Murphy: 3 and what?
The Vikings are 3-0, a start that Brian Murphy didn't see coming (and is ready to get on board with)
By Brian Murphy
As the Vikings shred preseason expectations and opposing offenses like junk mail, I think about Richard Vernon and Carl Reed musing about teenage attitude and middle-age angst in the ’80s classic, “The Breakfast Club.”
The cranky detention overlord and street-wise janitor are crushing cans of Old Style in the teacher’s lounge and wondering whether GenXers will care for Baby Boomers when the authoritative shoe is on the other foot.
“What did you want to be when you were young?” Vernon barks.
“When I was a kid, I wanted to be John Lennon,” Reed says.
Millions did back in the day, but there was only one Walrus, goo goo g’joob.
Know who I want to be today? Brian Flores.
The Vikings defense coordinator is driving this purple and paisley bus on a magical mystery tour that has Minnesota sitting pretty with three victories in a row. And the hallucinogens have already kicked in during this unlikeliest of 3-0 starts.
Vegas projected the Vikings to barely win six games. This forlorn franchise is already halfway there after another dominant defensive performance in a 34-7 win over Houston Sunday at that cauldron of chaos known as U.S. Bank Stadium.
That’s consecutive cakewalks at home over 2023 playoff teams and 2024 Super Bowl contenders in the 49ers and Texans. And three straight wins for reclamation quarterback Sam Darnold, whose four touchdown passes and quick return from a second-half knee injury put fans through an emotional wringer.
Make no mistake. Despite all the handwringing about Darnold’s past and celebrating of his reboot, these Vikings are defined by Flores’ stealthy and swarming defense, which has trailed for all of 3 minutes, 26 seconds this season while yielding an average of just 10 points a game.
They are resurrecting ghosts of the Purple People Eaters and recalibrating expectations across the NFL and NFC North, where Minnesota sits alone atop this topsy-turvy division.
“The defense balled out today,” said Darnold.
Coach Kevin O’Connell is happy to ride his sidekick’s coattails.
“Really proud of Flo,” he said. “Having an absolute blast coaching with him, putting game plans together every week and kind of propelling this team that we thought we had.”
The soul-taking of Houston started immediately when nose tackle Harrison Phillips swatted C.J. Stroud’s first pass of the game to linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill, whose easy interception set up Darnold’s first scoring strike to Justin Jefferson.
It was the first among numerous splash plays Flores’ marauders made throughout a party-like afternoon in which the sellout crowd also played a starring role.
Stroud was picked off twice and sacked four times. Jonathan Greenard had three against his former team. Grugier-Hill finished with three tackles and two pass breakups. Linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel picked up his third sack in as many games.
All three playmakers were acquired this offseason after the Vikings jettisoned expensive and enigmatic quarterback Kirk Cousins along with too-expensive rush end Danielle Hunter.
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah flopped a flush by also bringing in Blake Cashman, Jerry Tillery, Shaq Griffin and Stephon Gilmore to fortify a defense that was slapdash and leaky a year ago.
Flores’ play calling has been overwhelmingly aggressive and wholly unpredictable, with extended stretches against the Texans when it looked like the Vikings were playing with 15 defenders.
Houston’s offense tossed them several bouquets with six pre-snap penalties in the first half, including an incredible four straight during one stalled drive that electrified the stadium and shellshocked four-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil.
Even referee Shawn Hochuli seemed exasperated at having to announce yet another false start against the Texans. Tunsil committed three false starts among his five penalties as Houston had no answer for the pressure and confusion Flores dialed up.
“They kicked our butts today,” said Stroud, the reigning offensive Rookie of the Year who was intercepted for the first time in 10 starts. “They are a great team, and they will continue to be doing great things.”
Great things are coming in bunches for Darnold, who threw for an efficient 181 yards without a turnover. The 2018 third overall pick matched his career-high three-game winning streak, but not before turning U.S. Bank Stadium into a funeral parlor and fans faces to ash.
Late in the third quarter, Darnold was chased to the injury tent after a late hit penalty on Hunter, who rolled up the quarterback’s left leg. Darnold sat out one play and returned to a thundering ovation that was more unbridled relief than unconditional love.
Besides Jefferson, Darnold tossed touchdown passes to Aaron Jones, Jalen Nailor and Johnny Mundt as Minnesota unleashed another disciplined and diverse offensive attack that kept the chains moving and hearts thumping in its biggest blowout in five years.
“Total, complete win,” added O’Connell. “Proud of our team. On to the next.”
That would be Green Bay at Lambeau Field and a week’s worth of intrigue about whether Packers star quarterback Jordan Love will or will not return from a Week 1 knee injury.
The bus is cruising. Flores is the egg man. His proteges are the egg men. And we are all in this together.
Oops. . . . a better predictor then were the first three games. Let’s go!
On to Green Bay and we’ll see how well the defense travels and whether the Vikes offense can overcome crowd noise. This one game may be a better predictor of season success then were the first