These Three Struggling Vikings Need To Step Up In Week Two
The Minnesota Vikings suffered a disappointing season-opening loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
New Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield completed 21-of-34 passes for 173 yards and two passing touchdowns.
For Minnesota, the offence struggled to generate much of anything outside of a terrific stat line for wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
So who needs to step up for the Vikings in their Thursday night matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles? Here are three players who I expect to turn things around.
WR Three
Vikings fans on social media were quick to point to wide receiver K.J. Osborn as a player who had a tough week one performance. Osborn finished with three catches on six targets for 31 yards.
On one Vikings drive late in the first half, with the ball in the red zone, Kirk Cousins threw towards Osborn, who had the ball for a second before Safety Christain Izien rips it away for a game-changing interception.
I'm not overly concerned about Osborn's outing against Tampa Bay. He made 60 catches last year and recorded 650 yards and five touchdowns. I fully expect him to step up and have a bounce-back game this week in Philadelphia.
The Entire Vikings Offensive Line
It was a bad afternoon for the entire offensive line of the Minnesota Vikings. Of course, it doesn't help when injuries plague the group early.
Fifth-year center Garrett Bradbury only played seven snaps before suffering a lower back injury. Bradbury was replaced by Austin Schlottmann.
Another important piece to the offensive line, left tackle Christian Darrisaw also suffered an injury in the game. However, he returned and played 58 of the Vikings' 64 offensive snaps.
Starting right guard Ed Ingram had a head-scratching play where he knocked the ball out of Cousins' hand on the dropback.
Offensive line depth was a clear problem during the preseason and it's starting to bleed into regular season action. The group needs to play better if the team wants to win on Thursday.
Ty Chandler
Running back Ty Chandler earned his spot on the 53-man roster with an impressive preseason showing. But now the games matter, and the Vikings need more production in the running game.
The team ran 17 rushing plays and was only able to generate 2.4 yards per attempt. Starting RB Alexander Mattison had 34 yards on 11 carries, while Cousins was the team's second-leading rusher with seven yards.
Chandler gained no yards on his three carries, although he did catch a screen pass, which he carried 18 yards for a Vikings first down.
With no Dalvin Cook, Minnesota is relying heavily on the young depth behind Alexander Mattison. I'd love to see the RB room as a unit improve this week and help drain the game clock against a fast-paced Eagles offense.
Final Thoughts
It's hard not to overreact to week one in the NFL. The Vikings should have won their game against the Buccaneers, but they didn't deserve it.
If the three positions mentioned above can improve in week two, the Vikings could have a shot on a short week against last year's Super Bowl runner-up.
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