The Vikings survived the opening two weeks without truly seeing their intended offense.
Kyler Murray’s regular-season debut lasted 11 snaps. He completed three of five passes for 18 yards, threw an interception and left the opener against Green Bay with a concussion. Carson Wentz entered unexpectedly, helped lead a fourth-quarter comeback and then started Minnesota’s 9-3 win over Chicago. Minnesota is 2-0 anyway.
Now, Murray is back.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell announced Monday that Murray has cleared the final phase of the NFL’s concussion protocol and will start Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“Kyler has cleared the final phase of the protocol,” O’Connell said. “He’s doing great. He’ll be cleared, and he will start this week against Tampa Bay.”
Murray practiced on a limited basis throughout last week, but Minnesota did not force the issue before the Bears game. He has now completed the process and gets the full practice week.
The return is important for a team that has won twice but still needs to discover what its offense can become.
The Vikings have survived, not solved the offense
Minnesota deserves credit for how it has handled two difficult games.
After Murray’s injury, Wentz threw three touchdowns against the Packers and gave the Vikings enough stability to erase a 17-point deficit. Against Chicago, rain and wind turned Soldier Field into a field-position battle. The Vikings did not score a touchdown, but they protected the football, ran Aaron Jones 23 times and let their defense and special teams decide the game.
Winning without style points is still winning. The Vikings are the NFC North’s only 2-0 team, and they have done it against division opponents.
But the offense has not eclipsed 300 total yards in either game.
The Bears game came with obvious weather-related caveats, yet Minnesota still converted only three of 13 third downs and struggled to establish a passing rhythm after Justin Jefferson’s opening-drive, 30-yard reception. Wentz completed 11 of 20 passes for 143 yards and took three sacks.
O’Connell said Monday that Minnesota’s run-game commitment has not yet created all the passing-game opportunities the coaches expected.
“We’ve been able to commit to running the football and haven’t quite reaped some of the benefits with some opportunities in the pass game off of that yet,” he said.
That is where Murray can change the equation.
His ability to extend plays, threaten defenses with his legs and create outside structure gives the Vikings a different dimension than Wentz. The point is not that Murray must make something spectacular happen on every snap. It is that defenses have to account for possibilities that do not exist when the quarterback is a less mobile pocket passer.
The Vikings have been close to breaking bigger plays in the run game and through play action. A quarterback who can alter the math around the edge could help turn those close calls into actual production.
Carson Wentz showed what Minnesota needs from Murray
Wentz did not lose the starting job because it was never his job to lose. He did exactly what Minnesota signed him to do.
O’Connell praised Wentz for keeping the operation steady. Since replacing Murray, Wentz has played roughly 106 snaps without a turnover. He has made the throws Minnesota needed — most notably his third-down completion to Jordan Addison and 19-yard pass to T.J. Hockenson on the game-clinching drive in Chicago — without forcing the game into trouble.
“Carson is just so steady,” O’Connell said. “He’s running the show.”
That is the part Murray should take from Wentz’s two-game stretch.
O’Connell said Murray has watched Wentz protect the football, make good decisions, hit big throws when available and allow the Vikings to play complementary football around him. Minnesota’s defense, special teams and rushing attack have all carried significant weight in the 2-0 start. Murray does not need to abandon that formula to prove he is the starter.
He needs to make it more dangerous.
O’Connell also offered helpful context for Murray’s interception against Green Bay. The Vikings opened an A-gap in protection, an error the coach said should not happen in their offense. Murray then compounded that breakdown with the turnover.
That does not absolve the quarterback, but it makes his 11-snap sample a poor basis for judging him. He also completed a tight third-down throw to Jefferson and used his legs safely before his afternoon ended.
The Buccaneers game will offer the first real opportunity to evaluate what Murray’s Vikings offense looks like.
Other injuries to watch
Minnesota has two additional issues entering the practice week.
Defensive lineman Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins is day-to-day with a hip injury after leaving the Chicago game. Rookie punter Brett Thorson is being evaluated for a hamstring issue after averaging 49.5 yards on six punts in the rain.
Jones, meanwhile, came out of the Bears game sore but otherwise okay. O’Connell said the Vikings will consider how much of Jones’ 23-carry workload is sustainable while Mason remains on injured reserve with a fractured thumb.
The Vikings have established a winning foundation without Murray. They have run the ball, avoided the most damaging mistakes and relied on Flores’ defense to make the defining plays.
Murray’s return does not require Minnesota to reinvent that identity. It gives the Vikings a chance to add to it.
After two games of adapting to injuries and conditions, Week 3 can finally begin to show what this offense was designed to be.
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