no panic, and that’s one of the best things to this point in the season. Kirk Cousins was able to ignite the passing game and the Vikings were able to do just enough to force the Dolphins onto their heels.

The Vikings came away with the 24-16 victory, but this game easily could have been lost. The Vikings forced three Miami turnovers and didn’t have any themselves. They also sacked Teddy Bridgewater five times and Skylar Thompson once.

A year ago, the Vikings might have outplayed the Dolphins for the majority of the game, but would have found a way to lose it. This year’s version of the Vikings may have a number of key issues, but they know how to win games.

Cousins did not have a brilliant game, but he was just good enough. He completed 20 of 30 passes for 175 yards with touchdown passes to Irv Smith and Adam Thielen, and he kept it clean on the interception portion of the ledger. Like may observers, he was perplexed by his own and the team’s performance.

“It’s very much the inverse of 2021,” he said. “I would walk off of the field after a loss and say: ‘Man, we’re playing so well. We’re playing so well!’ Somehow, some way, we lost. This year, it’s, ‘Gosh, we can play better.’ But we win. I’ll take this any day.”

This is where O’Connell deserves some credit. A rookie coach usually takes time to develop an understanding the nuances of the game, but he knows how to manage the clock and what plays to call to keep the team out of harm’s way.

Last year’s Vikings had a number of bad habits, and the worst may have been the tendency to give up points at the end of the first half. Former head coach Mike Zimmer would not manage the last two or three possessions of the first half with the clock in mind, and that would give opponents the chance to either score a late touchdown or a kick a field goal. The Vikings were usually trying to play catch-up, so these late scores would have a way of burying the team and making a difficult situation even worse.

The Vikings go into the bye week with a two game lead over the floundering Packers in the NFC North. While nothing has been decided, the Vikings are in a good position to deliver a division title and compete for the NFC championship.

Do they have weaknesses? Of course. How about a secondary that remains one of the most generous units in the league. The Vikings demonstrated they could put pressure on the passer against the Dolphins as Za’Darius Smith (2) and Danielle Hunter (1) both registered sacks. Nevertheless, the Dolphins still passed for 418 yards.

They will face Kyler Murray and Josh Allen in two of the next three games, and both of those quarterbacks have the skills to take advantage of Minnesota’s soft spot.

O’Connell and defensive coordinator Ed Donatell have a lot of work to do to improve their pass coverage. If they can, this season has a chance to be one that Vikings fans will cherish for many years.