When a team is winning, it’s hard for offensive players who don’t get the ball as often as they should to be upset. When winning becomes losing, frustrations can quickly surface.
That’s what happened for the Vikings on Sunday against the Lions. Receiver Justin Jefferson, who scored a spectacular touchdown in the first half, didn’t see the ball as often as he should have during the proverbial nut-cracking period.
After the Vikings’ final drive — which oddly enough ended on a fourth-and-5 punt with 3:01 remaining at a time when Detroit’s ground game was clicking — Jefferson put on a rare display of frustration. After the 19-15 loss, Jefferson refused to speak to reporters, according to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert.
Which means that Jefferson, who has a habit of always saying the right things, doubted that he could do it.
“Obviously he’s frustrated, and that’s understandable,” quarterback Kyler Murray told reporters, via Seifert. “He is who he is, and he has every right to feel the way he feels when he doesn’t get the ball. It’s up to us to find a way to get him the ball.”
“We had a few opportunities for (Jefferson), and there were a few chances,” coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters. “But we have to find a way to get him the ball, especially on potential opportunities for him on some of these sequences where we’re looking to kick off. He’s a great guy to run it behind, and we’ll continue to find ways to give him the football. But this was a divisional game. These guys want to win. I don’t blame frustration or competitiveness in any way.”
Whatever the cause, there is clearly a problem. And Murray, who missed time early in the season with a concussion, should be aware by now. On Sunday he wasn’t good enough.
And here is the basic reality. At some point, whether en route to the playoffs or after the Vikings get there, Murray will need to make a big play in a big spot. The jury is out on whether he will.
The Vikings don’t have many options. They could try to make a trade, but who is there? They wanted to keep Daniel Jones after the 2024 season; maybe at this point the Colts would welcome the opportunity to move on.
Had the Raiders lost to the Jets, Kirk Cousins may have been available for a reunion. With Las Vegas now at 4-4, why would they move him?
The other option would be to roll with Carson Wentz, who has shown he can and will get the ball to Jefferson.
Either way, Sunday’s game exposed the Vikings’ biggest problem. Against teams that can’t be held to 15 points or less, the Vikings might not be able to put up enough points to beat them.
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