3 Vikings Overreactions After the First Quarter of 2026 Season (Is Kyler Murray the Future?)

A quarter of the way through the 2026 NFL season, the Vikings are just one of three remaining undefeated teams. And while it hasn't always looked pretty, it's hard to complain about a 5-0 start.

Still, there are plenty of questions to be asked about this Jekyll and Hyde team, and we're here to judge some of them. Is Kyler Murray the guy for 2027? Should Brian Flores have Kevin O'Connell's job?

Let's get it those and more with some overreactions five games in.

1. The Vikings have their quarterback of the future in Kyler Murray

After two impressive weeks, a picture of what Minnesota's offense could look like with Murray for the next few months (or years) is starting to take shape. Despite a rocky start, Murray has racked up 543 total yards over the past two games and has the Vikings' offense looking functional.

As he gets more comfortable (h/t Bring Me The Sports' Will Ragatz), Murray should improve even more in this new iteration of O'Connell's offense. But what level of play—or wins—will have the Vikings shelling out $200 million to retain him?

Here's Kyler Murray converting nine third downs against the Saints with his arm and his legs.

Good football player. pic.twitter.com/1e0zLkSs51
— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) October 12, 2026

It's hard to say, and if Murray's play is good enough to warrant a new deal, he'll certainly have the attention of other teams as well. Baker Mayfield's recent three-year, $165 million deal is likely the starting point for Murray, assuming he continues his 2026 ascension, and as much as the Vikings may like keeping their current starter, they'll need to put their money where their mouth is after essentially getting him for pennies this season.

Despite Murray's shorter stature, an even shorter history of winning football, and debatable fit with O'Connell, it would certainly be hard to let yet another veteran walk and go on to do great things. If Murray delivers the Vikings' first playoff win in seven years, the decision will be an impossible one, especially with the possibility of Justin Herbert, Mac Jones or others becoming available.

Verdict: Not an overreaction

2. Brian Flores should be the head coach of Minnesota in 2027

This idea has come up often enough that it deserves addressing. Clearly, the Vikings have been propelled by Flores's elite defense, while O'Connell and the offense have lagged behind, tinkering and toiling to simply achieve mediocrity.

But would the Vikings actually move on from O'Connell in favor of Flores?

O'Connell has yet to win a playoff game since becoming the head man in 2022, and just bailed on his 10th-overall pick quarterback after 10 starts. It's not the greatest resume, and for most franchises, moving on seems like the prudent thing to do, barring an epic playoff run in 2026.

And yet, the Vikings are not like most franchises, and their faith in O'Connell appears to be just as strong as it was the day they hired him. That's for good reason, too.

Kevin O'Connell talks to a player. — Despite some fans' pipe dreams, Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell likely isn't losing his job anytime soon. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As the man himself has pointed out several times, when the Vikings stay healthy at quarterback, O'Connell's teams win. A lot. In the seasons that O'Connell had his starter all year, he's 27-7. In the years he hasn't, the Vikings are 17-18. Of course, any coach would be better off with their starting quarterback staying healthy, but O'Connell has proved with two, and now maybe three, different signal-callers that he can win double-digit games with at least average play behind center.

Flores is a genius in his own right, and he might very well get another opportunity elsewhere, but it's just too hard to see the Vikings moving away from O'Connell.

Verdict: Overreaction

3. Defensive domination in unsustainable

Speaking of Flores, the Vikings' defense is playing some of the best football in the NFL, and there are exactly zero offensive coordinators in the league looking forward to facing Minnesota right now. But despite ranking top-five in virtually every defensive metric, does trouble lie ahead?

The answer is no, unless injuries start to stack up. Eight of the Vikings' defensive starters have been on the field for at least 80% of the snaps (h/t ESPN), highlighting both their injury luck and a possible lack of depth.

Are rookies Caleb Banks, Domonique Orange or Jake Golday ready to start 10 or more games if needed? Likely not, and the Vikings probably know that. If a key injury happened, general manager Nolan Teasley & Co. could add a free-agent veteran while ramping their rookies up to speed. Still, despite the overwhelming amount of snaps from the starters, there's little reason to think the defense would crater if one or even several were lost to injury.

Surely the injury bug will bite at some point, but the Vikings are too well-balanced and well-coached to see the wheels fall completely off. Moving on.

Verdict: Overreaction

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