The Minnesota Vikings unraveled in a Week 10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens that saw historic levels of miscommunication by the offense.
According to ESPN, the Vikings’ eight false starts on Sunday tied for the second-most by a home team since 2000. Those penalties proved to be drive-killers, but beyond the players’ miscues and three turnovers, Kevin O’Connell’s playcalling has been called into question by many fans.
Minnesota Star Tribune columnist Michael Rand took the temperature of Vikings fans’ woes, with the majority of their blame pointed at O’Connell — particularly a play where O’Connell drew up a deep shot to Justin Jefferson on third-and-1 that resulted in an interception by J.J. McCarthy.
Vikings Fans Assign Blame to Kevin O’Connell in Loss to Ravens, Columnist Says
In a November 10 column, Rand appraised the levels of blame for many Vikings decision-makers and players.
“My sense postgame is that [fans] are directing almost all of their frustration toward O’Connell. When a team is sloppy, it can be interpreted as a reflection of coaching. Specifically, throwing deep to Jefferson on third-and-a-foot (yes, a foot) from midfield to open the third quarter was galling to many. Sure, it was defensible in the context of giving Jefferson a chance to make a big play in single coverage with the opportunity to try again on fourth down,” Rand wrote.
The Vikings were ahead by a point before that interception, which was ultimately a 10-point swing after the Ravens converted a field goal and scored another touchdown after recovering a Myles Price fumble on the ensuing kickoff.
Price’s fumble doesn’t fall on O’Connell. However, there is plenty of blame to go around and O’Connell’s aggressiveness with a quarterback with just three starts under his belt proved backbreaking on Sunday.
“It can be viewed as unlucky that the worst possible outcome (an interception) happened. But O’Connell’s play calling, at its worst, tends to chase home runs when singles will suffice. Just get a first down, keep the drive going and let your offense settle in with a good run-pass mix. All that said: O’Connell is a good coach who didn’t have his best day. He is low down on the list of their long-term questions.”
Vikings Coach Kevin O’Connell Must Be Trusted in Doing His Diligence With McCarthy
From a game theory perspective, O’Connell’s aggressiveness and desire for explosive plays are a winning formula.
It may be ill-advised to play that way with McCarthy and instead dial back the offense to protect leads instead of chasing explosive plays. However, if the Vikings are going to become contenders, they must find a quarterback who can rise to that level.
McCarthy must be put into these situations to grow and develop.
O’Connell threw McCarthy in the deep end on Sunday to the tune of a season-high 47 dropbacks. It wasn’t pretty: McCarthy completed 20 of 42 pass attempts (47.6%) for 248 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions, but there were positive takeaways.
McCarthy completed four big-time throws for an 8.7% big-time throw rate, both season-highs. The offense posted 6.0 yards per play, the highest since a blowout Week 3 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Had Jefferson not stumbled on that deep shot, O’Connell and McCarthy may have had a much different conversation surrounding them.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Vikings’ Kevin O’Connell Facing Backlash After Ravens Loss appeared first on Heavy Sports.