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The Minnesota Vikings came into the season opener as defending NFC North champions, recording a 13-4 record and showing a propensity for winning one-score games. The Vikings were anything but a finished product last year, as they combined an offense that could produce explosive plays with a defense that gave up big plays by the bushel basket.
The Vikings made some moves on both sides of the ball in the offseason, and most observers looked at Minnesota as a team that would battle the Detroit Lions for the division title this year. They looked to be somewhat similar to last year's team, with the hope that the defense would be significantly better from the 31st-ranked unit that took the field last year.
That's because they brought in an aggressive defensive coordinator in Brian Flores, and while the Vikings expected to get tested in Week 2 by the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles, it was thought that they could come away with a victory at home over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the season opener.
But instead of taking charge and remaining in control against the visitors, the Vikings turned the ball over 3 times and they did not force any turnovers from the visitors. As a result, they suffered a disappointing 20-17 loss that could have ramifications in the weeks to come if head coach Kevin O'Connell can't figure out a quick solution.
O'Connell, quarterback Kirk Cousins and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah share the blame for the loss.
Cousins turned the ball over 3 times
There were times throughout the game that the Vikings appeared to move the ball with ease. Cousins seemed to work all of his offensive players into the attack, and it didn't seem like the Bucs had enough answers to stop the Minnesota offense.
Cousins had a solid statistical day, as he completed 33 of 44 passes for 344 yards, and that included touchdowns passes to Jordan Addison and running back Alexander Mattison.
It also included a key interception prior to the end of the first half. The Vikings had driven the ball down the field following a Tampa Bay touchdown pass from Baker Mayfield to to Mike Evans. Cousins was leading a sharp attack and had completed passes to Justin Jefferson, T.J. Hockenson and Addison on the drive.
With 23 seconds remaining, he fired a pass to K.J. Osborn on the goal line. Instead of taking the lead into halftime, Tampa Bay rookie Christian Izien intercepted the pass and allowed the Bucs to go to the locker room with the score tied.
Prior to that huge play, Cousins had fumbled the ball twice and the Bucs had recovered both miscues. The first fumble came after a Vikings offensive lineman had accidentally smacked the ball out of Cousins' hands and the second was caused by a brutal hit on a blitz by Antoine Winfield.
A veteran quarterback is responsible for ball security, and Cousins failed in that regard.
Head coach Kevin O'Connell
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While O'Connell is considered one of the best offensive innovators in the game, he may be too nice of a guy.
When he was hired last year, he seemed to bring a breath of fresh air into the Minnesota locker room after the hard-nosed regime of Mike Zimmer. Players enjoyed playing for O'Connell, and it showed as the Vikings won most weeks, and they played particularly well in the fourth quarter.
But after the first game of the season, one has to wonder how much the Vikings players respect O'Connell. Certainly, they like him. However, the fear factor appears to be non-existent.
This may make for a pleasant working environment, but it can also lead to players who take advantage of the coach's personality.
Modern head coaches are far more welcoming than their predecessors from previous generations. However, if there is a lack of respect — or no fear — a head coach will almost certainly lose the locker room at one point or another.
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah
The Vikings were awful on defense each of the past 3 seasons, and the Vikings did little to address that problem.
The big move was the hiring of aggressive and sharp-minded Flores as defensive coordinator. While Flores is able to change the game plan and the way personnel is deployed, he is not on the field himself.
No matter how strong his ideas are, it will still be difficult to slow down opposing offenses fi they don't have great players on the field.
That's Adofo-Mensah's responsibility, and he did not bring great defensive players aboard.
