The Minnesota Vikings dragged their way to a win this past weekend against the Jacksonville Jaguars, winning a tight matchup that ended 12-7. Minnesota finds itself with a promising 7-2 record, but their last two wins left a lot to be desired for the Vikings and fans alike.
Their most recent win was the most troubling, mirroring last season's 3-0 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, a team that Minnesota should have beaten with more ease.
The good news for the Vikings is that their defense looked electric once again, as it held the Jaguars to only seven points, in addition to accumulating three sacks, two interceptions, and a fumble recovery. The bad news is that Minnesota's offense didn't find the end zone all day and relied on kicker John Parker Romo to score the team's 12 points.
The game was far too close for comfort against a struggling Jacksonville team, who was without their starting quarterback. So, what problems do the Vikings need to fix before they face off against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday?
Problems the Minnesota Vikings need to fix before Week 11 vs. the Tennessee Titans
1. CDD: Calm Down Darnold
The Vikings had ample opportunity to blow out the Jaguars, but quarterback Sam Darnold looked as though he was actively attempting to lose the game for Minnesota.
Darnold threw three interceptions on the day, with all three of them coming in Jacksonville territory, two of which were in the red zone. Darnold's interceptions weren't plays that you could write off as a mistake on anyone else, either, as every turnover he had was forced by his own poor decisions.
Every time that Darnold threw an interception, he was trying to get the ball to superstar receiver Justin Jefferson, and he missed the mark each time. This has become a reoccurring issue for Darnold, as he seems to try and force the ball to Jefferson regardless of the coverage situation.
Darnold is too quick to pull the trigger on passes to Jefferson that it feels like he forgets Jordan Addison, who gets open a lot but doesn't get his chances. With the return of T.J. Hockenson, Darnold needs to realize that he has a plethora of weapons at his disposal that aren't Jefferson, and a lot of times, the other guys are open due to the attention the star receiver attracts.
2. Potentially find a new WR3
To start out the season, third-year receiver Jalen Nailor was looking poised for a breakout campaign. The breaks have since fallen off that hype train, as Nailor has noticeably regressed after a scorching hot start to the season.
Nailor was never meant to be some dominant piece in the Vikings offense, but his recent struggles have begun to hurt Minnesota more and more each week.
The biggest issue with him in recent weeks is his issue with dropping passes. It has appeared on multiple occasions that Nailor isn't even expecting a pass to come his way, and his drops have stopped Minnesota's drives dead in their tracks.
Nailor still has a decent grasp of the WR3 position for the Vikings, but his costly mistakes are starting to open the door more and more for competition. Could Minnesota look to replace him with Brandon Powell or Trent Sherfield Jr.? Or could the Vikings look to sign a free-agent receiver for competition, someone like Corey Davis or Chase Claypool?
3. Rely less on Aaron Jones
There is no denying that Aaron Jones has been a great addition to the Vikings this season. Jones has added a spark to a Minnesota run game that has struggled in recent years and also looks amazing as a receiver out of the backfield.
With that being said, the injuries keep stacking up on Jones, and Minnesota needs to find a way to reduce his workload and still be productive.
Cam Akers looked alright this past weekend, while Ty Chandler actually looked like the superior runner over Akers. Neither Akers nor Chandler have shown much this season, so just like with the WR3, could the Vikings look to add some juice to help Jones?
An obvious answer to help the running backs in Minnesota would be to sign a familiar face who is currently a free agent: Jerick McKinnon. McKinnon does work more as a receiving specialist than anything else, so the Vikings could look elsewhere for a more "between the tackles" running back.
Whatever the case is, they need to make sure they don't end up breaking Jones and losing him for an extended period of time, because a running back room of Akers and Chandler does not give Vikings fans much confidence.