The Minnesota Vikings visited the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night for a mid-week showdown. Sloppy play by both teams resulted in a 34-28 Vikings loss, and after two weeks, Minnesota is 0-2 and in the cellar of the NFC North.
As predicted, Minnesota's aerial attack is performing well, and Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson has now reached 5,000 career receiving yards in only 52 games, which is tied with the mark set by Hall of Fame receiver Lance Alworth.
What isn't working well for Minnesota is the ground game. In the offseason, the organization chose to part ways with six-year veteran running back Dalvin Cook. The decision was made in spite of the fact that Cook had four consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons and Pro Bowls to match between 2019 and 2022.
Obviously, the Vikings front office was following the current NFL trend of devaluing the running back position. According to the prevailing theory, any running back can play the position and play it well.
So far this season, that idea has greatly backfired, and the Vikings are suffering because of it. With Cook gone to the New York Jets, backup Alexander Mattison became Minnesota’s lead runner.
In two games, Mattison has only has a total of 62 rushing yards, 21 receiving yards, and one touchdown. To make matters worse, he fumbled the rock on his first carry against the Eagles, giving Philly the ball at the Minnesota 39-yard line.
Unfortunately, what the Vikings have shown their future opponents is that they have no ground game to speak of. There’s currently no one to step up in Mattison’s place (the second leading rusher on the team is Kirk Cousins with seven yards).
Every one of Minnesota's 15 remaining opponents knows to key on the Vikings' passing attack because there is no threat from the backfield. Right about now, Minnesota has got to be feeling a bit of seller’s remorse and wish they had kept Cook.
To be fair, the Vikings do have other serious issues to deal with. Besides the run game, Minnesota fumbled the ball at an alarming rate. Missed opportunities due to turnovers in the Week 1 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers continued on Thursday night.
In addition to Mattison’s fumble, Jefferson reached for the end zone after a reception in the second quarter and bobbled the ball for a touchback. Then, Cousins coughed up the ball during a sack.
Clearly, the Vikings' ball carriers need to find some stickum and slather it on their mits like former Raiders great Fred Bilitnikoff.
Minnesota head coach Kevin O'Connell spoke about the team's excessive amount of turnovers following Thursday's loss.
"You lose the turnover battle 4-1, 7-1 in turnovers lost in two games, and we've lost by a combined nine points to two playoff teams from a year ago. So clearly, I've gotta coach it better from a standpoint of something we talk about every single day – ball security is a major, major focus in our football philosophy, but clearly, I need to do a better job."
There’s also the fact that the Vikings' revamped defense gave up 175 rushing yards to Eagles running back D’Andre Swift and 259 yards total on the ground. Yes, there is a lot more football to be played, but last season Minnesota's defense ended the year ranked 28th in points allowed. This year after two weeks, the defense ranks 25th in points allowed.
Hopefully, Mattison will break out of his funk and start tearing off huge chunks of yards. He only got eight opportunities to carry the ball against Philly because the Vikes had to play catch-up. Minnesota has also sustained injuries on the offensive line, which doesn’t bode well for clearing running lanes.
Ultimately, the blame for the ground game should be focused on the front office and the coaches. O’Connell mentioned this fact after the loss on Thursday.
"To me, we've got to do a better job. We've got to do a better job of coaching them. That's on me. We've got to go back to where we can find ways to run the football."
It also might be wise for NFL franchises (including Minnesota) to recognize their folly and realize that running backs are not a dime a dozen.