Murphy: Style points not required
Brian Murphy writes that the Vikings winning ugly has put the Vikings in a good spot in the NFC
By Brian Murphy
Taking out the trash Sunday night has been a ritual in my neighborhoods from grade school into my 50s, a task made more thankless with that ticking “60 Minutes” clock signaling the weekend is over and another week punching the clock looms.
Double-fisting the garbage and recycling bins on that familiar journey to the curb it occurred to me how the Vikings defense is bringing joy and purpose to the grimy work that has this confounding team poised to make things messy for NFC contenders.
Whatever dirty job comes along this unit cleans up with a flourish, sweeping inferior quarterbacks and opponents into the dustpan and brushing aside whatever worries everyone has about Sam Darnold and the scruffy aesthetics of being 8-2.
8-2!
If it wasn’t already obvious the Vikings have hitched their fate to the play-calling prowess of defensive coordinator Brian Flores, who is sprinkling his 2025 head-coaching resume with gold dust. His unit is doing the grunt work to keep Minnesota in games while its offense meanders before dropping the hammer when it matters most.
The Tennessee Titans had no business keeping pace with the Vikings Sunday afternoon in Nashville. Will Levis’ 98-yard touchdown heave from his end zone in the third quarter managed to thwart an all-out blitz and resuscitate a self-destructive Titans squad in the midst of a lukewarm rebuild.
Otherwise the second-year gunslinger was a disoriented facsimile of an NFL quarterback as Flores and his merry band of marauders harassed and hurried Levis into a no-man’s land of poor decision making and prayerful tosses. The Vikings sacked Levis five times and hit him nine more, rag-dolling Tennessee’s decimated offensive line and simply waiting out the Titans until they could commit another devastating penalty.
Fitting that Knoxville native Harrison Smith capped Minnesota’s 23-13 victory with a diving interception on Levis’ desperation chuck with less than two minutes remaining. The safety’s 36th career interception was a coronation of sorts as Smith was serenaded “Harry! Harry!” by his Tennessee fans as he and head coach Kevin O’Connell walked through the tunnel to another victorious locker room.
“So, I started chanting too because I love him, such an impactful player for this organization,” O’Connell said. “How many times has he made a play like that, in a moment like that, where his team needs him and he’s there to make the play? One of my all-time favorites, it’s not close.”
Speaking of bouquets, I wonder which flowers O’Connell included in his arrangement for referee Clete Blakeman and crew. The Titans were flagged 13 times for 91 yards, including several razor-thin calls at pivotal times as the Vikings feasted on zebra charity.
Two Vikings touchdowns had officials’ fingerprints on it with unnecessary roughness and illegal contact infractions leading directly to the scores. Titans coach Brian Callahan’s neck veins were popping after Mike Brown was flagged for leaving his feet to hit Jordan Addison in the chest and neck, negating a fourth-down stop.
That should keep the officiating whiners in purple at bay for at least a week before resuming their decades-long crusade for martyrdom.
Not that the Titans should receive any more sympathy than the Jaguars, whom Minnesota vanquished 12-7 last week in northern Florida. You couldn’t create in a lab two better opponents for the Vikings defense to reassert itself after losses to the Lions and Rams and a dicey performance against the Colts.
Pass rushers Patrick Jones II, Jonathan Greenard and Andre Van Ginkel were monsters, creating havoc for Levis and solidifying some of the best collective play of their careers. This is a ravenous and intimidating unit that not only punishes opponents but challenges their ability to read and react to what Flores is unleashing on any given down.
Minnesota has 12 fourth-quarter takeaways, the defining characteristic for a group that knows how to finish. Darnold owes them all Rolexes for protecting his flank from naysayers who love to natter about all his negativity.
Darnold was pegged with his 14th turnover of the season on Minnesota’s third play from a scrimmage, a pitch that Aaron Jones muffed and raised eyebrows about the quarterback’s penchant for giving away possessions.
Per usual Darnold wasn’t rattled, nimbly hot-stepping out of pressure to finish 20-for-32 for 246 yards and two touchdowns. It was a bounce-back performance after Darnold tossed five interceptions the previous two weeks, all wins by the way.
So here are the Vikings, sitting pretty with plenty more hay to make heading into their annual clash with the Bears at Soldier Field. Three straight winnable games follow against Arizona, Atlanta and Chicago at U.S. Bank Stadium before Minnesota sandwiches a home game against the Packers around road trips to Seattle and Detroit.
Chicago (4-6) is cratering. Green Bay (7-3) is similarly flawed. Detroit (9-1) is on another planet. But the Vikings are tied with Philadelphia at 8-2, which means the No. 2 record in the NFC is theirs for the taking.
“We’ve got the right mindset,” O’Connell said. “Hopefully our best football is ahead of us because we’re working towards that while also winning games.”
And finishing every dirty job that comes along.
Great article Brian 👏 They can complain all they want about Sam Darnold but I'll take Sam's position over Kirko. And contract.
I’ll take 8-2 right now. Many teams are below the Vikings and disappointed. But the offense needs to step up.