The Minnesota Vikings looked poised to take control against an AFC North opponent for the second consecutive week.
Minnesota forced a three-and-out on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ opening drive, and the offense quickly marched to Pittsburgh’s 13-yard line. The eight-play, 61-yard drive was efficient — aside from a fumble that Jalen Ramsey initially returned for a touchdown. The replay showed Jordan Mason had touched the ball while out of bounds, giving the Vikings possession back.
That fumble was the kind of play that had derailed numerous drives over Minnesota’s first three games. Even after they caught a break, the Vikings still couldn’t get out of their own way.
An illegal man downfield penalty negated a seven-yard completion to Justin Jefferson that set up a first-and-goal. Facing second-and-12, Carson Wentz hit Jefferson for three yards before taking a sack on third down. And on the field goal attempt, a defender fell on Brian O’Neill, who was on the kick team due to the lack of depth on the offensive line. O’Neill wouldn’t return to the game after suffering what was later determined to be an MCL sprain.
That sequence encapsulated everything that’s gone wrong for the Vikings in 2025: penalties stalling drives, missed opportunities to seize momentum, and injuries piling up — often to key starters.
When the 2025 offseason began, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah looked to build a roster that could win “different types of fights.” Minnesota’s additions to the interior offensive line were supposed to help second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy’s development as a first-time starter.
The Vikings brought in Mason to complement Aaron Jones in the run game. They added veterans Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen to give the Vikings an interior pass rush that had been lacking in 2023 and 2024.
However, injuries and a lack of execution are holding back those moves — and this roster — from reaching their full potential.
Mason is Minnesota’s bell cow now that Jones is on injured reserve with a hamstring injury. Having Mason as the primary back isn’t necessarily a bad thing. He has a 55.4% success rate on runs, compared to Jones’ 46.5% mark. But Jones is one of the better receiving backs in the league.
Meanwhile, Donovan Jackson, Ryan Kelly, and now O’Neill are all sidelined on the offensive line. Blake Brandel filled in for Jackson at left guard on Sunday, but he may have to play center in Week 5 against the Cleveland Browns if backup center Michael Jurgens can’t. Jurgens missed Wednesday and Thursday’s practices with a hamstring injury.
Hargrave and Allen have combined for 16 pressures through four games, per Next Gen Stats. Jalen Redmond has added eight. Together, that’s only 12 fewer than Minnesota’s starting three interior linemen managed all of last season.
Still, the Vikings are allowing +0.05 EPA per rush, the eighth-worst mark in the league. Last year, the Vikings allowed -0.17 EPA per rush, the best mark in the league. That forced teams into third-and-long situations, allowing Flores to disguise coverages and blitz creatively, even without high-end pass rushers inside.
One of Bill Belichick’s most famous phrases was, “You can’t win until you keep from losing.”
Right now, the Vikings are losing in multiple ways. They continue to lose players to injury. But they are also losing their defensive edge by allowing teams to run effectively.
Perhaps the most important player of all is suffering from both. J.J. McCarthy experienced the highs and lows of being a young quarterback in the NFL in the first two games of the season.
McCarthy was without Christian Darrisaw and Jordan Addison in his first two starts. Evaluating a young quarterback’s performance without his franchise left tackle and one of the top No. 2 wideouts in the game is tough. Especially when the Atlanta Falcons had their most productive pass-rushing performance in seven years during their Week 2 matchup.
Still, when Darrisaw returned in Week 3 to face the Cincinnati Bengals, he blocked for Carson Wentz, not McCarthy, who suffered a high ankle sprain against the Falcons. Wentz had an efficient performance against Cincinnati, completing 14 of 20 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns in a 48-10 win. It’s only fair to wonder how McCarthy would have fared in those circumstances.
Addison was effective in his season debut against the Steelers, catching four passes for 116 yards, including an 81-yard reception that got the Vikings back into the game. But again, it was Wentz throwing him passes, not McCarthy. So the 24-21 loss didn’t even provide the young signal-caller with valuable experience and reps. Addison’s breakout only added to the frustration that McCarthy wasn’t the one throwing him the ball.
Somehow, the Vikings sit at 2-2. The record feels worse because they finished 14-3 in 2024, and partly because they could easily be 1-3 if not for a fourth-quarter rally in Week 1 against the Chicago Bears.
Sunday’s game against Cleveland presents an opportunity and a warning. The Browns are turning to rookie third-rounder Dillon Gabriel at quarterback. Only one team has scored fewer points this season than the Browns. And their best defensive player, Myles Garrett, primarily lines up over the offense’s left tackle, setting him up against Darrisaw. That should somewhat minimize his impact.
But Minnesota’s injury report is growing by the day. Seven players, not including Darrisaw, who had a scheduled rest day, missed Wednesday’s practice. That number grew to eight on Thursday when the Vikings added Dallas Turner to the list with an illness.
Turner’s inclusion is particularly noteworthy because Andrew Van Ginkel has only played eight snaps since Week 1 and hasn’t practiced this week due to a neck injury that held him out of last week’s game against the Steelers. That could potentially force inexperienced players like Bo Richter, Tyler Batty, or Gabriel Murphy into the starting lineup. Batty is an undrafted rookie free agent who spent the first four weeks on injured reserve, and Murphy has only played five defensive snaps after starting the season on the practice squad.
Not surprisingly, the Wentz-Gabriel matchup may not be the optimal showcase for the NFL’s goal of global growth. According to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, the current over/under for Sunday’s game is 35.5. That’s the lowest of the entire NFL season and the lowest ever for an international game.
The Vikings are still favored by 3.5 points on ESPN Bet. Sure, Cleveland has allowed the fewest yards in the league, but can its offense actually move the ball? Minnesota still ranks seventh in fewest yards allowed.
A win on Sunday may not dominate the news cycle. It may not be ingrained into fans’ memories decades from now, or even next month. But a daunting schedule looms after Minnesota’s Week 6 bye week following Sunday’s game.
Beating the Browns won’t guarantee that the Vikings make the playoffs. But slipping up against a team of their caliber could torpedo playoff hopes before playing teams like the Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Chargers, and Detroit Lions.
To stand a chance after the bye, the Vikings have to “keep from losing.” That begins Sunday against the Browns. A win won’t be a statement, but it could be the spark this team needs heading into the toughest stretch of its season.
