The Biggest Decision Kevin O’Connell Got Wrong Despite Beating Bucs (And What It Means Moving Forward)

O’Connell's failure to adapt can't be ignored.

While the Vikings won in Week 3, head coach Kevin O'Connell's performance was far from flawless. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“Your undefeated Vikings” has a nice ring to it three weeks into the season.

The Vikes have proven to be a feisty, resourceful team, finding ways to ride their dominant defense to victory even though their passing offense has been a complete non-factor the last two weeks. Former head coach Mike Zimmer would be proud, but entering Week 4, we can and must acknowledge two things at once: 

1. It is incredibly exciting that the Vikings are 3-0.
2. Their current offensive production needs to change very quickly. 

If defensive coordinator Brian Flores deserves credit for the defense's success, then head coach Kevin O’Connell needs to be held accountable for his abysmal offense. Their performance on Sunday certainly did him no favors.  

Despite the win, here's what O'Connell got wrong in Week 3.

Kevin O’Connell’s playcalling, personnel decisions are dragging the offense down

Sunday’s game plan on the offensive side appeared to be a disjointed mess.

First, and most importantly, we must acknowledge that losing Justin Jefferson fundamentally changes this team's identity. At the same time, Jordan Addison and Jauan Jennings have both proven to be too talented for the passing game to simply fall off without No. 18 on the field. Outside of a few explosive plays in the first half, Kyler Murray and the Vikings' passing offense were brutal to watch. 

The Vikings had 101 net-passing yards in the first half, with 93 of those yards coming on only three plays. They ended the day with only 152 net-passing yards. The run game was no better, despite a valiant effort from an injured Aaron Jones Sr.

O’Connell consistently speaks on the importance of emphasizing the run, but has failed to advocate for adding truly impactful playmakers to the room under three different acting general managers. If O’Connell truly wanted to add a genuine playmaker in the backfield during his tenure, former general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, this spring’s interim GM Rob Brzezinski, or new GM Nolan Teasley would have found his guy. 

Even in less-than-ideal circumstances, the Vikings had talent on the field, but O’Connell and Murray failed to get the ball to their playmakers. A perfect example of what could have been done came from a similarly bad offensive performance against the Lions last year on Christmas. O’Connell realized he needed to get the ball to Addison and found a way to make it happen (h/t: NFL).

JORDAN ADDISON JINGLE JINGLE ALL THE WAY!

DETvsMIN on @Netflix pic.twitter.com/ZbfwntyT44

— NFL (@NFL) December 26, 2025

The result: the Vikings' longest rushing touchdown of the season and the second-longest of O’Connell’s coaching tenure. Sometimes you need to get creative, and so far we’ve yet to see that from the 2026 Vikings offense, even though they desperately need to.

It's almost time to panic about the Vikings offense

Before anyone thinks I’m being hyperbolic regarding the situation surrounding the Vikings offense, allow me to put a few things into perspective.

The Vikings had their lowest offensive success rate in 20 seasons on Sunday, according to The Ringer’s Sheil Kapadia.

Dug a little deeper: this was not only the Vikings' worst offensive success rate in a game under Kevin O'Connell, but their worst in any single game over the last 20 seasons. https://t.co/kn98Y8oMET

— Sheil Kapadia (@SheilKapadia) September 28, 2026

That includes games led by Max Brosmer, the now-traded J.J. McCarthy, and even the legendary Josh Freeman Monday Night Football dud. Sunday’s offensive performance was worse than anything we’d seen from the Vikings in two decades. 

The Vikings are also dead last in the NFL in total yards per game. Sure, injuries and inclement weather factor in, but for a team led by a highly praised offensive head coach, the ranking is simply inexcusable regardless of circumstances. 

There's still a long way to go in the season; the Vikings have yet to lose, and Murray has talent. This offense can build strong momentum in the coming weeks before hitting the most challenging portion of their schedule.

At the same time, it's important to acknowledge how unsustainable the current offense is in today’s NFL. Right now, it's fair to worry that this could end with a similar outcome to the promising 2022 season, when one side of the Vikings dragged down a truly special roster. 

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