The Minnesota Vikings are rolling with Carson Wentz as their starter against the Chicago Bears in Week 2. After Kyler Murray suffered a concussion against the Green Bay Packers on Sept. 18, the team ruled him out for this contest.
Nonetheless, Wentz showed in Week 1, coming in midgame for Murray, that he’s more than capable of helping the Vikings win games. Wentz came off the bench and went 13-for-19 on his pass attempts for 133 passing yards and three touchdowns for a passer rating of 123.5 against the Packers.
Even if Wentz does lead Minnesota to a 2-0 start, former Vikings linebacker Ben Leber doesn’t see the team bailing on Murray as the starter.
“I don’t think [the Vikings will replace Murray with Wentz],” Leber said during a Sept. 8 appearance on 104.3 The Score. “I think they know what they have with Carson right now. And we all hope that he goes out there and plays a spectacular game on Sunday.
“But this organization, this fan base, and this team wants to see what it looks like with Kyler Murray as the commander and I think that whenever he’s healthy, and let’s just say that he’s going to be healthy against Tampa Bay, at Tampa Bay the following week.”
Vikings Probably Want to See Offense With Kyler Murray
Moreover, Leber notes that the team probably wants to give Murray a longer runway to determine how the Minnesota offense looks with the former No. 1 pick running the show, in contrast to Wentz and J.J. McCarthy.
“How does this offense differ from what we’ve seen out of Carson Wentz and J.J. McCarthy?” Leber added. “Are we more explosive? Are we a little more conservative, but still control the clock and move the chains? Are we getting the ball into Justin Jefferson’s hands? Are we being dynamic with all the playmakers that we have?
“I mean, that’s the one thing that you didn’t see from Carson Wentz last game. A lot of big-time plays to Justin Jefferson, but he missed on a couple throws to Jordan Addison. We didn’t see Jauan Jennings get involved as much. We saw the touchdown catch by T.J. Hockenson, but we talk about this offense being really diverse with a lot of playmakers. And does it become much more diverse with a guy like Kyler Murray? I think everybody’s excited to see that.”
Carson Wentz on Getting the Starting Against the Bears
After the decision to rule out Murray, Wentz spoke to the media and shared his thoughts on his mindset over the last few days, when the Vikings needed him to come in cold off the bench against Green Bay and now needed him to start against Chicago.
“Got to be ready,” Wentz told reporters on Sept. 18. “Got to be locked in, and the way you can be adaptable and stay ready is by mentally locking in. I think for me, the years I’ve been a backup, that was the first time I’ve really been thrust into a game like that. So that was a whole new experience. I think I talked about that a little bit after the game. So that was new to me.
“But again, I fell back on my preparation. I wasn’t maybe taking the reps during the week, but I go through everything as if I’m the starter. Guys have the same kind of mentality, the same approach, and the same kind of regimen as far as preparation, watching film, studying our game plan, all those things, and that paid off last week.”
Vikings Handed Clear QB Verdict With Kyler Murray Out vs. Bears