Kyler Murray made his second start for the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, and it did not go as planned. Murray lasted longer than he did in his first start, when he was knocked out of the Week 1 victory over the Green Bay Packers with a concussion.
But Murray played like he was still seeing double, completing 15-of-29 passes for 168 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the 23-16 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Justin Jefferson’s ankle injury threw a wrench into the Vikings' game plan, and the reliance on Aaron Jones, who was playing with a knee injury, to lead the running game forced a pass-happy attack late in the game.
But that didn’t stop Vikings fans from having a knee-jerk reaction, with some calling for Carson Wentz to come into the game.
After Wentz led the Vikings to their first two wins of the year, Murray’s performance didn’t do anything to cool the "hot hand” debate. But it also looks past the possibility that Murray could get more comfortable the more he plays in Kevin O’Connell’s offense.
Kyler Murray needs more time to acclimate to the Vikings offense
Murray's insertion as the Vikings starter has been polarizing since he put pen to paper in March. While it should have been expected after the way J.J. McCarthy struggled in 2025, a section of fans wanted to see more from McCarthy, as he had just 10 career starts under his belt.
Even when Murray officially won the job, he didn’t do so in a dominant fashion, with O’Connell noting that the decision was made because of what Murray could become in the offense.
“There’s moments in time where you know there’s comfort from Kyler in the scheme. He had some really high completion days, where he was able to show some really, really good understanding of putting the ball in play.
…And as you continue to look at the body of work…what jumped out is what could be.”
A few weeks later, Murray made his first start against the Packers, but lobbed an interception to Keisean Nixon on his first dropback as a Viking. 10 plays later, Murray suffered a helmet-to-helmet hit from Packers defensive back Javon Bullard, bringing Wentz into the game.
Wentz helped the Vikings come back for a 39-22 win against Green Bay and did just enough to help the Vikings escape with a 9-3 victory over the Chicago Bears in Week 2.
For a team that is focusing on winning no matter how many style points they get, there’s an argument for keeping Wentz in the starting lineup. But that also eliminates the possibility that the more Murray plays, the better the Vikings' offense could look.
The proof comes in Sam Darnold’s 2024 season. In his debut with the Vikings, Darnold completed 19-of-24 passes for 208 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception in a win over the New York Giants. But the process of getting comfortable in the offense wasn’t linear.
Darnold threw an interception in seven of his first nine games as a Viking, and it included some clunkers, including a three-interception performance in a 12-9 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 9.
That game against the Jaguars was so bad, ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio wondered if signing Ryan Tannehill off the street would be better than riding Darnold for the rest of the season.
But just as it looked like Darnold’s carriage was turning into a pumpkin, he caught fire, throwing for 287.4 yards per game, 18 touchdowns, and two interceptions over his next seven games.
Of course, that led to two more clunkers against the Detroit Lions (18-of-41, 166 yards) in Week 18 and the Los Angeles Rams (25-of-40, 245 yards, TD, INT) in a Wild Card playoff loss.
But the same fans who wanted Darnold gone after those games may be screaming about how the Vikings let him go.
They may also be the same people who are screaming for Wentz, even though he became the first quarterback in NFL history to start a game for five different teams in five straight seasons before re-signing with Minnesota last spring.
It’s also worth noting that Wentz turned the ball over twice in the go-ahead drive against the Packers before they were wiped out by penalties and nearly threw an interception on the opening drive in Chicago.
But for a fan base that has zero patience for poor quarterback play, they’ll value Wentz dragging the Vikings to two wins over Murray leading them to one, even though there’s more upside in letting Murray work through his issues.
Vikings patience with Kyler Murray could have a big reward
If Murray continues to play as he did on Sunday, a quarterback change should be in the conversation. But it’s too early to pull the plug on this project.
The Vikings spent their entire offseason creating an infrastructure that could help Murray, and getting him a few more reps on Sundays could help him iron out some of the miscommunication issues he had against the Buccaneers.
There’s also a get-right spot for Murray in the offense as they host the Miami Dolphins in Week 4. Stuck in the middle of a rebuild, the Dolphins entered Week 2 allowing the third-most points (31.0) and the sixth-highest passing yards per attempt (8.6).
Those numbers didn’t get any better on Sunday, as they allowed 10.2 yards per attempt to Patrick Mahomes in a 24-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, and it could be the game where things begin to click, and Murray feels more comfortable.
Still, that may not be enough for fans who are still clutching their McCarthy jerseys. Or those who enjoy logging on to social media and crashing out when a Vikings quarterback doesn’t look like prime Peyton Manning.
It could also be that they had a preconceived idea of Murray before he arrived in Minnesota as a pint-sized video game addict who would rather be playing baseball, because they only watched the Arizona Cardinals if they were gambling or had Murray on their fantasy football team.
Heck, maybe they still miss Kirk Cousins, who also didn’t turn a corner in O’Connell’s offense until his ninth start in 2022.
Cousins also admitted that he didn’t feel comfortable in the offense until O’Connell, offensive coordinator Wes Phillips, and the rest of the staff returned for the 2023 season, but that doesn’t matter to fans who believe the Vikings are wasting a prime Super Bowl opportunity with Murray in the game.
Murray wasn’t good enough on Sunday, but it’s the first step in an offense that has been notorious for quarterbacks to learn.
If Murray gets more reps (and isn't embroiled in a quarterback competition that doesn’t exist), there’s a chance he could get better, and it could reward whatever shred of patience Vikings fans have left.
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