The Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints Week 4 contest, which took place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, was a pretty entertaining game of football. If you are a Vikings fan, that isn't a great sign. The Vikings, who were largely expected to demolish a beat up Saints squad, barely pulled out a 28-25 victory after Wil Lutz's game-tying 61-yard field goal double-doinked off the field goal post as time expired.

A win is a win, but this was too close for comfort for the Vikings. They struggled to find the end zone for most of the game, and ended up watching the Saints, led by backup quarterback Andy Dalton, stay within striking distance all throughout the game. It's clear Minnesota has some things they will need to work on moving forward if they want to continue to win games.

With a 3-1 record, the Vikings are in a good spot. But they will face off against better opponents in the future, and they won't be able to get away with sluggish performances like the one they put up against New Orleans. Let's take a look at three takeaways from the Vikings close call in Week 4 against the Saints.

3. The Vikings defense has holes a lot of holes popping up

The Vikings defense had a seemingly favorable matchup in front of them against a beat up Saints offense. Star players Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas were out, and starting quarterback Jameis Winston also wasn't under center for this one. That forced Dalton into action, which seemed like a good matchup for Minnesota's defense.

Instead, Dalton did a lot of things right, and kept the Saints alive in this game. His numbers aren't otherworldly (20/28, 236 YDS, 1 TD) but considering how he hadn't played a snap this season up until this point, it's disappointing they couldn't do more with this matchup. It's also worth noting Dalton was without two of his top playmakers in Kamara and Thomas.

The Saints also did some good work on the ground despite being without Kamara. Latavius Murray led the way with 56 yards and a touchdown, while Mark Ingram and Taysom Hill chipped in as well. All in all, it was a disappointing defensive outing from Minnesota, and they won't be able to get by against better offenses with performances like this in the future.

2. The Vikings need to find a way to get Dalvin Cook going

Minnesota's offense hasn't really been firing on all cylinders to open the season, and a guy who has seen his production suffer as a result of that is star running back Dalvin Cook. Cook hasn't been bad by any means, but his numbers are a far cry from what we have seen him produce in the past.

Cook finished with 76 yards on 20 carries on the ground, while also hauling in two passes for 10 yards in the air. Again, not exactly bad numbers, but the expectation is that Cook will be averaging more than 3.8 yards per carry. He was admittedly dealing with a shoulder injury, but Cook still failed to get much going in this one.

This is the second game this season where Cook has failed to eclipse four yards per touch, and that's a concerning sign for the Vikings and their offense. Cook is going to need to be more productive in order for their passing attack to truly take off, and it will be interesting to see whether Cook can turn things around in Week 5 against the Chicago Bears.

1. Kirk Cousins simply may not be the quarterback the Vikings need

There were some high hopes for the Vikings offense heading into the season with new head coach Kevin O'Connell in town. O'Connell was billed as the guy who could help Minnesota's offense get off the ground in a way that Mike Zimmer couldn't. Considering all the weapons this team has, such as Cook, Justin Jefferson, and Adam Thielen, it made a lot of sense to expect this offense to take a step forward.

While they have won three games, this is the second straight week in which the Vikings have barely pulled out a victory over a team they were heavily expected to beat. A large part of that is due to their quarterback Kirk Cousins, who hasn't done anything to dispel the notion that he is anything more than a league average quarterback.

Cousins has everything he needs at his disposal to eclipse 300 yards passing every week. Yet through four games, he has failed to do that even once. Cousins hasn't looked any more comfortable in Minnesota's offense than he did last season, and that's an extremely concerning development. There's a chance that the system isn't broken; it may be just that Cousins isn't good.

Cousins has led his team to wins so far, but if Minnesota begins losing because their offense continues to fail to reach their full potential, many folks will begin to look towards Cousins and wonder whether he's the right quarterback for the Vikings offense.