Coller: Vikings Risk Wasting 3-0 Start If the Passing Game Keeps Sputtering

A sense of urgency is needed.

Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell needs to get the aerial attack back on track before it's too late. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

If there’s anything the Vikings have proven over their entire history, it’s that they can just have really good seasons in any sort of normal fashion.

Oftentimes, the double-digit win years are the ones where Vegas thinks the Vikings will win seven or eight games. They almost always have a quarterback that nobody would have guessed would be in purple two years prior. They tend to be driven by some strange events and have a bunch of weird factoids that come along with them. 

The most recent 14-win season in 2024 saw the Vikings enter with an Over/Under of 6.5 wins, Sam Darnold at quarterback (before he was Super Bowl champion Sam Darnold), and they had a 97-yard touchdown and some wild defensive performances against the Texans, 49ers and Packers to start the season. 

This year’s 3-0 start is checking the right boxes for one of those seasons.

Vikings' offense is an issue amid undefeated start

Already, with two quarterbacks combining for three wins by almost never succeeding on offense and getting the best defensive and special teams performances en route there, it’s an odd route to the top of NFC power rankings. The Vikings went from being favored to miss the playoffs to having the third-best odds (-245) on FanDuel Sportsbook, currently behind only the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers. 

Everyone who’s followed the Vikings is strapping into their roller coaster because sometimes these hot starts do not last. See: 2003 and 2016. 

Capitalizing on the moment

There are things about the first three victories for the Vikings that are here to stay. Brian Flores's defense has been remarkably good for a long time. Going back to the start of 2024, the Vikings have allowed the fourth-fewest points in the NFL, and since Week 14 of 2025, they are No. 1 with just 93 points allowed. 

The Vikings are 8-0 in that stretch, despite ranking 31st in passing yards and 26th in net yards per pass attempt.

What in the 2000 Ravens is going on here? 

Offensive concerns

Actually, the 2000 Ravens’ passing game was better. They were only 22nd in yards and 24th in net yards per attempt. 

During the eight-game win streak, there have only been two times when the Vikings surpassed 200 yards. But there have been many more explanations and excuses for why they haven’t been able to pass the ball successfully. 

Sometimes it was the offensive line’s fault. Sometimes it was poor quarterback play. Sometimes they were playing it safe because the defense was dominating (head coach Kevin O'Connell's new commitment to the run!). 

Last Sunday’s win over the Buccaneers was a struggle because Justin Jefferson went out early in the game. It was also Kyler Murray’s first full game since last October. 

The Vikings' passing offense has been disappointing early in the 2026 season. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Offensive coordinator Wes Phillips went into an explanation on Tuesday about how different position groups had small mistakes and vowed to have “clarity” for everyone going into this week’s matchup.

On tape, there were a number of plays that looked like Murray could have either thrown downfield or checked the ball down and then a dozen others where nobody seemed to be open.

Why does this always have to be so hard? 

It was tough not to laugh at Case Keenum coming off the bench for the Bears, having not played in years, and cruising to a better QB performance than the Vikings have gotten since Darnold in late 2024. 

Lately, passing the football competently looks harder than climbing to the top of U.S. Bank Stadium in a swimsuit in January. 

If this streak of passing offense that would make Christian Ponder blush doesn’t end within the next two weeks, then it’s going to be very hard to believe the Vikings’ 3-0 start can lead them anywhere other than disappointment. They face off with the Dolphins, who are currently 28th in points allowed, and then the 26th-ranked Saints. 

Throughout his career, Murray has been a solid passer. In 2024, his Cardinals team was 15th in team passer rating, 18th in yards per game and 14th in net yards per attempt. That team did not have Justin Jefferson or Jordan Addison. 

Yes, it’s a long season. Did you know the NFL used to only play 14-game seasons?

There’s a ways to go, but the urgency to get moving and find answers has to be extreme this week. If there are any more excuses/explanations after playing the Dolphins and Saints, then we have to start wondering whether it’s not exactly about the quarterbacks trying to navigate the system, but about the system itself. 

It truly can’t be this difficult to toss the pigskin from Point A to Point B when teams with lesser weapons and coaches with lesser reputations are finding ways to be decent around the NFL on a weekly basis. 

The Vikings cannot waste a defense this brilliant. They must find answers now.

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