The Minnesota Vikings have come into the 2023 season with high hopes of defending their NFC North championship and joining the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers as the top teams in the conference. Based on the way his team played in the season opener at home against the non-descript Tampa Bay Bucs, head coach Kevin O'Connell may have to make several adjustments.

The Vikings dropped their season opener 20-17 to the visitors, as quarterback Kirk Cousins threw 1 interception and lost 2 fumbles. The Bucs did not turn the ball over in their road victory.

The Cousins interception came at the end of the first half after the Bucs had tied the score at 10-10 on a TD pass from Baker Mayfield to Mike Evans. The Vikings appeared to be responding with a late TD drive of their own that would have given them the lead, but Cousins' pass to K.J. Osborn was intercepted by Christian Itzen at the goal line.

O'Connell refused to criticize Cousins for his decision to throw the ball into tight coverage. “Didn't mind the decision. We'll take a look if location could've been better. … I want him to be aggressive. We fit that ball in there and score and everyone thinks it's great execution.”

The Vikings proved to be a dynamic team a year ago because of their consistent success in one-score games. They had been 11-0 in that category last year, but they are already 0-1 this year.

After hosting the Bucs, Kevin O'Connell and the Vikings face a short week to prepare for the defending NFC champion Eagles for a Thursday night game.