The Minnesota Vikings could not be a better team through four weeks of the season, except that they could. Like, they really could. And quarterback Kyler Murray is at the center of the problem.
Minnesota is undefeated. And as far as the win/loss column goes, that’s as good as it gets. Only the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, who met in the Super Bowl approximately two and a half years ago, can claim the same.
But the Vikings maintained their unblemished record by winning a contest full of them on offense, as the unit mustered all of 15 points on five field goals and beat the Miami Dolphins, arguably the NFL’s worst team, by a score of 15-10.
Judd Zulgad of SKOR North wrote on Sunday, October 4 that fans across U.S. Bank Stadium made their feelings on Murray, his performance and their starting QB preferences as clear as possible via a concise mantra.
“There were also chants of ‘We want Wentz’ that were heard from various pockets of the stadium throughout the afternoon,” Zulgad wrote. “Safe to say 4-0 has never felt so bad.”
Carson Wentz Was Far From Overwhelming in 2 Games Played for Vikings This Season
How much better can Carson Wentz make the fans feel about this offense? That is hard to say.
He threw for three touchdowns in relief of Murray after the latter left the team’s Week 1 contest against the Green Bay Packers with a concussion. Wentz did not manage a touchdown the following Sunday at Soldier Field, but got the 9-3 win nevertheless over the Chicago Bears on a wet day in the Windy City.
Wentz has thrown for just 276 yards across two games this season with a completion rate of 59 percent. But he is 3-3 as Minnesota’s starter stretching back to last year, while the team is 4-3 in games that Wentz has taken the most snaps of any quarterback.
He has tallied just shy of 1,500 yards passing as well as nine TDs and five INTs for Minnesota over that span.
Kyler Murray Had Strong Words on Vikings’ Offense Following Win Over Dolphins
Murray has thrown for 433 yards, one TD and two INTs in three appearances this season while completing just over 63 percent of his pass attempts. He has also rushed the football for 42 yards.
Wentz (50-49-1) has a better career record than Murray (40-48-1), but Wentz has also generally been on better teams. Their interception rates are just about even, coming in at 2.0 percent for Wentz and 2.1 percent for Murray. Wentz’s TD-to-INT ratio is 2.25-to-1, while Murray’s is 1.97-to-1.
But that said, Murray is five years younger than Wentz and far more mobile. Therefore, Murray is more capable of making plays with his legs in both the run and pass games. Minnesota’s run game is operating at a deficit without top rushing option Jordan Mason available due to a thumb injury, while star wide receiver Justin Jefferson missed Week 4 due to an ankle issue.
The quick story is that if the Vikings do make a change, it won’t happen soon, and they aren’t currently close to doing so. Murray spoke about the offense’s woes following the victory over Miami, saying the “door will get kicked down soon.”
“There’s no loss of confidence in that locker room. We understand who we are. We’re missing a couple guys, we had a couple guys get banged up today,” Murray added. “We gotta be better and cleaner, and we will be.”
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