Monday Night Football Disaster Puts Vikings Season in Chaos

Any hope that Carson Wentz was going to provide the answer to the Minnesota Vikings’ offensive problems quickly disappeared on Monday Night Football. It started badly, got worse, and ended as a complete disaster that left the Vikings scrambling for answers after a crushing 23-6 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

Monday Night Football Disaster Puts Vikings Season in Chaos

Wentz looked skittish from the moment he stepped onto the US Bank Stadium turf and by the second quarter an accurate pass felt like a pipe dream for Vikings onlookers.

By the time he was pulled in the fourth quarter to let Max Brosmer have some playing time, Wentz had a stat line of 8 of 25 for 81 yards and two interceptions, with a ridiculously low QB rating of 8.9. It was a horror show better suited to last week’s Halloween celebrations.

The boos from the home crowd arrived early and often as the Vikings offense stalled drive after drive. Minnesota only got on the board because of excellent field position from a Myles Price punt return, meaning they were in field goal range after a 3-and-out. The only decent drive of the day for Wentz came in the last minute of the first half when he was able to quickly move the ball 46 yards for another Will Reichard field goal.

That was the end of the scoring for Minnesota.

If Vikings fans thought the offense couldn’t get any worse after halftime, they were wrong. Wentz went from not being able to move the ball to giving it away with back-to-back interceptions to start the second half. It should have been three if not for a Bills defender dropping a pass thrown straight at him.

A team that started the season with six straight wins to start the year, saw its season delve into chaos by the end of Week 9, with all the talk being of last-minute trades to save the season and a head coach on the hot seat.

Wasting A Historic Defense

Brian Flores has his defense doing an unbelievable job this season. Against one of the best offenses in the league, Flores’ crew was manhandling Josh Allen and the Bills in the first half.

However, a simple but effective formula has emerged to beat this defense, and it’s mostly because of the Vikings’ inept offense and its inability to score points, to sustain drives, or to give the defense a rest. James Cook rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown on Monday night but that doesn’t tell the full story.

Minnesota’s defense had Cook bottled up for a long time, but it was inevitable that just like the week before in Detroit, they would break. Cook rushed 31 times, the most by an RB in a game this season. After not getting any rest and probably demoralized by their offense’s terrible performance, the defense broke in the fourth quarter. They still picked themselves up and forced a stop to give Wentz one more chance to do something, and he failed again.

There is no doubt in my mind that the only reason Flores isn’t currently a head coach, is because of his lawsuit against the league. The case for someone being brave enough to make that move is getting stronger than ever and Minnesota absolutely can not let Flores leave the building. Which brings serious questions about the future coaching positions on this team and that has implications for the rest of this season.

Never have I seen such a disconnect between what a team’s offense and defense are doing and it’s dangerously close to spiraling into a nightmare scenario in Minnesota.