The Minnesota Vikings offense is sputtering yet again, this time against the Detroit Lions, and calls are growing louder for the team to move on from starting quarterback Kyler Murray in response.
Longtime Vikings analyst Judd Zulgad expressly campaigned for the team to switch to Carson Wentz for the second half against the Lions, after Minnesota mustered just seven points in the first half against the league’s worst defense based on yardage allowed (391 yards per game entering Week 8.
“I know Carson Wentz is prone to miscues, but the Vikings should make the change for the second half,” Zulgad wrote on X. “Kyler just can’t operate this car and this defense deserves a show of support. Defense has been phenomenal against a really good offense.”
Kyler Murray Produced One Significant Drive for Vikings in 2nd Half to Take Brief Lead Over Lions
Alec Lewis of The Athletic echoed Zulgad’s statement, though in less specific language.
“This just doesn’t feel sustainable right now,” Lewis posted to social media. “It can’t keep looking like this.”
Lewis added another post following a brutal injury to Lions star linebacker Jack Campbell and his exit from the field on a medical cart that was more specifically critical of Murray.
“Play resumed. Vikings went for it on 4th. Lions heated them up,” Lewis wrote. “Kyler tossed it up and incomplete. One of the worst offensive performance we’ve seen, which is saying a lot.”
Murray was 16-of-27 for 206 yards, two TDs and one INT early in the fourth quarter. He had also rushed the football four times for 35 yards and had taken three sacks.
The vast majority of Murray’s production came on one drive in the early portion of the fourth quarter, in which he hit Jordan Addison on a 51-yard explosive pass play that set up a touchdown pass to tight end TJ Hockenson shortly after.
Prior to that drive, Murray’s stat line was relatively absymal. And the points made by both Zulgad and Lewis hold, even in the face of one good drive that put Minnesota up 15-12 with a little more than eight minutes to play in the game.
The Lions, however, responded with a TD of their own to take a 19-15 lead with roughly four and a half minutes to play in the contest.
Vikings Appear to Have Prematurely Traded Quarterback JJ McCarthy
The Vikings traded quarterback JJ McCarthy to the New York Giants for a fifth-round pick earlier this season in what now looks like a premature decision on the former No. 10 pick.
McCarthy, who is still just 23 years old, suffered through injury issues across his first two NFL seasons. As a result, he started just 10 contests for the Vikings before the team added Murray on a league-minimum deal this offseason and demoted McCarthy, first to QB2 and then to third-string before ultimately trading him.
The New York Giants elevated McCarthy to a starting role last week against the Houston Texans, and the QB completed 20-of-28 passes for 252 yards and zero turnovers on his way to earning his first win in the NFC East Division.
Vikings Calls to Cut Cord on QB Kyler Murray Grow Deafening Amid Lions Game