Vikings Week 2 Mailbag: Offensive Concerns, Carson Wentz's Shelf Life, Battling the Bears & More

It's Wednesday, which can only mean one thing: it's time to head to the old X machine and answer your questions for my weekly Vikings mailbag!

Opinions and concerns vary after a tale of two halves in the Vikings' Week 1 contest against the Packers. With the team heading to face the defending NFC North Champs in Chicago, fair questions remain about how sustainable last week’s performance actually is and whether Carson Wentz could be the man to lead the charge.

Here are four questions about what we saw last week and what Vikings fans can expect going into Week 2.

To submit your questions, reach out to Jason Harmon on X.

Concerns about Vikings' offense

The offense put up 39, but struggled mightily when it needed to actually drive the field longer than anything inside our own 40-yard line. What can they do to actually move the ball instead of relying on our defense and special teams for good setups?
@EarlTreloar on X

This is a great question, and one of the more honest ways to assess last Sunday’s game.

A 17-point victory makes it easy to ignore that Green Bay outgained Minnesota 419-239 in total yardage, even as Jordan Love ran for his life from the onslaught of defensive coordinator Brian Flores’s pass rush. The bottom line is we will need to see much more from Carson Wentz, Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason, especially against what seemed to be a less-than-great Bears defense from week one.

The Bears allowed 361 passing yards and three passing TDs to Panthers QB Bryce Young, and with the weapons the Vikings have, Wentz will need to have a similar performance on Sunday. Chicago’s offense will find ways to gain yardage, even against Minnesota’s stacked defense, so the offense will have to find explosive plays.

I’d look to rely on the gun game early, own time of possession, and let it fly for chunk yardage in play-action.

Waking up Jordan Addison, Jauan Jennings

“We have one of the best WR rooms in the league, but Addison and Jennings had zero receptions in Week 1. What can we do to get them more involved? Or is their lack of productivity a byproduct of Wentz being thrown into the game?”
@VikesReport on X

At least Kyler Murray tried to get Jauan Jennings his first catch as a Viking, huh? In all seriousness though, this is certainly not sustainable, especially now that opposing defenses must suddenly remember that Justin Jefferson is very good at football.

Wentz coming into the game likely threw things for a loop. While he avoided turnovers and found the end zone when needed, his accuracy and decision-making can still leave much to be desired. There were also multiple plays where one or both were open, and Wentz skipped right past them, a possible sign of an understandable Jefferson bias.

There’s zero reason this shouldn’t have been a gimme throw. pic.twitter.com/ZlkKHI5Rmo
— Jason Harmon (@JasonHarmonNFL) September 13, 2026

I’d expect head coach Kevin O’Connell to find ways to get both Addison and Jennings in the mix early on Sunday, get both receivers in a rhythm and soften the coverages against Jefferson.

All Wentz has to do is actually get them the ball.

Bracing for the Bears

“The Bears just put up 59 on a playoff team from a year ago… what do the Vikings need to do to slow Chicago’s speed down?”
@TFitterer16 on X

This matchup won't be easy, and for a reason: the Bears are favored after their impressive Week 1 showing led by HC Ben Johnson and quarterback Caleb Williams.

The Vikings should be able to pressure Williams on Sunday, but the question is whether they can contain him. Williams has yet to have a truly impressive game against Flores in their four career matchups. Still, he has certainly been a much harder target to bring down than other QBs, using his special ability to navigate behind and beyond the line of scrimmage(h/t:NFL).

The speed of their weapons won’t mean much if the defense can bring them down in the backfield, but they’ll have to actually finish plays to make that happen.

CALEB WILLIAMS WITH ANOTHER RUSHING TD

CHIvsCAR on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/2PrIr5jYnz
— NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2026

Tackling is a major worry for this defense, as form and finish have been wildly inconsistent. With Williams’ unique size and elusiveness and the Bears’ set of weapons, the Vikings cannot afford to whiff at the point of attack.

Carson Wentz's outlook

“How long do you think this Carson Wentz thing can last?”
@slothfarm on X

This may seem like a cop-out, but this Sunday should give us a clear idea. At this moment, I don’t see a world where a healthy Kyler Murray is not your starting QB, but what if Wentz has a 2017-esque throwback performance on Sunday? All bets are off.

What Wentz and the Vikings accomplished on Sunday was incredibly fun and ultimately led to victory, but 133 yards won't cut it for long.

Even with some changes to the Vikings’ offensive philosophy, the passing game needs to find explosives, and Wentz's 133 yards against the Packers will not be a sustainable stat line much longer. Ultimately, wins are all that matter, but the Vikings will need their QB to do some special things against the best opponents.

Right now, I still see Murray as the team’s best chance to make that happen, whenever he's back.

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