While the Minnesota Vikings have started the season 0-2, it's not all doom and gloom for their season just yet. In fact, Mike Zimmer's squad is literally two plays away from being 2-0.
The reality they have found themselves in though is the slow start with the Seattle Seahawks and Cleveland Browns on the schedule over the next two weeks.
Here are two weaknesses the Minnesota Vikings must address to turn around their 0-2 start.
Secondary has to be better
The secondary for the Vikings in 2020 was miserable from start to finish. Yes, they went through their fair share of injuries but Zimmer is a coach who prides himself on that side of the ball and they flat out didn't produce last season.
Through two weeks of the 2021 campaign, even with the addition of Patrick Peterson in the offseason, it's been much of the same for that unit.
In Week 1, Joe Burrow had passes of 50, 32, 28 and 18 yards completed as the Bengals edged out the Vikings in overtime. Giving up yards is one thing, giving them up consistently in big chunks is another problem that enhances the worry for the secondary.
Burrow would go on to get intercepted three times in Week 2 against the Chicago Bears and he struggled big time in the Bengals' loss at Solider Field. Comparing and contrasting isn't a soundproof method but, seeing his performances against the Vikings and then the Bears has some in Minnesota scratching their heads.
Against the Cardinals in Week 2, the game was a shootout from the start.
Minnesota's offense did more than enough to hold their own against an explosive and dynamic offense that the Cardinals feature which is led by Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins.
The secondary once again struggled mightily.
Arizona has legitimate talent at wide receiver but the problem for the Vikings at times wasn't slowing those guys down (even though that was an issue), it was coverage breakdowns that had Rondale Moore and Christian Kirk wide open at different junctures of the game.
Minnesota did pick Murray off twice and both were awful reads by “K1.” One of those interceptions though, which was returned for a touchdown, came from linebacker Nick Vigil, not anyone in the secondary.
Murray finished with an even 400 yards and three passing touchdowns on the afternoon.
The Vikings secondary has to step up and whether it's personnel or scheme or a combination of the two, Zimmer has shown in the past he can find ways to make it work for the defense even if it is unorthodox. If Minnesota has any sort of encore performance that shadows what the secondary did last year, they will have little to no shot at being a serious playoff threat.
Finding a tight end to get more involved
Kyle Rudolph is gone and with the New York Giants and Irv Smith Jr.'s season ended before it ever started for the Vikings this year.
They traded for Chris Herndon but he only played 12 snaps on offense for the Vikings in Week 2 and was targeted zero times. Tyler Conklin saw the majority of the reps at tight end but only caught two passes for 15 yards.
Minnesota has plenty of legitimate talent on offense including Dalvin Cook, Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson. There are no weapon shortages for Kirk Cousins to work with. However, having some form of consistency at the tight end spot would add another dimension to this group.
The Kansas City Chiefs are so dangerous on offense for so many reasons but one is that it's hard to even start to figure out where the attention should get paid to. They have the best tight end in football in Travis Kelce, the fastest wide receiver in football in Tyreek Hill and a running game with Clyde Edwards-Helaire that goes under the radar but is solid enough.
This is not to suggest the Vikings need to find the next Kelce, that is impossible. It's merely pointing out how much more difficult it is to prepare for a team that has consistent play at the tight end spot.
It's possible there won't be one from the group on the current roster that can rack up a noticeable amount of targets each week and maybe the Vikings believe they can slide by without an adequate amount of production from that position in the passing game.
If Conklin or Herndon can rise up, it makes this group even more lethal.
It's not panic time yet for the Vikings and they will have a huge Week 3 matchup against the Seahawks. If they can tweak things around a little bit and get the secondary on the right path, there will be plenty of time to turn things around.
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