5 takeaways from the Vikings Week 4 loss to the Bears

Stefanski needs to call smarter plays

We discussed earlier how Kirk Cousins had pressure in his face all game long on Sunday and it led to the offense being unable to do much of anything.

Part of the Vikings’ offense struggling this week, however, also had to with the types of plays that were being called. Despite Cousins facing a constant dose of pressure from the Bears’ defense, Minnesota offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanksi didn’t make the proper adjustments to his play-calling until it was too late.

With the amount the Vikings’ offensive line was struggling to do their job on Sunday, Stefanski should have been calling more plays that call for Cousins to get the ball out quickly. Instead, Minnesota had their quarterback continue to drop back five and seven steps and then unsurprisingly struggle when Chicago’s pass rush quickly collapsed the pocket.

In the fourth quarter, Stefanski finally started to call more plays with shorter drop-backs and quicker throws. This adjustment clearly should have been made sooner because it resulted in the Vikings’ only points of the game.

Hopefully, Stefanski will be able to look at this week’s film and realize that the offense performed much better when he called the quicker, simpler plays. If not, his first season as an NFL offensive coordinator could also be his last.