When does a victory feel like a loss?
Ask that question of Minnesota Vikings fans and they likely would point to what happened Sunday at Soldier Field. The Vikings’ 19-13 win over the Chicago Bears gave Minnesota its second victory in six games but it also hammered home the reality of this season.
These Vikings aren’t good enough to be a threat in the NFC, but they aren’t going to be bad enough to get in a position to grab one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL draft. It’s a familiar feeling for a fan base that knows a 1-4 start presented the possibility of embracing short-term pain for a long-term payoff.
As ugly as the Vikings played on Sunday, and as bad as their offense looked, the Bears have them beat at being bad. Chicago, which finished 3-14 last season and is now 1-5, not only will have its own high first-round pick but also holds Carolina’s first-rounder. The Panthers traded that pick to Chicago last spring for the right to draft quarterback Bryce Young first overall.
The 0-6 Panthers are one of the few teams worse than the Bears and also are the other team the Vikings beat this season. Try as they might, and the Vikings tried in both cases, Minnesota isn’t losing to the Bears and Panthers.
That leaves general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and coach Kevin O’Connell in charge of a rudderless football ship. Adofo-Mensah has attempted to call this a competitive rebuild, but it’s really more of an identity crisis.
The Vikings are supposed to be a team that relies on its offense — even with Justin Jefferson sidelined — and gets enough from its defense to win games. But the defense accounted for as many touchdowns as the offense on Sunday.
Vikings’ receivers dropped a handful of passes, and while O’Connell spoke highly of Kirk Cousins’ play, the quarterback’s decision to throw a backward pass that should have resulted in a second-quarter turnover couldn’t be overlooked.
O’Connell attempted to put a positive spin on matters, but neither he nor Cousins sounded very convincing or satisfied in their postgame press conferences.
Vikings coaches and players are likely to spend the coming week talking about getting back in the NFC playoff picture but don’t expect Minnesota to be favored in its Monday night matchup next week with San Francisco at U.S. Bank Stadium. The 49ers (5-1) lost their first game of the season on Sunday and had wide receiver Deebo Samuel (shoulder) and running back Christian McCaffrey (oblique, rib) leave because of injuries.
That might be good news for the Vikings, but their problems this season have been more self-inflicted than anything. Of course, miscues made against bottom-feeders like the Panthers and Bears don’t result in losses. But mediocre to good teams, such as the Buccaneers, Eagles, Chargers and Chiefs will take advantage of turnovers and dumb mistakes and that’s what those four teams have done in beating the Vikings.
The Vikings’ issue now will be picking a path for the remainder of their season before the Oct. 31 NFL trade deadline. Do they hold on to veterans who would bring back draft picks, or do they make moves and, thus, acknowledge that wins over the Panthers and Bears mean little?
The reason many Vikings fans were hoping for a loss on Sunday was because a 1-5 record would have provided franchise leaders with a road map of what they should do. But, as is often the case with the Vikings, they aren’t going to make things easy for anyone. And that includes themselves.
Judd Zulgad is co-host of the Purple Daily Podcast and Mackey & Judd podcast at www.skornorth.com
