Familiar weakness may cause Vikings to lose for the first time in 2024

The Minnesota Vikings are undefeated following a close victory over the Green Bay Packers on the road. After dominating the first half, Minnesota narrowly escaped a collapse at the hands of a division rival.

Still, the Vikings have looked excellent to open the campaign and have quickly changed the tune surrounding the team.

Similar to the Week 4 matchup, the Vikings let their Week 2 contest with the San Francisco 49ers become far more competitive than it needed to be. In both instances, Sam Darnold showed signs of an injury, and the offense sputtered a bit down the stretch.

Offensive line could cause problems for the Minnesota Vikings in 2024

Darnold has been far better than anyone could have expected and his ability to navigate the pocket has been tremendous to watch. At the same time, he has had to create on his own far more than any quarterback would prefer, thanks to some struggles by his front line to protect him.

Naturally, the starting tackles have been phenomenal. Christian Darrisaw and Brian O'Neill have done their jobs on the bookends to keep the offense in rhythm and balanced through their first four games. However, the interior has not been up to par.

The defensive lines that the Vikings have seen so far are among the best in the NFL so Darnold was going to face some heat eventually. With Dalton Risner on injured reserve, Ed Ingram and Blake Brandel have had to step up at the guard spots.

Inconsistency up the middle has been the key to the Vikings stalling out offensively at times. Against the Packers, Darnold was banged up and continued to face pressure, which created problems for the offense in the fourth quarter.

There are no perfect teams in the NFL, so of course, the Vikings will have to deal with some concerns throughout the season. As of now, the biggest concern moving forward is the interior of the offensive line and their inability to keep Darnold from having to create with his legs.

The good news for the Vikings is that Darnold has been able to extend plays. However, with two injuries already in the early part of the season, they cannot afford to let that continue. If he becomes stationary in the pocket or even misses time due to an injury, the season will quickly come to a halt.

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