In the middle of his Monday news conference, in the midst of answering a specific question about the special teams gaffe that proved to be the last thing the Vikings couldn’t overcome in Sunday’s 19-17 loss to the Bears, head coach Kevin O’Connell got to the heart of what is wrong with this year’s 4-6 squad.

“I think there’s an element to it, too, where guys want to win so bad, they want to win that down so bad. ... They think in their minds in the moment is the best thing for the play is by going to make the play myself,” O’Connell said. “I think there’s some of that going on throughout our team. It’s a better problem to have than, than trying to find the fight and trying to find the guys that will play physical and hard for 60 minutes. We have that box checked in my opinion right now.”

That boils down to this: The Vikings are playing hard but not smart. And more to the point, players are pressing and trying to do to much instead of trusting their assignments.

It feels like a fair assessment, one that matches my eye test.

If we can agree that O’Connell has diagnosed a key part of the team’s problem this year, let’s talk at the start of today’s 10 things to know about why it’s happening and whether it can be fixed.

Every team deals with injuries and absences. The Vikings had specific and damaging examples from the jump. Justin Jefferson missed much of training camp with a hamstring issue. Jordan Addison missed three games with a suspension. J.J. McCarthy missed five games. The offensive line has been beset with injuries. On defense, Andrew Van Ginkel in particular stands out as a key absence.

Those explain in part the underperformance relative to expectations on both sides of the ball. Pro Football Focus grades the Vikings offense as No. 28 in the NFL and the defense No. 24. I would have imagined they would be closer to No. 15 and No. 5 at the start of the year. When both sides of the ball struggle, heroes try to emerge.

Ironically, PFF ranks the Vikings as having the No. 1 special teams in the entire NFL. They have a high level and a high standard. But the kickoff coverage unit “got greedy” on that play against the Bears. There was pressure to deliver; the kickoff came with 50 seconds left in a one-point game. Taking precious seconds off the clock and keeping the Bears from starting at the 35 (where a touchback would put them) mattered a lot given that Chicago had three timeouts. Instead of being satisfied with a good play and trusting the defense to do the rest, a handful of players tried to do too much.

The elephant in the room, though, is the overall play the Vikings have received from their quarterbacks. Between five starts each from J.J. McCarthy and Carson Wentz, PFF has the Vikings No. 31 out of 32 teams in passing grades. With better play from McCarthy (and his pass catchers) against the Bears, the Vikings likely don’t need a desperate rally and we aren’t talking about a special teams gaffe.

Can it be fixed? The Vikings are getting healthier. We have seen evidence of complementary football and three-unit trust in the win over the Lions. But all three phases have since contributed to home losses against the Ravens and Bears. But until the offense produces more points, which will allow the defense a better chance to play with leads and create turnovers, it feels more likely that frustration will be just as prevalent as trust.

Strib

Former Vikings Jim Marshall and Chuck Foreman have been eliminated from consideration in the Seniors category for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026.

The Hall announced the cut from 34 to nine semifinalists Wednesday morning. Those nine will be discussed by the Hall’s nine-member Seniors Blue Ribbon committee, which will select three finalists that will then be discussed and voted on by the full 50-member committee in January.

Marshall, a defensive end, played 20 NFL seasons, played in 282 games, made 270 consecutive starts and two Pro Bowl appearances. Foreman, a running back, played eight seasons, seven with the Vikings. He rushed for 5,950 yards and caught 350 passes, making five Pro Bowls. Marshall retired in 1979 and Foreman in 1980.

The list of nine semifinalists does include Roger Craig, whose 11-year career, mostly with a 49ers team that won three Super Bowls, ended with a two-year stint with the Vikings in 1992-93.

The other semifinalists are Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson, Rams receiver Henry Ellard, Steelers defensive end L.C. Greenwood, Washington offensive tackle Joe Jacoby, Rams cornerback Eddie Meador, Patriots receiver Stanley Morgan, Bills receiver/special teamer Steve Tasker and Chiefs receiver Otis Taylor.

To be a senior for the Class of 2026, a player had to have last appeared in a game no sooner than 2000.

Strib

Vikings special teams coordinator Matt Daniels called it “sickening” to walk off the field Sunday after his group allowed a 56-yard kickoff return by Chicago returner Devin Duvernay to help set up the Bears’ game-winning field goal.

“I’ve been in the league now eight years, played football a long time in this league, and I have never felt the way I felt after that football game,” Daniels said Tuesday. “You’d just rather get beat a different way.”

A large part of Daniels’ frustration stemmed from the fact the Vikings had practiced that exact return leading up to the game, but guys tried to make big plays instead of sticking to their assigned roles.

In the locker room postgame Sunday, first-year outside linebacker Tyler Batty explained that at least two teammates were supposed to be in the lane between him and Tavierre Thomas that Duvernay slipped through on the field side to make his return in Chicago’s 19-17 victory at U.S. Bank Stadium.

“It really boils down to this: We live in a world where attention spans are very, very short and are shortening,” Daniels said. “There’s a belief of wanting this instant gratification, and everyone wants to be the guy that makes the play. ... The 10 guys covering are basically thinking, ‘[I’m going to] be the guy that makes the play.’ As a result, we lose discipline in our lane coverage, and as a result the ball winds back to the field, and there’s the explosive that comes with it.

“Not every single play is yours to make. As long as you do your job, the plays will come to you. Simple as that.”

Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell spoke in a similar regard about the play Monday, saying the desire to win sometimes beats out “the discipline of what is my job on the play.”

The Vikings have allowed an average of 26.6 yards per kickoff return this season. Before Sunday, they had given up only one return of 40-plus yards. That was also against the Bears in Week 1, when wide receiver Luther Burden III returned a kick at the end of the first half 44 yards.

Vikings opponents this season have started only six drives beyond their own 35-yard line off 43 kick returns.

Daniels noted that the Vikings were in a similar situation in Week 5 against the Cleveland Browns in London.

The Vikings had just taken a 21-17 lead when Will Reichard kicked off with less than 30 seconds remaining in the game. The Vikings allowed only a 26-yard return, and the Vikings won after two futile deep ball attempts by Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel.

The difference this time around, Daniels said, was “guys got greedy out there.” Though he said he understands to a degree, he again pressed the need for discipline.

Daniels said he does not anticipate any personnel changes on kickoff returns yet, but that could be reassessed if problems persist.
“Young players have to learn through the fire,” Daniels said. “Sometimes you’re gonna get burnt, and obviously we got burnt in that situation.”

Strib

Kevin Seifert
@SeifertESPN
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31m
Listening to Kevin O'Connell with @PAOnTheMic on
@KFAN1003
. Interesting to hear O'Connell saying, more than once, that he's eager for the "cement to start drying" on the work everyone is doing to develop J.J. McCarthy's fundamentals.

All scattered and F'd up...Like me on a weekend.

Easy W at home against the Vikings. We’re at Lambeau and the Vikings are playing awful. Looking forward to it lol.

Big games have always been an achilles heal (see 2024)

Sam Darnold's QBR against the Rams yesterday was 45.6 in a loss for the Seahawks. He was 29 of 44 passes for 279 yards, but his performance was marred by four interceptions and no touchdowns.

Not surprising....to anyone. He's only 26 years old. I wonder if he might get a sniff for KOC U next year?

Adam Schefter
@AdamSchefter
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28m
Jets are making the expected QB change, switching to Tyrod Taylor from Justin Fields, per sources, as @DMRussini reported.