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In his inaugural pass attempt as a Minnesota Viking, Kyler Murray launched a desperate Hail Mary under duress toward a double-covered Jauan Jennings. The result was predictable: an interception. This occurred on second down with less than a minute gone in the first quarter of a scoreless game. Shortly after, Murray was forced out of the game on a scramble, causing him to miss the remainder of that contest and the following week. These two plays perfectly illustrated the highs and lows of Murray's seven-year tenure with the Arizona Cardinals: hero ball and injuries.
Hero ball was ingrained in Murray from his college days in the Air Raid offense and his early years in Arizona, but also out of necessity. The Cardinals often lacked a competent defense, forcing Murray to mount comebacks or win shootouts. His injuries typically occurred on scrambles, though they were usually non-contact.
A More Conservative Kyler Murray
Based on Murray's Week 1 performance, the strengths of the 2026 Vikings, and his subsequent play, it appears a conversation took place between head coach Kevin O'Connell and Murray before his return. The hypothetical dialogue might have gone like this: O'Connell reminded Murray that since becoming head coach, the team has won at least 13 games in seasons with a healthy starting quarterback, and they win 90% of games when they tie or win the turnover battle. He emphasized that Murray doesn't need to play hero ball; instead, he should take what the defense gives, scramble only when necessary, avoid contact, and slide. Throwaways are acceptable. O'Connell also pointed out that Murray now has a defense he can rely on, something he lacked in the past.
Since returning after Week 1, Murray has been more conservative. He has been careful with the football—no turnover-worthy plays according to PFF—and more judicious with his scrambling, avoiding contact and sliding when he does run. There have been instances where he considered throwing into tight windows but thought better of it. That's not to say he avoids all tight-window throws or deep shots—he has made them—but they come within the context of taking what the defense allows rather than forcing passes into coverage.
Getting Acclimated?
Still, there have been moments where rhythm or timing has been off, causing Murray to miss throwing windows or be inaccurate. He has also shown rust, particularly in his first full game against the Buccaneers, when his adjusted completion percentage was just 66.7%—well below his career average—and his average time to throw was 3.35 seconds, well over his career average. However, in the Dolphins game, his average time to throw dropped to 3.07 seconds—still above his career average but an improvement. His accuracy jumped to 90.6%, albeit on shorter depth of target, as the Dolphins focused on taking away deeper routes, likely after seeing Murray's deep shots to Jordan Addison the previous week. Murray also seemed to find a rhythm late in the Dolphins game, developing rapport with TJ Hockenson that should pay dividends down the line. Murray now ranks 5th in adjusted completion percentage and 4th in turnover-worthy play rate on the season. Nevertheless, the Vikings offense is hardly firing on all cylinders after four games, ranking near the bottom of the league in most major metrics.
Outlook for the Vikings Offense
A month into the season, Kyler Murray and Justin Jefferson have been on the field together for just 17 plays. Clearly, having Carson Wentz start two games at quarterback while Justin Jefferson missed all but one drive of Murray's last two starts has impacted the offense. Add Jordan Mason being out the last three games, and these injuries have made everything more difficult, which has shown on the field. Murray's acclimation process was also delayed by the two games he missed. But going forward, there is reason for optimism and improvement.
Return of Justin Jefferson: Jefferson's return, possibly this Sunday, is crucial not just for his production but because his presence makes it harder to defend the rest of the offense.
Return of Jordan Mason: Mason will return after the bye week and is the Vikings' best back. He will also take the load off Aaron Jones, who has done reasonably well in Mason's absence, but having Mason back will improve the ground game.
Kyler Murray continuing to acclimate: It's only been two games, but Murray is getting more comfortable and developing rapport with his receivers, most recently TJ Hockenson. Only a couple of passes have been seen from Murray to Jefferson, but Murray worked on that rapport in training camp, so it might be further along despite limited playing time. His rapport with Addison isn't quite there yet, despite some key receptions. More reps will help across the board. It's still very early.
Next Opponents Lack Strong Defense: The Vikings offense will have the opportunity to gel against opponents over the next four games that rank in the bottom half in pass defense DVOA. The Saints, Colts, Lions, and Bills all rank in the mid-20s in pass defense DVOA. The Saints, Colts, and Lions also rank in the bottom six in run defense DVOA, while the Bills rank 17th. The losses of Josh Oliver and now Donovan Jackson for the season are significant, but Joe Huber looks capable of filling in without a big drop-off. It appears the Vikings may replace Oliver in part with an extra lineman (Caleb Tiernan), but Gavin Bartholomew and Max Bredeson could see more snaps as well.
Jauan Jennings looks like a bad fit now: Before the season, the acquisition of Jauan Jennings seemed like a perfect fit for the Vikings' offense. He was a big, tough receiver for the 49ers who could block, move the chains on underneath passes, and make contested catches in the end zone. He has done none of that so far. Part of the problem is that Kevin O'Connell has him running a different set of routes that he's not good at. Jennings is not an athletic receiver or a detailed route runner. He's more of a tight end in that respect. He can run shallow crossers, slants, stops, and flat routes and make contested catches with his size. But he's running downfield routes now and not gaining separation—as expected. Worse, he's the lowest-graded run blocker on the team so far this season according to PFF. At this point, Tai Felton or Myles Price look like better WR3 options. Price has the third-best run blocking grade on the team, albeit on just 15 reps. Maybe Jennings can be salvaged, or maybe he will be replaced, but there is an opportunity for improvement at WR3 that could help the offense moving forward.
Bottom Line
It's been a slow start for the Vikings offense for various reasons, but it's reasonable to expect gradual improvement in the coming weeks with the return of key players and Kyler Murray continuing to get more acclimated and comfortable running the offense. Building rapport with receivers and getting the rhythm and timing down takes time, and that will be an ongoing process for the rest of the season. There will also be a continued effort to learn what plays work best in this edition of O'Connell's offense. Hopefully, that will include more of the innovative run play designs expected from Frank Smith given what he did in Miami as OC under Mike McDaniel. Stay tuned.
Originally reported by yahoo.