By Matthew Coller
MINNEAPOLIS — What in the world are we supposed to do with this team?
The Minnesota Vikings won their fourth straight game to open the season, yet it felt like a loss. Again.
The Vikings’ defense mostly put Miami in a vice by harassing inexperienced quarterback Malik Willis all day with blitzes. The Dolphins got off a couple big plays that put them on the scoreboard but they largely had a bunch of three-and-outs, looking like pretty much every opponent that has played Brian Flores’ defense so far this year (and going back to last season). Willis finished the game with 85 yards passing.
But the Vikings’ offense was jeered all day by the fans, who chanted “We Want Wentz” at one point as Kyler Murray was struggling to get the offense moving.
To his credit, Murray was without his No. 1 wide receiver, starting running back, starting left guard and starting left tackle Christian Darrisaw, who played only part of the game due to suffering a concussion.
Also to Murray’s credit, he put together a really good final drive that closed out the game when his team needed it.
Still, the offense struggled against a team who built their roster to intentionally get to the top of the draft in 2027 is hardly promising.
We were looking for progress from the offense after a brutal performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week but it was hard to find much in the 15-10 game, save for Murray’s second-half completions to tight end TJ Hockenson.
They survived the Dolphins rather than beating the tar out of them, which you would have expected from an undefeated team at home.
Yet for all the penalty-filled, sack-riddled, offense that was on display (again), the Vikings advanced to 4-0.
It’s really difficult to be angry at an undefeated team that has suffered so many key offensive injuries early in the season. Actually, it’s hard to be mad at any team that wins four games in a row in an NFC that has all sorts of issues. From Caleb Williams being banged up to the Rams looking human to the Eagles’ offense falling apart to the Packers struggling to the Lions defense looking non-existent, it doesn’t feel crazy to look at the Vikings at see a future as a contender when they get healthy.
Of course, you might get pelted with hot dish if you say that in public because of how much Murray has had trouble getting the offense going. And that’s fair considering it’s been forever and a day since the Vikings offense truly had a good game. Not even a great game — a good game.
How can you not be asking: What is the ceiling for a team that needs its defense to hold the opposing QB’s to horrendous performances every week in order to survive?
That conversation is going to keep going until the Vikings make it stop.
Call this a “survive and advance” game but there aren’t too many of those left on the schedule. Next week the New Orleans Saints will give them a fight. The Colts can get hot on offense too if Daniel Jones is right. Then it gets crazy with the Lions and Bills incoming.
The most optimistic purple lover could make the case that they can get their players back and get moving. At very least, Murray hit some big passes to keep the time of possession stacked up in the Vikings’ favor and he didn’t turn the football over.
For Sunday, that’s all the Vikings needed to win. In the future, they will likely need much more. We don’t know if it’s on the way or if this is all their offense is going to be able to do and Sunday didn’t give us that answer.
Here’s how it went down…