5 most disappointing Vikings in the loss to the Lions in Week 14

Brian O’Neill – RT

Brian O’Neill rarely lands on the disappointing list, but he simply got his ass handed to him by rookie Aidan Hutchinson on Sunday. O’Neill needed to take the lead dog role on the Vikings’ offensive line against the Lions. They were again without Christian Darrisaw and also didn’t have Garrett Bradbury, and it was Blake Brandel and Austin Schlottmann starting in place of those two. O’Neill should’ve led by example, using his play to inspire and raise their game to the next level, but instead, he looked like a backup himself.

O’Neill just looked old and slow against Hutchinson. The rookie used speed, energy, and leverage to get around him on numerous plays. On one play, he got O’Neill so twisted up that he fell ass over tea kettle, almost doing a full backward somersault.

O’Neill doesn’t get embarrassed like that very often. It was just unfortunate it came when he was supposed to be the strong link in this offensive line, but he was just as liable for all the pressure that Brandel, Schlottmann, and Ed Ingram were.