Hey, you’ve probably heard. The Minnesota Vikings have lost two games in a row after starting 5-0. On Wednesday, offensive coordinator Norv Turner seemingly took blame for that two-game skid and resigned, apparently much to the surprise of everyone.
He was replaced by tight ends coach Pat Shurmur on an interim basis.
The Vikings have scored 10 points on offense in each of those losses, which were to Philadelphia and the lowly Chicago Bears.
Were the losses Turner’s fault?
Honestly, we don’t care, but we would say no. The Vikings’ offensive line has been a huge mess, in part because of injuries. As we predicted, the defense and special teams suddenly aren’t scoring like they did on a regular basis early in the season. And with that, the Vikings huge turnover differential has started to disappear.
No, this Vikings team wasn’t built to last.
Another part of the reason they had early success is they kept quarterback Sam Bradford protected and in the game manager role.
Now they can’t protect him and when the defense and special teams aren’t scoring, he’s being asked to win games.
The formula for beating the Vikings is out and everyone knows it.
Have the wheels fallen off for completely?
They’re still in first place in the NFC North, but they’re unraveling pretty damn quickly.
And good for them!