Who is to blame for the Vikings loss to the Chiefs in Week 9?

Kevin Stefanski

During Minnesota’s four-game winning streak, offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski was given a ton of praise for his ability to get the most out of Kirk Cousins and the team’s passing attack while also still utilizing the tremendous talents of Dalvin Cook.

Sunday’s game plan continued to emphasize passing the ball, but it likely wasn’t the right strategy for the Vikings to use against a Chiefs defense that has struggled to stop the run all season long.

Heading into Week 9, Kansas City was allowing their opponents to rush for an average of 145 yards per game. Plus they were coming off a loss in Week 8 in which they let Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones gain 226 total yards.

So getting the ball in their running backs’ hands should have been a top priority for Minnesota on Sunday against the Chiefs. But Stefanski’s play-calling seemed to shy away from this train of thought.

Vikings running backs Dalvin Cook, Alexander Mattison, and Ameer Abdullah only combined for 30 touches against Kansas City after averaging over 36 touches per game in Minnesota’s four previous matchups.

Mattison especially saw a decrease in his involvement in the offense as he was only on the field for six offensive snaps on Sunday. This was pretty surprising since the rookie running back had been averaging around 20 snaps on offense per game since Week 5.

Thanks to the Vikings’ game plan featuring less involvement from their offensive backfield, the Chiefs didn’t really have to worry about stopping the run on Sunday. For a team like Minnesota who has been one of the top rushing teams in the NFL this season, failing to exploit Kansas City’s weak run defense is completely inexcusable.

Blame Percentage: 30 Percent