It hasn't been pretty, but the Minnesota Vikings are 3-0 after a 23-16 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. It was also Kyler Murray's first full game as the QB1 for the Purple, and it mostly looked like it, as he went 15-for-29 for 168 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
After only lasting 11 snaps in his Vikings' regular-season debut and missing Week 2 due to the concussion he suffered in Week 1, Murray was going to have some kinks to work through.
Add in the ankle injury that took wide receiver Justin Jefferson off the field for the game after just seven snaps, and Murray's general struggles are explainable and justifiable.
With key injuries impacting things in all three games so far, there will be better days ahead for Murray and the Vikings' offense. Just don't say that to any remaining J.J. McCarthy stans. To them, Murray is not allowed to struggle after basically missing the first two games of the season.
Kyler Murray gets bluntly honest about his first full game as the Vikings' QB1
Right at the start of his postgame press conference on Sunday, Murray was asked how he thought it went in his first full game as the Vikings' signal caller.
"You know, being a perfectionist, it wasn't as... we didn't execute as good as I thought we would coming in.
Hats off to them, their defense. You know, you have Jets [Jefferson] go out first drive; it's tough."
Murray talked about the struggle to adjust to Jefferson's absence, which undeniably changes how the defense plays coverage, or thinks they can play coverage. It's not an excuse, but take away the No. 1 wide receiver in any offense, and it won't be as good as it could be.
Murray was then asked about some positives he can take from his first full game as the Vikings' starter, plays that were made, getting a win, etc. His response turned toward the kinks that still need to be worked through.
"Yeah, there were some throws I missed... I felt for my first game, first full game since October last year, I felt [it] started to slow down for me. But at the end of the day, offensively, we [just] weren't on the same page."
It might've been easy to forget Sunday was Murray's first full game in nearly a year. Last season, the Arizona Cardinals pivoted from saying he could return from a foot injury to shutting him down so they could cut bait back in March.
If the Vikings' offense can't get it together, and the answers Murray had for the struggles on Sunday sound the same weeks from now, then there'll be plenty of room for rightful criticism of him, head coach Kevin O'Connell, etc.
For now, though, let's appreciate the unconvoluted honesty Murray put forth after, again, his first full game as the Vikings' quarterback and his first full game in nearly a year.
Add us as a preferred source on Google